Truths: The Skinny on Lingerie

So, last night, as I began my ritual of sit-ups and push-ups… (Which I started because my husband and I are going to the Bahamas in February…) I turned on the TV only to find unbelievably beautiful angels strutting their stuff.

Yes, it was the Victoria's Secret fashion show live in NY City. The Black-Eyed Peas were belting out the “Boom, Boom..” song and these women were flaunting extremely imaginative lingerie.

As I laid down on the carpet to start my sit-ups, this blonde, beautiful, skinny woman graced the runway , and I didn’t know if that made me want to do the sit-ups more – or say “@#&* it!”

I mean is that motivation or is it the glaring truth in front of me – that at nearly 40 – I am never going to look like that – even if I do 1000 sit-ups a night. Maybe if I did 1000 sit-ups, ran 20 miles a day and never ate again… And, even that is a maybe.

As these perfect women modeled amazing outfits, I got to thinking.

Its not a revelation by any means… people have been discussing this issue forever: what are these ads and shows saying to regular people? Is skinny the only kind of beautiful?

I started to (try) picture regular size women in the lingerie… people more like me (But better toned). And, as horrible as it sounds – I wouldn’t like it. Me, in barely there clothing, walking a glimmering stage?

That is not even MY fantasy!

But, if people, like me, became more of the norm, would I then find it as beautiful and eye catching?

Or, is the actual truth, that I want to be those women even though I know I never will be. Even though, I am intelligent enough to know, deep down, that I don’t have to look like that to be successful and loved.

But, I still want to be… And when I buy lingerie (which I really don’t anymore – it is all about t-shirts and comfy pajama bottoms) the truth is- I want to imagine my self as perfect and as seductive as the models on TV or in the magazines or in the catalogs…

I mean, would I even consider the lingerie if I knew I would really still be “me” when I wore it?

Would our significant others be less drawn to lingerie if regular people wore it in the catalogs?

I venture to think that they are looking for the fantasy us..not the real us…And, I guess I don’t blame them – How can I if I want the same thing?

There was time in my life where I would have wrote those models off as anorexic and dinghy… But, I admit, now, that I find them beautiful and I am envious of them.

No, I don’t ever expect to look like them – or to model skimpy lingerie in front of millions of gawking eyes…

But, at 38, unbelievably, they have become an inspiration for me…I wouldn’t try to become them – but they do offer me the motivation to be better than I am. To skip the Doritos and the M&M’s and to eat fruit and vegetables. They push me to do that extra sit-up and to get off my butt and go on the treadmill.

They make me want to be better – healthier – more fit.

I know, as a mother of an 11 year old daughter, that it is important to make her feel secure in her own body – to make her feel good about who she is on the inside. To watch her closely for eating disorders and emotional disorders often brought on by the ads of skinny, beautiful women.
And, I already do that by validating her as a person and reassuring her that she is beautiful.

But for me, at my age, those assertive, skinny ass models are my carrot to living a better life – full of exercise, healthy eating and self-confidence to feel good about who I am.

Ironic, isn’t it?