Dear Victoria: Can We See Some REAL Bodies for a Change?

This is a post about body image. I am not a hater and am not trying to start an argument, only a dialogue. Before I get started, let me say a few things:

*If you are going to spew vile comments about jealousy, please just hit the little red X. I promise you, I am not. I have been this skinny and hope to never be again.

*I understand that these girls are beautiful and part of a brand. If they’re happy, I’m happy for them and Victoria is filthy rich. I might be slightly jealous of that fact.

*Yes, I get the catalog. I like a good underwear sale.

Moving on.

This came in the mail today.

Is it my imagination or are these girls getting skinnier? If the camera adds ten pounds then some of these scantily clad beauties are in need of a cheeseburger and pizza intervention.

I get it. This is a brand. The catalogs, the stores, the fashion shows, the wings… Adam Levine.

All I think is, would it kill them to just add a few regular size girls to their lineup?

I have the store card, so I get the catalog. I usually wait for this particular one to stock up a couple of times a year and I love their comfy PINK® boyfriend sweats.

In the past, I’ve purchased clothing and, once, a bathing suit. I was young and naive (and twenty pounds lighter) and it looked so good on the model in the magazine. Like I said. Naive.

Let me show you a non airbrushed,non-filtered picture of my reality.

I am forty six. I am 5’10″ and weigh 153 pounds. I can tell you this.

I would be more likely to buy the dress in this photo as opposed to the ones in the lingerie holy grail known as the Victoria’s Secret catalog. Set aside the fact that this photo is actually me. I would look at this and think this was closer to my body type and this might be a more realistic view of what I would look like in this dress. Sold.

The girls are adorable. Alessandra Ambrosio has, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful faces I have ever seen. They look amazing in their skinny-girl undies and what not. I just think, in this day and age, when body image is so terribly distorted, we should be looking at “real” girls. Not airbrushed featherweights whose bodies are far from the norm.

And folks, this isn’t just about me. I have an eleven year old daughter. She does not need to use this as her body image barometer. The next thing I know, she’s using the “F” word (not that one… the other one) and puking up breakfast, lunch and dinner or eating only lettuce four times a day. Don’t call me dramatic. I know for a fact this happens.

Do I blame it solely on the VS catalog. Of course not.

I do my part to help her make good eating choices, keep her active, and mold her self esteem to help her keep a positive image of herself as she is, but let’s be honest. This catalog, and many other images shoved in our faces on a daily basis, have an impact whether we realize it or not.

I’m making a decision not to support it anymore. I will be placing this catalog in the trash today and cancelling my store card.

They have pretty cute real girl panties at Target.

Sandy is a wife/mom/cheerleader/chauffeur/tutor/referee/psychologist/nurse to five kids: hers, his and theirs. When she’s not on a sports field or court of some sort (or the laundry room), Sandy can be find writing about life in it’s sordid reality at Mother of Imperfection. You can also follow her crazy life on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and Pinterest.