Post by tapati on Nov 1, 2009 23:40:28 GMT -5
A Practical Application of Body Image Principles
In 2001 I was diagnosed with heart disease like my parents before me. I went through a quadruple bypass procedure and acquired the scars that go with it—one prominent scar bisecting my chest and two running up the inside of my legs. When I got over the pain and discomfort and looked in the mirror, at first all I could see was that ugly scar on my chest. It looked like a large centipede was crawling up from between my breasts. I don’t know a woman alive who wants a big scar like that on her chest!
It was depressing but after a few weeks I thought, “Come on now, you teach body image, you’ve written about it, you’ve had and taught years of classes—apply it!”
I realized that there was nothing I could do about the scar itself. Some women respond by getting a tattoo of vines or something around it, but that wasn’t a tattoo I wanted and it would be expensive to have done. I decided that eventually I would adjust but in the meantime I could distract myself from obsessing about it by doing something to re-focus my attention. So—I went to a salon and had my hair bleached, something I had never done!
The difference was so startling that really, all I could look at was my hair and face. I had it cut very short and as it grew out it had a frosted appearance. It was very striking and I received a lot of compliments.
Meanwhile I decided to treat my scar as if it were a normal part of my body and not hide it. It is rare to see scars from heart surgery. Men wear business shirts that hide it, and most women don’t really want others to see it. I felt that we would never get used to seeing these scars unless some women were willing to just wear normal clothing. I was reminded of Deena Metzger’s brave poster standing with arms outstretched, topless, showing her mastectomy scar. I wanted to follow her example.
Recently, on the TV show Sons of Anarchy, we saw Katey Sagal with a heart surgery scar on her chest. We looked online and discovered that it is applied by a make up artist for the character she plays who had a genetic heart condition corrected by surgery.
I would like to see more of this very positive realism in TV and movies. Does anyone doubt, watching Katey, that she’s one sexy, beautiful woman? I hope she knows it!
In 2001 I was diagnosed with heart disease like my parents before me. I went through a quadruple bypass procedure and acquired the scars that go with it—one prominent scar bisecting my chest and two running up the inside of my legs. When I got over the pain and discomfort and looked in the mirror, at first all I could see was that ugly scar on my chest. It looked like a large centipede was crawling up from between my breasts. I don’t know a woman alive who wants a big scar like that on her chest!
It was depressing but after a few weeks I thought, “Come on now, you teach body image, you’ve written about it, you’ve had and taught years of classes—apply it!”
I realized that there was nothing I could do about the scar itself. Some women respond by getting a tattoo of vines or something around it, but that wasn’t a tattoo I wanted and it would be expensive to have done. I decided that eventually I would adjust but in the meantime I could distract myself from obsessing about it by doing something to re-focus my attention. So—I went to a salon and had my hair bleached, something I had never done!
The difference was so startling that really, all I could look at was my hair and face. I had it cut very short and as it grew out it had a frosted appearance. It was very striking and I received a lot of compliments.
Meanwhile I decided to treat my scar as if it were a normal part of my body and not hide it. It is rare to see scars from heart surgery. Men wear business shirts that hide it, and most women don’t really want others to see it. I felt that we would never get used to seeing these scars unless some women were willing to just wear normal clothing. I was reminded of Deena Metzger’s brave poster standing with arms outstretched, topless, showing her mastectomy scar. I wanted to follow her example.
Recently, on the TV show Sons of Anarchy, we saw Katey Sagal with a heart surgery scar on her chest. We looked online and discovered that it is applied by a make up artist for the character she plays who had a genetic heart condition corrected by surgery.
I would like to see more of this very positive realism in TV and movies. Does anyone doubt, watching Katey, that she’s one sexy, beautiful woman? I hope she knows it!