Determined To Succeed

Remember the glory days of school field trips? Oh, they were awesome. You were in home room and your teacher announced that the class was going to take a field trip to (insert museum, institution or performing arts center of your choice here). She/he handed out the requisite permission slips and it was like getting a free plane ticket. At least it was for me. It meant I got a chance to get out of the classroom and see something else. And one of the trips I remember was to the Art Institute of Chicago.

You’ve heard me talk about this place before and how it houses my favorite painting in the world (Paris Street: Rainy Day by French artist Gustave Caillebotte) but I distinctly remember my field trip to the Art Institute for another reason. The first time I saw naked people and not just any naked people, naked women. And not just naked women but beautiful, full-figured Rubenesque women with not only ample bosom and hips but also of, in some cases rolls of pudge and cellulite.

They were some of the most beautiful paintings I had (and have) ever seen.

My mom had always told me, even when I was a boy, the human body was nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about and here in this museum was the proof. Thanks to the art and influence of  Peter Paul Rubens we got to see “real” women, full-bodied women, voluptuous and zaftig who were painted as beautiful subjects full of life, ripeness and sensuality.

Now where in the hell did society go wrong? When did we go from seeing beautiful women of curves transformed into heroin-chic stick figures whom the fashion industry considers “beautiful.” For the life of me I can’t imagine why these women (and men) would be any more attractive naked than the Rubenesque women portrayed in the paintings I saw in the museum.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines naked in several ways after the customary 1) not covered by clothing: nude definition. The most interesting definitions, however, are the following:

3 a : scantily supplied or furnished b : lacking embellishment : unadorned

4 : unarmed, defenseless

5 : lacking confirmation or support

6 : devoid of concealment or disguise

7 : unaided by any optical device or instrument <the naked eye>

Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating that naked is exactly how people of size can feel when standing in front of the mirror at home. We lack embellishment standing there with our Rubenesque rolls (a.k.a. love handles, cellulite and pudge) staring back at us defenseless and vulnerable. It is a naked feeling to do this. Add to that the lacking of confirmation and support from society, the fashion, television and movie industries, etc., and we do truly feel naked. And it is because we cannot disguise or conceal our “ample size” we don’t show our legs or arms in shorts or tank tops. That is why we stay away from the beach in the summer. That is why I don’t wear shorts (that, and my varicose veins in my right leg). To the naked eye we are considered not Rubenesque we are just considered plain old fat.

Our days are getting warmer which means our clothes are getting thinner. They cannot conceal our figures. And that is OK. When we are naked we truly feel naked, and there isn’t a damn person I know at least who is completely 100% happy with everything their body has going on. So do not be embarrassed or ashamed about your bodies. They are yours and if you are on a weight loss journey they’re what you have to work with. You are doing your best to make them smaller, weigh less and become leaner. I know I am. But when I stand in front of the mirror every day I see my fat and extra skin from losing weight. Yep, I do. But it’s then that the words of my mom come back to me…

“…son, the human body is nothing to be ashamed about. It is beautiful.”

As I think of my mama more and more as Mother’s Day approaches I share with you her wisdom and lesson she imparted to me. Be proud of your naked body. It is not something to hide. While we may have extra rolls and skin we don’t want we are no less attractive and just every bit as sexy naked as those damned “high-fashion” models in the magazines…

…and every bit as beautiful as the model in the recent Lane Bryant television ad and the Rubenesque naked people depicted in some of my favorite paintings in my favorite art museum in the entire world. And if a little tubby kid from the South Side of Chicago can take that with him from one field trip and have it stay with him, there’s hope for humanity yet.