The Sad Truth of Media Driven Beauty

Check out this link - replicated below, seen on YouTube. It reminds me of a sad moment I experienced on my way back from Costa Rica a few years ago.

I was living on the East Coast at the time, so had to return via Miami. After experiencing several weeks of natural beauty, pleasure and respect for down-to-earth life above everything else, I heard a sad conversation in the ladies room among 4-5 late teen, early twenty year olds about their weight, the structure of their faces, the shape of their hips - it went on and on and on. Half were American, half were Latin American. Not yet anorexic, but it was only a matter of time.

I have a good friend who is an actress living in LA and went through a similiar experience a few months ago. I met a well known actress (yeah, I still prefer actress over actor - sorry to anyone this offends), through this friend, who is half my size and while I've put a few pounds on since I moved to California, I still sit in a size 4, although less comfortably. (thank god for low hipster jeans :-)

This amazing, talented and beautiful woman spent a chunk of the evening talking to the most well known plastic surgeon in Argentina (with more than inquisitive questions), and I kept thinking, "for what?" You are so beautiful - inside and out. In every way. "For what?"

As part of my personal fitness program, I do regular aerobic workouts to various DVDs, one of which includes an old Jane Fonda video from God knows when. It's hysterical, part of the reason I find it so amusing and include it among my collection. The music is high energy and while the style and music may be outdated, exercise never can be.....It's so off, that it's on. Interestingly enough, the majority of the women in the video are probably a size 8-10, yet they all look fabulous and all exude sex appeal, regardless of their age or shape. By today's standards, a few would probably be considered slightly heavy despite the fact that everyone in the video is toned.

Did I say, "for what?" C'mon girls, its up to you to personally reset the standard for beauty. Don't let the traditional fashion industry do it for you. Watch the video below. Frankly, I thought she was more interesting when she walked onto the stage.