I was watching "The Colbert Report" last night, and the featured guest was Leonard Nimoy, known to most people as "Spock" from Star Trek. What a lot of people don't care to know is that Nimoy has also written a number of books, including poetry and photography.
Colbert had him on to promote his new book, called "The Full Body Project." This is a coffee-table style book that showcases women of all sizes. In the interview, Nimoy stated that his reason for making this book was that there is a generation of women, both young and old, who hold themselves up to the standards of conventional beauty. That we, as women, are being sold a bill of goods by society -- that we are not normal, and those models who can fit into those skimpy bits of cloth held together by bubblegum *are.* That they are right, and we are wrong.
I always liked Nimoy -- I thought he had a fairly good sense of humor, and didn't take himself too seriously but he has gone up several levels in my estimation. I am glad that he had the courage to not only turn out beautiful photographs, but to explain to the public that these women ARE beautiful. And the women who posed for the photos in the book? They are far braver than I could ever be, and I applaud them.
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12 comments:
Huh, that's interesting. I have that Colbert Report on my DVR, and I'll be sure to watch it!
thanks for the link - this is something that I have been struggling with, trying to pose for my own pictures for just my own self and it is so hard!!!!!
I had not heard of this. Thanks for the link.
In reading the amazon reviews, I would like to smack the "photographer who loves full figure women" but is upset over the models selected because some wouldn't be attractive at any weight. Aaagghhh...
I agree they are brave women. Getting naked for the world to see takes a certain something at any weight.
So... did you hear from the director?
Thank you for writing about the Full Body Project. I am one of the models, and Leonard has given me permission to create a MySpace page. Please feel free to add me as "friend".
http://www.myspace.com/fullbodyproject
I love it! Leonard is awesome for doing this project. I applaud him. I am also loving on Dove right now for their campaign of beauty... check out some of the cool stuff they are doing to promote real beauty not fashion magazine beauty http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vilUhBhNnQc
um, did you just get spammed by a bazillon people on a post about fat women? As a fat woman, I'm not sure whether to laugh or cuss. :)
Oh my gosh!! I'm truly sorry if the before mentioned little youtube videos appear to be spam to you... I am just honestly moved and happy that a company has taken this position on women's self image. I seriously did not intend for it to be spam. I am not in any way affiliated with them, nor do I use their products, actually, they break my skin out. Just happy to see the ads, although the one I gave you a link to was banned in the USA...I still like the message and simply wanted to share it. Again, my deepest apologies!
"Cookie", I feel sure that Jeni wasn't speaking about you. The Chinese characters were most likely spam, but you -- never. Since you're a relatively new face around here, you may not recognize Jeni's wild sense of humor.
Oh, and I agree with you about Dove's campaign -- they've partnered with the Girl Scouts of the USA for the past two years or so, helping promote a healthy body image to girls, and that has really upped them in my estimation as well. They created an entire line of program materials, marketed at girls of an impressionable age that really talk in a down-to-earth tone about how being healthy and eating right are much more important to true beauty than being a size zero model. I'll have to see if I can dig up some of the literature that they passed out at the last GS National Convention.
Lady Monster -- I applaud you for your fearless dignity in being one of the subjects of the book. I talk a big game about the rights of fat women, and about how shameful it is that society spurns us because we are not one of those twig-like models, but YOU had to guts to get out there and show your beauty to the world. I am not comfortable enough in my own skin to let even my husband gaze on my naked body with any regularity. I salute you, and all those brave souls who not only had the courage to shine, but the true beauty as well. Maybe one day, I'll be that confident.
Jeni -- no word until about five minutes ago. Director says he's still looking at four people to audition, and he'll give us a buzz on Thursday. I've been depressed all weekend, thinking I wasn't cast. I'm almost afraid to get my hopes up again. Have I mentioned that I HATE waiting?!
How awesome is that project!!! I'll have to look into it a little more. Bravo to those women!!!
Hugs... hope you hear something soon so we can celebrate this weekend!
(Did I put enough exclamation points in this response?!)
KLee, thanks for the update!
Cookie, nah, I was referring to the weird chinese characters, since I've never seen spam here before. I like the Dove campaign, too.
If you haven't read the reviews on the Amazon listing, go read Wood's. Well, read them all, but read Wood's first. It's very good.
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