Yummy Mummies ???

"I can't understand why a stick-insect thin woman is desirable, - except maybe she doesn't cost as much to feed, since she doesn't eat anything except grass."

-- Brian Marshall

A flashy title cropped up on Yahoo's gallery site and of course, given my natural curiosity, I quickly got sucked into the post. I clicked on "Hot Celebrity Mamas" to find some gorgeous women; the list showing only super-models and Hollywood actresses. However on looking at the pictures, the emotions that dominated me were surprisingly more of pity and revulsion. Let me explain the latter first. I look at Angelina Jolie and she is merely stick and bones in that picture - this used to a beauty that most women once envied for her captivating looks and luscious body; however today the image shows a body that is shrinking at an alarming rate. What's sad is that Yahoo entertainment still finds her a yummy mummy despite her skinny femur sticking out and making her a specimen more suitable for anatomy classes.

I look at the other pictures and find some really enviable bodies; however reading the captions below quickly strip the beauty of these pictures for me. These are mums that have gone back to the catwalk and their acting careers barely weeks after the babies were born. Of course with women juggling career and motherhood, most mothers return back to work with very little time to spare for their newborns. Being guilty of the same.....er, crime seems to be a bit too strong a word, let's say atypical behaviour......I am in no way criticising these women for returning back to work. However the vigorous exercise and dieting routines these women subject themselves to, within days of giving birth is most definitely something I object to.

I am peeved about two things here, first the standards of beauty are slipping greatly and are no longer what it used to be. And secondly women who are in a position to change the status quo of the fashion world still succumb to peer pressure and play along with its ludicrous demands.

No more luscious curves, just boring straight lines !!!!

I come from a culture where gaunt and scrawny looks were not something that appealed to the mass. I spent most of my teen years yearning to put on weight as "curvaceous" was the magic word back home. The western world of fashion and Hollywood were also once dominated by hourglass beauties......let us not forget the famous pin-up girls, who flaunted their curves for the world to see. However curvy and buxom figures are now figures of the past.

Why is the fashion world so obsessed with the "thin-culture"? With every passing day, the models that throng the catwalks look more and more like ailing patients in the throes of some debilitating sickness. What I don't understand is that if you and I find this kind of beauty revolting along with the majority of the masses, why is this world still dictating 'thinness' as the code of beauty? Are men in the real world attracted to women who are nearly ironing-board flat and have non-existing derrières?

When occasionally, an actress fails to conform to the exacting standards of Hollywood and is comfortable in her skin as a curvaceous woman, she takes the flak from the media and the fashion world. But that doesn't faze Christiana Hendricks in the least, the "Mad Men" star still flaunts her curves and has earned the title of "buxom" beauty amongst the waifish looking stars. "Go girl" is what I say to her and hope more of them follow her lead.

I would be happy if such ridiculous body standards are limited to just the tinsel town, but no, I see everyday women and girls doing the same. Look around you and you will see today's teens and women, being led astray by these women of fashion and silver screen, thus falling victims to anorexia and other debilitating dieting disorders. The other day, hearing a comment from a ridiculously 'flat' woman about having to do an extra round of exercising at the gym as she indulged herself in eating a piece of cake, only makes me want to hit the roof. Lady, that extra piece of cake if deposited on your skeletal body would definitely bring you back to the land of living but on second thoughts, that delicious and decadent cake does not deserve you :( I am not by any chance beating up women who are naturally slender by way of their genes or metabolism just the ones who ridiculously starve or exercise, thus succumbing to uber-thiness.

Post-natal bodies, gorgeous but at what price??

Given the short-livedness of one's career in the fast changing world of fashion, I can see these new mums beating themselves in the name of fashion and following extreme diets and strenuous exercises in order to reclaim their star positions. Some of them have had C-sections and have still pushed their bodies doggedly to get back into shape in alarmingly short periods. Now what trend does this create? Just peer pressure on other new moms to get rid of their pregnancy fat and jump into the exercising and dieting bandwagons. I bet the "hot bod mama" trainers are in high demand given the reputation they have earned in pushing out gorgeous bodies back onto the catwalk within weeks of their deliveries.

But this is where one has to stop, take a deep breath and think. Is there any real need for these women to rush back to the limelight again? Are these women with pressing mortgages and monetary needs or having to feed extra mouths? Allright, let me cut them some slack and not question about their personal needs or what motivates them to such desperate measures to push their bodies?

However we are talking about supposedly smart and intelligent women who have managed to gain a worldwide reputation and established a successful name for themselves. Don't you think they would have some leeway in deciding to take some time-off after the child-births? Won't they be in a position to say "no" to the demands of the fashion world and take their time in allowing their post pregnancy bodies to regain its shape naturally with the aid of moderate diet and exercises? Instead they fall for the piper's tune and perhaps in doing so not only increase the peer pressure for other mothers but also push the fashion industry to carve such exacting demands from other models as well. "If Heidi Klum could do it, why not you??" would perhaps be the oft sang tune.

We have protective societies for every other abuse, how come there is nothing to stop or advise these narcissistic women that treat their bodies so cruelly? Now don't give me the lines "the body will tell you if you are overdoing it".......maybe these bodies are howling by now but there are no ears that listen to them. On the other hand I am not advocating to be couch potatoes like me, but everything in moderate is my motto.

I hope the women reading this will support me in what I am saying. All I ask is to be comfortable in your skin, in your body and not succumb to any kind of pressure. If you are doing something to improve your bodies, do it because you want to do it and not because the women around you are doing it. The difference is if you choose the latter, you will not be motivated enough to stick to it. Now that I have ranted some of my peeves, I wish to conclude this post with the following lines:

"Do not dictate standards to the world just because you are able to keep it unnaturally; secondly do not let the world dictate standards to you just because other people are doing it."

Thank you !!!

PS: Photos courtesy of Yahoo Entertainment and Sunday Morning Herald