MY FACEBOOK page has gone mental over the past 24 hours.

I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

All because of this image. A powerful image that I decided to share.

Yesterday this photograph of Cindy Crawford popped up on my Twitter timeline and it was so brilliant, so brave, so real, I just had to share it with my readers.

Because you see this is no ordinary image. Yes it’s Cindy being ‘super’ but it’s very different to images we normally see of her. Because this one is untouched.

NO PHOTOSHOPPING.

Just Cindy looking magnificent, every inch the supermodel but with stretch marks, slight mummy tummy an’ all, on show.

Bravo Cindy. Bra-bloody-vo!

The image is apparently from a Marie Claire shoot. Sadly I can’t for certain say that it is totally real as I can’t find the original source. The best I could find out is that the image was used in Marie Claire last year. (For which country, for which edition I have no clue).

Before I posted it, I wanted to try and make sure that it was ‘real’ (as best I could) so I searched for images of the beautiful Cindy and I did find a few of her in a bikini on the beach and yes, low and behold, there she was looking very similar to the professional image, with a little mummy tummy, some stretch marks and a slight wobble here and there.

Still undeniably gorgeous. And still a total goddess but refreshingly real. Refreshingly normal.

I also remembered a quote she said years ago, which went something along the lines of; “Even I don’t look like Cindy Crawford.”

Powerful ey?

I can’t tell you how much respect I have for Cindy, the professional famous model, to do this. And how much I want to thank her, for taking away the fantasy for a wee while and showing us reality –  the real figure of a 48 year old supermodel who has had two children.

When I first saw the image on Twitter, I actually gasped. A loud, audible gasp. Not because I don’t think she looks fierce and fabulous (because she does) but because it’s SO real.

And my reaction made me realise just how brainwashed we actually are.

How even though the majority of us know and understand that nearly every image we ever see in a magazine or on advertising has been pimped up, airbrushed and preened to perfection, we still fall prey -myself included! – into thinking that some women actually look perfect.

Crazy isn’t it?

But are we ready for reality? And can we handle it?

Or have we become so accustomed to photoshopped images that seeing someone with their ‘imperfections’ makes us feel strange now?

Seeing Cindy like this made me feel empowered. It really did. In fact this morning when I glanced at my little mummy tummy in the mirror, I actually smiled to myself and thought “hey, if it’s good enough for a super model, it’s good enough for me!”

But that’s not to say I want all fantasy to be scrapped. I love glamour and think the world would be a sadder, duller place without it.

Make up, flattering lightening, talented photography and a little airbrushing (to remove a spot or even out skin tone) is absolutely fine by me.

But yes, I want more reality. I want my daughter to see more reality. And I want the intense level of fakery to stop.

Ultimately I want to see women more as they are.

Because I believe it will take the pressure off. Because I believe that it will enable more women to look at their own bodies with pride and love.

Because I think reality is beautiful and it’s time the media stopped trying to make us all feel like failures. (Even the ‘supers’).

This photograph of Cindy shows that reality – with all of it’s flaws – can be just as glamorous and actually more fabulous than anything we come across which is photoshopped to death.

So yes I think fantasy has it’s place in our lives but not to the extent that we find ourselves forgetting what ‘normal’ actually looks like.

Cindy may not be ‘perfect’ in this image but my goodness she sure as hell screams confidence.

“THIS is who I am” it says.

And guess what? People LOVE it.

——-

*UPDATE  12/02/15 – The image has now been removed from  my page as I simply could not keep up with the activity or notifications! At last count, it had received over 4.5k likes and over 1.1k shares in less than 36 hours. (Bonkers). I think that answers my question perfectly… (Thanks to everyone who commented, liked and shared it!X)

With love,

Kate