No, Sports Illustrated, This Is a "Real" Woman

The Internet is abuzz with praise for Sports Illustrated featuring a truly plus-size model, a "real" woman. I, on the other hand, will not be joining in.

First, I will not applaud a magazine that objectifies women, of any size for that matter. How is displaying a fuller woman on a men's magazine any different than displaying a thinner woman? The purpose is still the same.

Second, I will not allow media and men to tell me what is real and beautiful. Is my 4'11", 110-pound, curve-less body any less beautiful or womanly than hers? Which leads me to my third point, how is this woman more "real" than any other?

Of course, based on the modeling world, she may have more common and attainable proportions. But I would hardly call that more real. When it comes to physical appearance, there is no "real" woman. Women come in every imaginable shape and size,

including petite with no hourglass figure

to plus size with a rounded figure.

And those women and all the rest in every possible in-between size, with or without "flaws," are beautiful and womanly.

Karen Crespo, the first quadruple amputee to model in a runway show at New York Fashion Week

Yet, the focus is still on the wrong attribute. A woman's curves, or lack thereof, do not define her identity as a woman. What makes a woman real is her strength, her kindness, her courage, her perseverance, her happiness, her love--especially for herself. All these qualities, and many more, are what make her truly and undeniably beautiful and womanly. 

Any woman can fit into that standard of womanhood and beauty regardless of her size or looks. And that is what we women should strive for. As Lupita Nyong'o said, "Beauty was not a thing that I could acquire or consume. It was something that I just had to be." May we all be beautiful and real women.

All photos were found on the Facebook page A Mighty Girl.