I have to admit that I have never bought the magazine Today's Parent before. Last weekend I was looking through different magazines at Chapters as usual when I suddenly saw the cover of the may issue of Today's Parent. I can't even begin to describe how awesome it was to discover that Today's Parent had chosen to put real women on the cover of the may 2015 issue. It's so wonderful to see a magazine take a step towards encouraging women to embrace and celebrate their natural beauty instead of hating their imperfections.
It's so great to read messages like "Celebrate You!" instead of the usual "How to look younger than you are" at the cover of a women's magazine.
We can't really escape the fact that our accepted cultural ideals set the standard for how we view ourselves. The good news is that if this natural beauty trend continues to be promoted in media little baby Estelle (pictured above) might not have to grow up in a world that is as superficial in the future. I hope that all women (not just Moms) will embrace natural beauty in the future so that together we can build a better culture, where eating disorders start to decline rather than increase.
This is how Jessica Birak describes her view of her body in the may 2015 issue of Today's Parent:
"I had an eating disorder when I was 15. I was gaining confidence in how my body looked when I got pregnant at 22. I had rock-hard abs and no cellulite, and I seriously thought I would go through pregnancy completely untouched. When I got big, red stretch marks all over my belly, I cried for a week. After I had my oldest, I sometimes felt very insecure-I lost the confidence I'd gained. Then, six months after my youngest was born, somebody asked me if I was expecting. It sunk me. I thought it must mean I'm ugly because my stomach has a little paunch. But I realized it was ruining my day because my idea of beauty was defined by something unrealistic, something superficial."
I find it so sad that so many of us women have perfectly healthy bodies that work, that take us around town every day, but still we hate them or at least we don't find them beautiful. We think that we are the problem, but isn't it time we realize what the real problem is once and for all: the unhealthy ideals we are fed daily. I'm ready to throw out all the magazines and other influences in my life that make me dislike myself rather than celebrate my body!
You can read many inspiring stories in the newest issue of Today's Parent about how these women used to dislike their bodies and how motherhood changed how they view themselves. These women all discovered that there is a greater meaning for why we are given our bodies, our bodies have the ability to produce life. After all, that's one of the most beautiful functions our bodies have, we are not only beautiful objects walking around on this earth, objects that we constantly need to criticize and modify. Our bodies deserve more respect and loving care than that, we deserve more love than that! Let's stop objectifying ourselves!
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