Can we talk a little more about Linda de Mol's body?
We saw her in a fuller making ‘naked suit’ on the cover. Or floating on an air mattress with a photoshopped plastic fantastic body. But the real Linda? Just on the beach, in swimwear? We last saw her ten years ago.
Because, uh, real women on the cover? Nah. That's not the norm, right? That didn't happen much in magazine land. And I consciously say happened, ‘cause times are changing. We're done with the perfect picture. We're no longer surprised by photos of butts with cellulite. We no longer look down on a model with stretch marks. We're actually relieved with role models like Miljuschka, Marieke Elsinga, and Vivian Hoorn, who consciously show us that real bodies come in all shapes and sizes. That we are way too hard on ourselves and that striving for perfection is dead and exhausting.
Be happy with the beautiful body you have been given. Take better care of it, instead of hurting it, comparing it, starving it, and constantly punishing it. You are just right as you are. If you enjoy exercising, do it because it makes YOU happy. If you enjoy eating healthy, do it because YOU are happy with it. Not because you see that lifestyle coming from fit girls and models and then think ‘that you have to do that to be beautiful’. The day we stop striving for perfection is the day we realize that perfection lies in self-acceptance. Stop searching for what you are looking for, and you will find it. It's almost paradoxical.
According to research by LINDA, three-quarters of mothers never appear in their own vacation photos, out of insecurity about their appearance. “While our children just find us the most beautiful mom and probably love to see us later in those childhood photos, instead of having to ask: ‘Weren't you in Greece then, mom? I don't see you anywhere,’ writes Linda on the magazine's website. ”To make that statement, I have to bare it all, so to speak. And thus in my bikini on the cover.“
55 years old, 78.3 kilos, fourteen years older and ten kilos heavier than the last time she posed in a bikini. Linda, I know it was a thing for you, but you just did it. You badass mom. I think you're amazing. And that body? I would SIGN UP IMMEDIATELY at fifty-five. Whoah.
Image: Linda.nl
