The Love Your Body Now Project – Healing Body Image Issues Through Fine Art Nudes (Shannon)

As many of you know, I’ve been seen naked round the world of late.

 
Starting with my first naked post Am I Really Fat? which was also published in The Huffington Post. Followed shortly by Walk The Walk, Naked Lady, which was also published in HuffPo and featured in the British Daily Mail.

Understandably, there’s been some hate mail.

 
The Brits were especially harsh calling me a “Silly Cow,” saying, “She’s about as deep as a contact lens,” (clever), many telling me to “Get a life!” and several “Shame on you!”s.

But the one that really got me was from a man accusing me of being an anti-feminist, because I (not the media, as I’d indicated) objectified myself by posting my nudes.

For a moment he almost had me. But  then I realized it wasn’t my truth. This was my response:

“I don’t agree. When I say the media objectifie­s women, I am talking about how the female body is portrayed in bits and pieces. Breasts alone. Legs alone — with no face, no entire body. Or entrapped in lingerie meant to engage the male eye. My photos are of a whole woman. Me. With no photoshopp­ing, no hair and make-up, no lingerie. Just me. Unadorned.

“I hope the photos are beautiful. I hope they’ve captured me as a whole woman at each age. They are my gift to myself. And I hope, in sharing them publicly, they are a gift to other people who see their own bodies in pieces. A belly that’s too big. Breasts that sag. Thighs that rub together. All the things I nitpicked in myself until these nudes came back and I was able to absorb them and see myself whole. I hope this article and these pictures will encourage other people to see themselves whole.”

There was one comment so beautiful I have to repost it. While the compliments are directed toward me they feel universal:

From Kenneth Alton:

 

“At 26, your silhouette was quite lovely, the play of flesh and bone along your back and buttocks flatteringly delicate and feminine (which interestin­gly makes your shoulders seem a bit strong, in contrast in that image/pose­).

“At 46, the earlier strength of shoulder now finds its inherent balance; if the silhouette is less delicate the play of flesh and bone is more suggestive of feminine strength and maternal solidity. One is a fortunate, almost errant, flower in bloom; the other the curve of rock, the swell of earth, without which no flowers would ever bloom.

“I have often considered it a trifle foolish the way that shallow youth is considered inherently beautiful. There is such a terrible beauty, which only age brings; a depth of power that only deepens the sense of mystery that utterly, completely­, captivates­.”

126 thoughts on “The Love Your Body Now Project – Healing Body Image Issues Through Fine Art Nudes (Shannon)”

  1. Alexandra

    This…tears to my eyes.

    Why dont we love ourselves more????

    So sad, and we are so beautiful: this is a work of soulful, deep art, Shannon.

    So very perfectly beautiful.

  2. Sandra

    I am so with Alexandra on this, and so not with the critics who called you a silly cow. You are not! I must say, I’m not often moved to…well, to anything, but this really struck a cord. Thank you for being so brave and completely beautiful inside and out.

  4. Unknown Mami

    I always look back and love the body I had in the past even though I never loved it when I had it. It’s just another way of not fully being in or embracing the present.

    That comment you shared is beyond beautiful.

    1. Shannon

      Living in the present moment. That’s the biggie. And I couldn’t believe that comment. One of the most beautiful things I think I’ve read. I’m going to wait in line for his book, if there is one.

    1. Shannon

      Thanks so much!! My grandma is 98 and I suspect I many have her genes. If I ever complain about pushing 50 she reminds me she didn’t learn to water ski until she was 65. Carpe Diem!

  6. Marci

    This is lovely, Shannon! Where do we learn to hate our bodies? It is sad. I was very thin at 26, but still did not love my body. My breasts were too small, I thought I had cellulite on my thighs, etc. Now I know I was too thin, but I wouldn’t mind being about five pounds less than I am now. Oh, and in better shape. LOL In another 20 years, I’ll look back and wish for this body. Sad, but true.

    1. Shannon

      You are not alone Marci. Look to your left and right anywhere and there’s a woman next to you feeling the same way. We must love and support each other. Thanks for reading and commenting. xo

  9. Debi (Truthful Mommy)

    The video is incredibly moving.As someone who suffers from Body Dysmorphic Disorder, I know the tricks it plays on our minds.
    You are beautiful. I am on the outside looking in and I see you. You are beautiful.I am so glad that you can appreciate your beauty in the now. You have come further than I have yet in the disorder. I hope some day I too can look at myself in the now and love what I see.
    Thank you for sharing your heart and these lovely images.

    1. Shannon

      Hi Debi – thank you so much for commenting. I woke up a month ago and realized I’ve been trying to lose the last 10 pounds for 5 years. So I decided to keep them. I’m healthy. Happy and sick of picking myself apart. It’s a one day at a time proposition. Will pop over and visit you at truthfulmommy xo

  10. WhyIsDaddyCrying

    if giving birth to a child, loving it, raising it and behing ridiculed because your body reflects it is the world we live in…i want no part. every damn one of you women are gorgeous. enough said

  13. natalie

    you are amazing!!! and some of those comments while everyone can have an opinion are just awful!!! xoxo

    1. Shannon

      Hi Natalie — they were quite blistering those comments. But I didn’t take it too personally as the article did make me sound a bit vacuous. I’ll win those Brits over if I have to eat all of their pub food.

  14. Katy

    Bravo Shannon!!! Beautiful post. Bold, universal to the topic of being content with oneself (in any and all our ways) and as always, humorous. Keep up the good work! Love, K

  16. LW

    I wouldn’t worry about that trashy paper. It’s also known as the ‘Daily Fail’ over here in blighty, and can be full of jingoistic, racist, generally nasty sentiment.

    Mwah! xx

    1. Shannon

      Oh LW that’s a relief. Because I love the Brits (being a descendant myself). The Daily Fail. Will keep that in mind. Which is as “shallow as a contact lens.” That one gave me such a laugh.

  18. AC Booth

    You have always made me laugh, but today you made me cry. Amazing. I want everyone to see this. Who cares about those wretched Daily Mail critics?

    1. Shannon

      You’re right AC — We seek it here, we seek it there, the Frenchies seek it everywhere…is it in heaven? Or is it in hell…that damned elusive Daily Mail!

  23. margaret welsh

    You silly gorgeous cow! How lovely and brave–keep going an know that I WILL NEVER DO THAT but love you for doing so…don’t mind the Brits–they’re always pissed off–not enough vitamin D 🙂

  24. Andrea Edwards

    Absolutely brilliant, well done. I’ve spent a lifetime hating my body and wondering why the hell I do? I remember a photo taken when I was 15, and I hated it. Years later I looked back at it and thought I was bloody hot, what the hell was I going on about? I try and hold onto that every time I hate myself in a picture because this hatred has never left me – it’s bloody horrible. So bravo, this is a really terrific message to send to the world. I continue to try to learn this lesson, because it is crippling xxxxxxx

    1. Shannon

      Hello Andrea — I wonder if maybe we all have hatred of our bodies. Since I’ve been exploring my own body hatred I’ve been looking around the web at all of the models who’ve died of anorexia. To see them in their prime is to see perfection. Yet they all hated the way they looked. It’s just heartbreaking that so many of us struggle with either severe or just a consistent malaise of dissatisfaction. I assure you you are not alone Andrea. I think the best we can do sometimes is to NOT BE UPSET with ourselves for being dissatisfied. Maybe it’s normal considering all the advertising pressure we all receive daily. kisses to you.

  26. Jamie

    My husband just came home and I was about to start your video so he watched it with me.

    Now he is even more excited to meet you (46-year-old you!) *wiggles eyebrows*

    He thinks you’re still “super hot.”

  30. Lucille Renwick

    Shannon. You have given a gift to far more than yourself. You have given a gift to all of us who look in the mirror every day and nit-pick at ourselves, hoping that a nip and a tuck would make us happier. If every woman could take photos of themselves every decade or so and stop for 3 minutes and embrace the gorgeous bodies that get us up every day, carry our children, please our partners, run for the bus or train, lift the groceries and so much more. We need to be kinder to ourselves and stop waiting for Hollywood to get their heads out of their asses and see bodies of all sizes as beautiful. Bravo, dear friend.

    1. Shannon

      Hi honey — Yes, you and I have spent a lot of time commiserating about our middles. Funny how when I see you I think, “Damn that woman’s hot!” Now if we could just give each other our vision. Love you! Miss you!

  31. Marta

    Sometimes I’m really struck by coincidence. How one can stumble onto something so applicable to their own life. I can’t remember who or how, but someone tweeted this post and I struck by time that I rarely have actually clicked it and opened. Then time ran away, but I left the tab open on my computer. A reminder to come back to it. And I’m back. And stunned. Stunned by your beauty. Then and now. Stunned by how on February 20th I wrote something similar, but without your optimism. More with regret for how hard I am on myself (and continue to be) and a wish not to be (but not sure how). I only hope before I’m 46 I can come to accept my body with all of its flaws, imperfections and beauty.

    1. Shannon

      I’m going to visit you now. I really struggled with the After photos for a few days. Then my husband talked some sense into me and got me to look at them again. Slowly I am holding them close and am so grateful just to be healthy. In 2006 I had a very impossible digestive ailment (which is now much better). I dropped down to 116 lbs which I hadn’t weighed since high school and I looked horrible. From the waist down I was fantastic, but from the waist up terrifying. Crone like and ill-looking. Weight is life. We need to be healthy above all.

  32. Juliette Woods

    You really did a beautiful job on this. Funny thing, I slowly and healthfully lost 62 pounds and now am the same weight I was in high school. Now I’m bitching because at 57 my muscle tone is not the same as before. Everyone says I look great, but I think to myself…”not without my clothes on.” How silly is that? Geez! Thanks for the wake up call. : )

  34. Mary

    Wow. great message. I think along similar lines every time I face a birthday. Not so much about my body but that I am should just be happy to be having a birthday and to be alive!!

  35. J.C.

    Wow. just wow. I stumbled onto this via The Bloggess and have now found myself in an unexpected ugly cry. Wow. Your words and photos resonate so completely for me. Goddess bless you! And Goddess help me to accept and love the skin I am living in. Thank you!

  36. Anne

    Loved your video. Very gutsy. Very beautiful. It moved me to tears. I wonder why this is so much a core issue for so many of us. Has it always been? Since mirrors?

    And the Kenneth Alton quote about the ‘terrible beauty’- wow. Thank you.

    1. Shannon

      Hi Anne — one of the Huffington Post readers said that Joan Rivers has a problem due to all of her plastic surgery, whereas Mick Jagger is hideously wrinkled but doesn’t care and is obviously confident in his skin. This got me to thinking about what it means to be a woman in this culture. Everyone can say that women have come a long way due to the Feminist Movement and thank God for that movement or things would be untenable. But I still think women get the message – from infancy on – that they are appreciated for their beauty while men are appreciated more for what they can accomplish. I wonder if that will ever disappear.

  37. Miss Annie V.

    I am moved and inspired beyond words… This comes from a gal previously too self-conscious/self-aware/simply afraid of so much as wearing short sleeves in my own home. I so wish I had found you sooner! Stunning. xo

  38. GirltoMom- Heidi

    Shannon, I love your video and your Huffpost articles. I saw you in person and you’re the perfect weight. I’ll have you know that tons of people have clicked on to my blog to see a picture of you! You go, girlfriend!!!

  39. Rob

    Shannon,
    Beautiful video and sentiment. It really strikes a chord with many. Remiinds me that it’s very important for fathers to be supportive of thier daughters’ body image.
    You know that I have always found you beautiful inside and out. Thanks for sharing your insight and wisdom.

  40. Loosecannon

    Beautifully done! I am right there, hating my body. I AM overweight, but I think what I see is so much fatter than reality. My 7 and 13 yr olds tell me ” mama, you are not fat!” God bless them!

    1. Shannon

      I guarantee you that you are not seeing the way your really look. I just showed my extended family my interview on Fox 11 news, and I hate the way I look. They saw me in a completely different way. I.E. positively.

  41. Catherine

    Yep — I was tearing up as I watched this. Beautiful message — from a gorgeous 46 year-old. Thank you for sharing. I sure hope that this message spreads far and wide. We need more of your wisdom and less of the oscars… xoxox Cath

  42. paul

    Uh, hello? You look way better now than you did then. Girl vs. Woman. Skinny vs. Healthy. Vain vs . . . vs. . . . well, not sure. Self-assured? I’ll take the 46 yr. old version any day.

    1. Shannon

      Michelle thank you so much. I hope it’s helpful. I think we are all walking on the same path of a culture that seems to hate women.

  45. Kelly

    Such a beautiful, intimate and vulnerable insight to share. Thank you for your depth and courage.

  46. Danny Dix

    I’m sorry but I need to confess right here and now…(sorry ladies, cover your ears cos this is totally inappropriate)…but as a man I’d waaay more love to run off with she of the gorgeously beautiful, most stunning and spellbinding 46 year old body along with that witty intelligent yet whimsical mind than the sweet little 26 year old (have you done your homework yet) young girl.
    Ok…slap my face now. I’d most likely love that too.

  47. Karen

    this is beautiful! after two babies, a stroke 8 months ago, a feeding tube and numerous surgeries and scars and weight loss and gains,i can’t say that i love my body, but i do love that its fought its way back and am amazed at what it can do after being so battered. You are a strong woman to post this!

    1. Shannon

      Hi Karen — In my constant quest for some ideal I do forget to thank my body for carrying two babies, recovering from 2 c-sections and various other dents, bruises and scars from my 46+ years. This reminds me that our bodies truly are temples.

  48. Amy Mayer

    Thank you for helping me accept the changes in my body too. To me you were always the most stunningly beautiful creature. The fact that you felt that way about yourself makes me realize that maybe I’ve been a little hard on myself too. One thing I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is that beauty really does come from the inside. I spent last night with a couple of 70 year old women that were the most beautiful creatures. I loved their laugh, their stories, and their hearts. We are slowly getting there too. Someday…maybe we will be as beautiful as them.

  49. saving private sheep apk

    My Final Nude Salvo (Until I’m 66) | | The Woman Formerly Known as BeautifulThe Woman Formerly Known as Beautiful Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I have truly enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again soon!

  50. Tom Sexton

    I’ve been a nudist all my adult life and I always feel comfortable and relaxed without uncomfortable clothes! Tom

  51. Laurie

    I wish there was some way to share this with my six year old daughter. She recently was planning a party and didn’t want to invite one friend because, she said, “Julianna always looks pretty.” I was shocked. Floored. Cannot imagine where it came from. Not from me. There has never been any emphasis on looks in our home. It made me so incredibly sad to hear her say that….I want to, need to, change that attitude. Any suggestions would be so appreciated.

    1. Shannon

      I was starting to get some of that from my 8 year old. It seems to have quieted down. I find every opportunity to genuinely compliment her. I frequently admire how strong her legs are- as she’s a soccer player. I compliment her creativity, her intelligence and her utterly adorable freckles.

  52. Marcheline

    Well… I’ve only seen two of your “Love Your Body” photo shoots so far, and it seems a little odd to me that the people being photographed actually have very few things about them that are physically unattractive. I didn’t see anyone with a fat, droopy belly or cottage cheese thighs. I mean, I get the point of what you’re saying, but the photos don’t really back that up. Do a nude photo shoot of someone more than a little overweight, and then try and tell us how they’re supposed to love their body now. If I looked like you, or like the other woman (Beth, was it?) I would love my body now, too. It’s all emotional and gushy and yes, shouldn’t we all just accept ourselves, but when you really do need to lose weight, that sunny-side-up stuff just doesn’t fly.

    1. Shannon

      Hi Marcheline — I completely get what you’re saying. Both Beth and I don’t have much to complain about. But here’s the thing, we BOTH truly feel/felt insecure about aspects of our bodies. So I guess the point these two sets of photos make is that the 80% of women who feel dissatisfied with their bodies are within healthy BMIs. Which yet again seems to reinforce the notion that we’re getting screwed up messages from relationships (whether it be friends, parents or lovers) and the media. Now. Our goal over the long term is to shoot women of all shapes, sizes and ages in a way that is loving and flattering. And while it’s true that there are women out there who are unhealthily overweight, my thought — and this is an experiment — is that if that particular woman can learn to love her body now, then perhaps it can put her on the path to treating her body with love and a healthier lifestyle. SHAME IS NOT TRANSFORMATIVE, LOVE IS.

  53. Rick

    Shannon, I think you look amazing! You have nothing at all to worry about. You look better now than when you were younger and much better than most of the women I have been dating lately. I would love to find a girl who has taken care of themselves like you have. I have been active and fit my whole life but a few years back I started to gain a couple inches at my waist and cut back on my eating and went back to my high school weight of 155# and 32″ waist. I wish there was a mens version of your site because most men my age look pretty sad.

    1. Shannon

      Hi Rick — Thanks for the compliment. I miss not worrying about what I can eat, but I seem to be holding the fort at my current size. You know Beth and Marlene and I discussed including a man in our series. Will send them your comment and see what we can come up with. xo S

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