Do you know what a normal female body looks like anymore?

image courtesy of The Shape Of A Mother website

This isn’t my tummy but it could be. Is that a cesarean scar? I don’t have one of those but I do have a scar above my bellybutton from where I used to have it pierced. Yes, I know. But I was 22 OK? OK.

Apart from looking in the mirror, it’s easy to forget what a real body looks like. Most days – most MONTHS- the only ones we see are our own and those in the media, which are re-touched to buggery. Bad basis for comparison. And don’t we love to compare? Even when it does our heads in…..

A lovely reader alerted me to this website where you can see pictures of real breasts in a non-sexual way (thanks Emma). And through that site (none of which other than the homepage seems to be working unfortunately, but still worth a reassuring visit), I found another one.
Same idea but The Shape Of A Mother site features the bodies of mothers – during pregnancy, after pregnancy…it’s the most extraordinarily refreshing antidote to those odious magazine stories of celebrities and their post-baby bodies…

If you’re willing, you can even contribute anonymous photos of your own body.

The woman who began the site, explains its genesis like this:

One day I sat in a restaurant in Anaheim, California eating
breakfast, when a woman passed by my table with her infant carrier in
tow. As she lifted it up to fit between the tables, her shirt raised
and I saw that, although she was at a healthy weight and her body was
fit, she had that same extra skin hanging around her belly that I do.
It occurred to me that a post-pregnancy body is one of this society’s
greatest secrets; all we see of the female body is that which is
airbrushed and perfect, and if we look any different, we hide it from
the light of day in fear of being seen. That makes me want to cry. Sure
we all talk about the sagging boobs and other parts, but no one ever
sees them. Or if they do, it’s in comical form, mocking the beauty that
created and nourished our children.

It is my dream, then, to create this website where women of all
ages, shapes, sizes and nationalities can share images of their bodies
so it will no longer be secret. So we can finally see what women really
look like sans airbrushes and plastic surgery. I think it would be
nothing short of amazing if a few of our hearts are healed, or if we
begin to cherish our new bodies which have done so much for the human
race. What if the next generation grows up knowing how normal our
bodies are? How truly awesome would that be?

Truly. Awesome.