All Aboard

Anyone who thinks American women are struggling with their body image haven’t been on a cruise lately. Never have I seen such a celebration of the feminine silhouette than on a recent jaunt to Mexico. Women of all ages and ALL sizes were strutting the Lido deck in bathing suits that often defied the magical properties of spandex. No one seemed concerned about the lack of makeup or snarl of bad hair or excess flaps of skin. The men were equally oblivious of their own flaws, but they are delusional creatures about their appearance most of the time anyway.

I purposely lost 5 pounds and sat outside to try and get a tiny bit of a tan before the trip because I was sure I would be the huge pasty redhead everyone was staring at. But then, I live in Hollywood where the standards are, well, slightly skewed. But it’s coast-to-coast America on board a cruise ship – even the one I was on which was filled with a 30-something crowd of rock music lovers. It was certainly obvious that there is a growing obesity problem in this country, but equally obvious was that a few extra pounds is not keeping people from doing whatever the “pretty” people do. All those weight loss commercials feature such miserable, unhappy people who have lost the will to live. And I’m sure there are many people out there who are frustrated with their weight. But the truth is we appear to be healthier – at least mentally – than all the magazines and infomercials would have us believe.


Of course, we should all watch our weight and eat healthy and exercise and all that. But to see so many women in bathing suits who are not “perfect” is refreshing. And I must admit that to see many of these women with loving, happy husbands is, honestly, a relief. Men’s magazines may be filled with some perfect, airbrushed, bleached idea of female perfection, but most guys seem to realize that a good woman comes in all shapes and sizes. And that makes them beautiful.