ya, i'll probably regret writing this post. Maybe i'll get horrible people randomly hitting on my blog from google searches gone awry. Maybe i'll lack the sensitivity to post sensitively ... but this is what's on my mind:
i'm annoyed that i have to delete viagra ads from the comments section of my blog, that these ads permeate televised sporting events and billboards. i'm annoyed that they come straight as spam to my inbox & that my children will likely grow up recognizing the name brands of the various drugs offered to enhance their sexual lives. On the other side of the equation, it bothers me that women feel that their breasts aren't good enough if they're not perfect. i think back to the hippy women in the '60's - burning their bras - & how when i saw pictures from that era when i was a teenager, i thought to myself - "woah, pendulous breasts - pin those suckers up with something..." Maybe those women saw the direction that things were heading (no pun intended) - & that soon it wouldn't be strips of fabric used to keep up outward appearances that gravity has no effect on us - but instead anaesthesia, a sharp knife & plastic balloons.
What is a perfect breast anyway? Nowadays - in our pornography infested society - we have a different version of what looks good to us. Our men are encouraged to lust after phony stereotypes rather than soft, misshapen usefulness. Women are made to feel ashamed of their post baby bodies - & to strive for youthful perfection - knowing the attention of their husband is at stake.
i remember a girl said to me, (lightheartedly), "i don't even want to know what your breasts look like after nursing all those babies..." & i thought to myself, "i don't want you to know either... " but that night, i wondered if i was good enough for the man i love... & if he ever gave a seconds thought to my body's unique trademarks brought on by time and motherhood.
i wonder if my husband will remember that verse from Proverbs..."let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always.." Now, sure it doesn't say that her breasts *can't* be surgically enhanced... but i've always felt like - can't she ever be good enough?
Even after she has lost enough weight to be deemed 'beautiful', her breasts - that were good enough to nourish his babies - sag, and age in the unavoidable motion of life... She is bleached, liposuctioned, filled, covered, bejeweled, scented, enhanced -
& for what?
He can't get it up without a little blue pill anyway?
Maybe i'm tender to this because i'm watching my sweet tender shoots of womanhood traipse out of childhood & into the great unknown. If one day they wear stretch marks - or sagging breasts - or greying hair - as signs of age & wisdom, instead of shameful imperfections - i will have done something right.
12 comments:
I hope people stumble upon this post when they are googling....
me like & i agree
I agree too. I love that in many African cultures, the saggier your breasts, the more honorable you are as you've nourished many children. I remember the first time I woke up in the night after drifting off during breastfeeding only to find myself laying on my back with my baby somehow magically still latched on :) (now I'll probably regret typing that)
LOL, Lola...some of us only dream of having breasts large enough to do this! LOL
I love this Paige...I giggled when I saw the title and then wholeheartedly agreed when I read it...
I just came back from a mission trip to Sudan, Africa and was told that once you had nursed, your breasts were "expired"!
Paige, I just wanted to take a minute and tell you how much I love this post. That's all. :)
Oh, I could just throw my arms around you and give you a big hug. This is the kind of post that tells me that I'm not alone in my feelings. Thanks for reminding me that my body (even with all my sags, marks and scars) is a beautiful, life-giving, baby-nourishing thing.
Dr. Oz claimed the other day at men don't just see one part of a woman's body - but rather they see the overall whole picture. I thought that was an interesting observation.
I don't like getting all the viagra spam either -- our internet provider keeps it out of the inbox but once a week or so you need to go into your account and delete all the stuff that's been filtered out. You would think that everyone in the world was searching for a way to be a better lover from all the advertising to that effect!!
It is too bad that our children are living in a much different world than we grew up in. Sex is so blatant and everywhere and a 10 year old should have to know about condoms and alternative lifestyles. It is pretty hard to shield them from all of the junk --but that doesn't mean we can't try to give them a good grounding in what is right and wrong and what is really important in relationships...
Saskatchewan Cousin
I left out the word "NOT" in my last comment. It should have read "Sex is so blatant and everywhere and a 10 year old should NOT have to know about condoms and alternative lifestyles."
Sorry!
Saskatchewan Cousin
I will not concur on it. I over warm-hearted post. Specially the title attracted me to be familiar with the unscathed story.
love you paige.
i wish we could have a little zone of privacy :) and still have blogs LOL! i think that's what bugs me about those ads - they are appeals to other people's desires/insecurities that i don't share and don't want to know about. T said to me the other day. Know what's scary? Take the average person - how smart are they? Now, figure, HALF of everyone else is dumber than that.
HA...has anyone seen the (silly and yet in a perverse way...profound) movie, "Shallow Hal?" I'll say no more...
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