The last day of my holidays was spent celebrating birthdays which of course meant eating well and meeting nice people. If I haven´t said it before I say it now: I love food. Almost all kind of food, making it, eating it, buying it... Food equals love. When I care for you, I´ll cook for you. If I feel like shit, I´ll cook. When I need to relax, I´ll cook. I enjoy sitting down to a ready-made dinner. I love sharing an evening with friends that include good food and drink... You get the point :)
As much as I´d like to tell you my relationship with food is a very simple one, I can´t. I have had big issues with it. I, -as many others, have gained weight and lost it, and gained it and... over and over and over again during my adulthood. During my late teens I was very close to getting what today is called ortorexia (an eating disorder when you become obsessed with eating only healthy stuff and working out/body image). It´s pretty funny in an ironic way that I´ve worked most my life with food (restaurants, teaching cooking etc.) Now, at almost forty, I finally feel pretty good in my skin. I like working out. I still feel bad after eating too much but it´s not this obsessive thing anymore. And, since I´m working with teens I find it very important to be a healthy role-model in the way that I hope I can promote a different "not-teen-vogue-ish-body-image". It´s really important and very interesting to question the photoshopped beauty-ideals that we are surrounded by. Thankfully we´re over the heroin-chic-look of the 90´s but still...open any glossy newspaper and you get my drift.
I was disgusted but really not *that* shocked when H&M came out and said that their "model" in their catalogue is computer-made. It´s impossible to achieve the look they try to sell us. I know that, but that´s because I´m middle-aged and because I´ve been around the block a few times!!! But if I´d be 14 now...my eating disorder would probably be full-blown. Yes, being overweight is a heath-issue. As is smoking, drinking, having unprotected sex and bungee-jumping. I´m not playing down healthy living here. I´m just hoping people would embrace more body-types as beautiful and sexy. I´m hoping that people would not spend their lives being unhappy about their bodies but embracing the beauty in the difference sizes and shapes! Oh, how I LOVE burlesque for working on this!!!!! I love the fact that everybody is welcomed and applauded, -not just for the way they look, but more because of their self-confidence, their strut and their va-va-voom. One of the first things I remember I was taught about our "wobbly bits" (by Bettie Blackheart) was "if it wiggles: add glitter!"Wow, this was a looong story to these pictures :)
Somebody linked today on my fave social media a picture of Marilyn Monroe next to a modern model - how clearly one could see the change in beauty ideals. But really, I can´t imagine who would *not* find these pictures of the Goddess beautiful! Have a great week everyone <3
(all photos taken by Eve Arnold)
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