Beauty, Pod-casts and Athleticism

I went for a easy, loping 6 mile training hike today. Okay, I am making fun of myself but really, I did 6 miles in under 2 hours in a full July heated day starting at 2:46 Pm. Loping.

When I walk with Don, I do not wear headphones and neither does he. But when I walk alone or exercise at the gym, I find them an absolute necessity. IF I didn't wear them, I would surely quit early into the work out.

Today, I was listening to one of my recent finds in the pod-cast world "Stuff Mom never told you about". The episode, click below if you want to listen to it, featured a beauty blogger interview. I found the interview fascinating and very thought provoking but what I want to pursue here is her contention that athletes don't obsess over their body image as much as the rest of us do. And I fully admit to obsessing. And to her credit, this was a brief, oh so brief mention but I thought about it for almost the rest of the walk even though I was ostensibly listening to the rest of her interview and other pod-casts of Fresh Air.

A Lovely Conversation on Beauty & Feminism

Released Jul 15, 2013

How has Photoshop, social media and modern advertising altered the meaning of beauty? Cristen interviews beauty scholar Autumn Whitefield-Madrono of The Beheld

I have big calf muscles. People frequently ask me if I am a dancer and I have to say no, I'm not, to which everyone is always surprised. Then, I get asked if I am a runner and up until recently, I have to say no to that one too. I just have big calf muscles. In my defense, so does my dad. Okay, I really don't have nice looking legs. I can recall only one man that I enticed with my legs and that was at moment in my life when I was existing on cigarettes and white wine so I was at one of my all time thin points. Also one of my most unhealthy both emotionally and physically.

Right now, with all this walking and especially up and down hills, my strong, stocky legs are an asset. Which brings me back to Autumn's comment. Does the fact that I am so focused on this physical activity make me feel better about my body, or to not feel about its 'deficiencies' at all? Sadly, right now, I can say that I must not be much of an athlete.