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The other day, I saw a commercial on television about a major U.S. corporation which was sponsoring a program for young girls designed to help them combat body image issues. The program was formatted so that girls attended workshops, listened to speakers, and shared their own experiences in a group therapy type of setup. Some of the girls in the program were younger than ten.
My daughter, who is blissfully, thankfully, negative body image free, blurted out "that's just silly; that little girl can't have anorexia". Interesting, how my fourteen-year-old automatically assumes that "body issues" automatically equals eating disorder, isn't it? And, it's interesting how young girls are when they have to start dealing with such issues. I patiently explained to my daughter that, yes, girls as young as, and younger than, ten sure can have an eating disorder and that body image issues don't always result in an eating disorder. In fact, body image issues can be completely independent of an eating disorder. So, the ten-year-old girl on the commercial may not have developed an eating disorder, and may never develop one, but it's obvious that she, just like many other children in this country, is affected by the need to look like Jessica Alba.
But, what kids don't realize, as images of Alba, Jennifer Anniston, Eva Longoria, etc. are paraded across the big screen, is that even Jessica Alba doesn't look like Jessica Alba in real life. In real life, Alba, and most of other celebrities apparently blessed with beautiful bodies work out two, three hours a day just to stay looking great. They don't eat real food like the rest of us; they eat rabbit food. I recall Tyra Banks saying in an interview that, after she retired from modeling, she finally got to eat real food! And, notice how her waistline responded. Good for her. Tyra, at any weight is a beautiful girl.
And, recently, I saw a photo of Eva Longoria in which her booty looked a bit boot-ier than usual. Although the rumors are that she and her hubby, Tony Parker, might be expecting their first child, it may also be that Eva, caught with her proverbial pants down, is only human. Heck, even Paris Hilton has cellulite! The reality is that celebrities get paid to look good. As much as we love Kathy Bates' incredible talent, we don't really want to see her half-dressed and running around, twenty feet tall and super-sized on the big screen.
The fact is that celebrities use a sizeable portion (pun intended) of their income to employ people for the sole purpose of keeping them looking good. They have personal trainers who whip them into shape, personal chefs who control every bite they put into their mouths, and personal stylists who dress them in just the right clothes. They have people; people who primp and praise and cut and curl. And if all that doesn't do the job, most celebrities are not above a little nip/tuck when gravity finally locates those bodacious booties.
Quite frankly, I'd look a whole lot better too if I had an entire staff of individuals dedicated to the task of keeping me beautiful. But the fact is that my roots are showing, my thighs are lumpy, and my idea of a personal chef is Stouffer's. I'm real. I can't afford a trainer and I can't find time to go to a gym. Unlike a celebrity, going to the gym is not part of my job and doing so is more of a hassle than anything else. I'd love to have a personal chef because that would mean that I'd not only be eating a lot better, I wouldn't have to do all the cooking.
But, on the other side of the coin, I don't have paparazzi following me around snapping pictures of me getting a pedicure, shopping for wardrobe additions, or keeping a pictorial diary of every bite I put into my mouth. Gone are the days when "Rubenesque" women were celebrated as being healthy, but idealizing the too-thin body just because it is aesthetically pleasing is completely unrealistic. And, hey, there are limits to thin! I don't want to see a poster girl for anorexia any more than I want to see Jack Nicholson in a mankini.
So, wrap it up girls. Unless you have a personal trainer, a personal chef, and a host of people whose goal it is to ensure that you're lookin' good, there's bound to be a little junk in the trunk and flaws that make you, you. Your pictures aren't airbrushed and you won't have a body double to stand in for you at the beach, but you're real in a way that a celebrity can never achieve. And, there's certainly something to be said for that!
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