10 March 2009

I just don't know what to say...


This photo has been posted on many websites; I found it at Titam's blog [with the Maple Syrup for some reason...], but after a TinEye search, the closest I could come to an original posting was this Polish site that has two other photos of the lady on the beach.

But what commentary to offer? The knee-jerk response is to make some snarky comment about age and bikinis. But there she is, not at all embarassed by her body, comfortable wearing a string bikini, and clearly enjoying a day on the beach.

I grew up walking with a skinny post-polio leg and knowing that I didn't fit the template of a Greek god, so should I be casting aspersions on a older woman who dares to be bold? I think not.

I grow old … I grow old …
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.
Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.

7 comments:

  1. Bravo! I have the same thoughts when I see an overweight woman in a bikini or a belly shirt. If she's comfortable in her body, good for her.

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  2. True, wether you're old or fat or whatever, you have the right to wear whatever you feel like. What I found really weird in this picture was her so not natural breasts. Damn plastic surgery, no one tells you what it's going to look like 30 years later.
    Anyhow, thanks for the information you added!
    Oh, by the way, Mapple Syrup came up after I moved to Québec. I was looking for something that truely embodies Québec, and here it was!

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  3. Funny because aside from the plastic surgery this picture made me think of Québec too. French-Canadians seem to be very comfortable with their bodies, which is fantastic. They have every right to wear what they want, as long as they aren't offended when I cover my eyes until they are gone.

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  4. Check out this picture of Donatella Versace:
    www.oddee.com/item-96587.aspx. It looks like her, right down to the breast implants.

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  5. That link doesn't work. Needs a space instead of a dash, thus -

    http://www.oddee.com/item_96587.aspx

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  6. I'm a big fan of modesty, no matter what the body size or shape is so I'm not an admirer of the bikini in general. It's fantastic to be comfortable with your body (really!) but that doesn't mean that you have to show it to everybody. Again and again women are judged on what they wear and how they look in it (most recently and notably Michelle Obama has been defending her muscular arms and for wearing a sleeveless dress to a "formal" event). Maybe I'd feel more comfortable wearing a bikini if I didn't feel like someday people would be looking at a picture of me on the internet debating whether or not I should have been wearing a bikini.

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  7. Looking at this picture, I can only conclude that skinny stops being attractive after a certain age. Personally I think that age is 22.

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