Natalie McCain - The Honest Body Project: Real Stories and Untouched Portraits of Women & Motherhood

Copyright 2017 by Natalie McCain

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Jenny Zemanek

Cover photograph by Natalie McCain

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-2093-0

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-2094-7

Printed in China

For every person whos ever been teased about their weight.

For every mom whos been judged.

For every woman whos been made to believe she needs to change to fit societys view of beautiful.

For my beautiful children, Anna and Matthew.

Be you and dont ever apologize for it.

CONTENTS

I started this project for so many reasons. She is one of them. I want my daughter to know that she is more than what size her pants are. I want her to stand up to bullies, to anyone who may talk about the way she looks, or the way her friends look. I want her to love herself. I want to show her that I am comfortable in my own skin and that she should be, too.

INTRODUCTION

A new mother stands in front of the mirror in tears holding her newborn, staring at a figure that is no longer familiar to her. Her once-smooth skin now bears the marks of her expanded belly. She doesnt recognize this woman and all the changes her body has been through. Society has told her she needs to bounce back from her pregnancythat she needs to fix herself. At a time when she should be celebrating what her body has done, we have convinced her that she should be ashamed of how she looks. With celebrities shedding the weight within weeks, their images plastered on magazines; with creams and wraps to shrink us, lasers to smooth us, Photoshop to fix us, we have forgotten that our natural bodies are beautiful. At a time when we should be doing nothing else but bonding with our babies, we are worried about how the world will see us.

Now imagine this same woman, staring in the mirror, yet this time with a different heart. She is marveling at what her body was capable of. She sees her stretch marks as a beautiful sign that she grew her child. She smiles at her soft belly, where her child was nourished for nine months. She wipes her tears, she hugs her baby, and she realizes that she is truly beautiful.

At a time when we should be celebrating our bodieswe have learned to shame them. We need to break the cycle that society has pushed on us and stop shaming our bodies.

I have spent the past year photographing hundreds of women for The Honest Body Project . I am celebrating women and their natural shape, no Photoshop to cover their so-called imperfections. The women bared their bodies and souls for this cause. You will read about their struggles, their joys, the ups and downs of womanhood. The body positivity movement is growing; women are finally standing up and realizing their beauty. We dont need to fit societys view of what is beautifuland we dont need societys permission to love ourselves. Imagine a world where every woman learned to appreciate and love herself. That is the world that I want to raise my daughter in.

As a child I suffered from body image issues and a lack of self-esteem. I always felt too fat, too ugly, not worthy of attention or praise. I was always slightly chubby but not at an unhealthy weight. But it was all I could see in myself, the extra pounds that many of my friends didnt have. I played sports, I was active, yet my body wasnt perfect like I hoped it would be. I remember a male coach from one of my sports teams telling me that if I just slimmed down and lost some weight I would be beautiful and an even better athlete. I began throwing up my breakfast before school. I stopped eating lunch. Did I lose weight? No. Did I become a better athlete? No. My hatred for my body grew, and I quit that sport after the next season.

We live in a world where people think it is okay to criticize a childs body and to tell a new mother that she should be losing the weight faster. Even friends will offer you samples of miracle creams and wraps that magically shrink you. The marketing plans by these companies are genius. They target women who have been told by society that they arent good enough. This has to stop.

The photographs in my book arent simply photographs showing imperfections. When I look at these images, I see beyond the imperfections. I see joy radiating from these women. I see the look of love on a mothers face. I see real beauty. For too long weve hidden things: our emotions, our bodies, our truths. Being honest with myself and sharing that truth with the world is the most freeing feeling Ive ever experienced. The chapters in my book cover many topics of womanhood, including being a new mother, the loss of a parent, body image issues, the loss of a child, placing a child for adoption, battling cancer, breaking the cycle of abuse, and many more. No woman should feel like shes alone. I hope that no matter what you have been through, you will find support and healing through my book. Since beginning the project I have cried, Ive laughed, Ive grown, and Ive become a better person because of these women. I have realized that we all have a story, and its up to each of us to speak out and share it with others. Lets stand up together and share our stories, our pasts, and our lives with one another. Its time to get honest.

Natalie

CHAPTER ONE

BODY IMAGE

LEARNING TO LOVE YOURSELF

Body image is the perception that a person has of their physical self. Immense pressure is put on women to look the certain way society deems is beautiful. We tear ourselves down trying to live up to impossible standards. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, the body type portrayed in advertising as the ideal is possessed naturally by only 5 percent of American women. We stand in front of the mirror and criticize our bodies, calling ourselves fat or imperfect, and wishing we looked different. We would never speak to our friends this way, yet women have these thoughts daily about themselves. Challenge yourself to change your inner voice, to speak kindly to yourself, and to end the negative cycle. Your body is beautifuland any imperfections you may have are what make you unique.