THIS POST CONTAINS NUDITY

In the beginning of the world (as I believe it to be) God created man. Then he created woman.

So God created mankind in his own image,
   in the image of God he created them;
   male and female he created them. - Genesis 1:27

They were just fine on their own, hanging in the Garden with their Creator. No feelings of inadequacy, no hiding behind trees in shame- just 2 brand new people and a supreme being. And I should point out that they were naked.

I’m not going to throw out my interpretation of the facts, but I do find it interesting that those 2 kids were created in the image of God, and they had no clothes. I would love to ask “Does God wear clothes?” but I don’t want to change the subject of this post.

It wasn’t until someone abused food in the Garden (dang you EVE!!!), that clothing even came into play. She ate something she wasn’t supposed to. And she was immediately aware of the fact her body wasn’t good enough to be seen naked anymore. Not by her Creator, and not by Adam. Figures this whole mess starts with food…

From the beginning of time, food has been a sore spot for us girls. And some guys. We eat the things we aren’t supposed to, and we become ashamed. So we hide under robes, and animal skins, and sweat pants, and lycra. We hope our clothing minimizes the transgressions of our appetites. We say it’s because of modesty, being pure, not leading others to sinful thoughts. But I wonder--- if we stripped away all the cultural taboos of the human form…

...would we still be ashamed of our bodies?

I have a blogging friend, Julia (author of JewliaGoulia) who is 26 years old. She is an art student. And she has lost a STAGGERING 141 pounds. In one year. Her journey is amazing. And you should meet her. I really love this girl, her kahonas, and her determination.

Jules has been working on a project for her Photograhpic Problems class. Her new series, entitled TRUTH, has been met with some shocking opposition. Her pictures deal with what some might consider “body issues” and are not limited by size or gender.

For example, these are some tidbits from her series:

But the real problem was when Julia BRAVELY stepped out from behind the camera, and showed the world her body. After losing an entire person’s worth of weight.

This is the living breathing picture of her form, 141 pounds lighter, and FREE:

The majority of the comments she received were positive- it is a beautiful piece. Perhaps not to someone who doesn’t know the story behind her journey, but for those of us who DO KNOW, it is a declaration of her spirit.

In her artistic genius, she has done all of us a favor. She exposed the world to what is really under the weight loss. And every single one of us owes her a THANK YOU.

So often, we get caught up in the “skinny” trap. What we perceive to be beautiful is only what we have been trained to see as beautiful- thin, airbrushed, and photoshopped. When someone mixes things up with raw real photography, can we still see the beauty? I do, absolutely, but I wonder, if this is our reality- after the weight is lost and we have reached our goal- how many of us will keep fighting? Do we just want to be skinny?

OR DO WE EARNESTLY WANT TO BE FREE?

I am turning off the comments on this post. After all Julia has heard (including an anonymous heckler calling her disgusting) I feel it is my responsibility to shelter her from any more comments like this. If you have something to say, you can email it to me directly at oscbb@yahoo.com . This is not something she has asked me to do, but the mother inside of me feels it’s my duty to protect her. Because I want this for ALL my readers. I want us to break free of the stereotypes of our culture. I want us to be so confident in who we are that we are unafraid to step out from behind the camera.

I want all of us to find FREEDOM.

Julia- on a personal note, this picture blew me out of the water. You already know how I feel about it, but it merits being said again: I was so deeply moved by this photo that I WEPT. I see the passion behind this photo. I know every feeling that is found in each roll, each piece of excess skin that you wear. Every stretch mark speaks of a battle you have fought and won. I am so proud of you that my heart breaks.

I have never seen a picture that is so unique, and yet reminds me why I endure this journey week after week. It is for freedom that we diet. It is to be  released from ourselves, inside and out, to reach beyond society and be comfortable in our own skin. All of it. I am pleased beyond explanation that this picture will be gracing my home very soon. It reminds me every single time I see it how hard this battle is, and that winning means a lot more than being THIN.

It’s all about being FREE.

My darling girl-

YOU.

ARE.

BREATHTAKING.