There has been a lot of buzz about an untouched photo of 48 year old supermodel Cindy Crawford donning lingerie which popped up on Twitter a few weeks ago. The original tweet by Charlene White, a British journalist, attributed the photo to Marie Claire magazine. However, it appears the photo was taken as part of a feature for the Latin American publication of Marie Claire but the photo was never printed. Meaning the online photo was likely leaked. It is unclear whether or not Ms Crawford was aware of, much less approved of, the leaked photo which has gone viral since its Twitter debut. (For that reason, I have not linked to the pic here.)
I think the photo is beautiful and refreshing. Crawford looks real and fantastic. If she had released this photo herself, which is what I believed when I went searching for it, my blog post today would write itself. It was a disappointment to learn that it’s quite possible she never meant for the photo to be released to the public. I considered changing my topic but I just can’t let it go.
The good news is the photo has been met with atta girls and kudos almost universally. It seems as though the only people huffing and puffing over it are those in the fashion and beauty industry who are standing on their soap boxes proclaiming their disgust over the invasion of Ms Crawford’s privacy but they’re barely able to hide their real objections to it. Namely, they don’t like it when they are exposed for the deceptive and destructive industry they represent.
My hope is Ms Crawford will actually take this (perhaps unwanted) opportunity and embrace what it could represent. That being changing the conversation and image about what fitness and beauty are. Luckily, she would have a lot of good company: Jamie Lee Curtis, This Girl Can, The Chi Blog, Kate Winslet, and even some companies like Dove, just to name a few. Or you can simply watch for yourself how we are manipulated into believing that there is such a thing as the woman who has the perfect fit and beautiful body:
We need strong, confident female celebrities, influential organizations and corporations to counteract the false narratives and bad behaviors of Victoria Secret’s Perfect “Body” campaign, Mike Jeffries CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch and Under Armour’s alliance with Gisele Bundchen.
And we need each other – moms, daughters, sisters, girlfriends – exposing the truth, modeling healthy behavior and promoting a healthy body image.
A fit woman is a beautiful woman because fitness is nurturing the whole self – mind, body and soul. Fitness is not: the absence of cellulite or visible body fat, deprivation diets, purges, cleanses, juicing, obsessing over food, obsessing over exercise, a thigh gap, lack of stretch marks, wrinkle-free faces, and perfectly toned mid-riffs.
One cannot see fitness any more than one can see a kind heart. You cannot assume a thin person is fit and you cannot assume a seemingly overweight person isn’t fit. No matter what the ads and magazines tell you. For the most part, the ads and magazines lie.
Here’s hoping Ms Crawford joins the chorus praising her viral photo. We’re happy to add another brave, beautiful woman to this worthy fight.