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Look, I'm no fool. Kate Upton is hot, and boys will find a way to get their hands on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue no matter what. My son isn't a teenager yet, but I know what lies ahead. (And honestly, the SI Swimsuit Issue is pretty tame compared to most of the pages your average young dude has bookmarked on his browser.)
Anyway, when the time comes, I don't want my son to feel like he has to stuff his Sports Illustrated to the bottom of his backpack. Guys dig pictures of naked chicks, and that's all there is to that. So he can check out Kate Upton's replacement without shame.
BUT FIRST, we're going to sit down and have ourselves a little mother/son chat called "Photoshop and Incredibly Unrealistic Standards of Beauty You Better Not Measure Any Real Woman Against, Ever."
More from The Stir: Get Kate Upton's Look -- Even If You Aren't a Swimsuit Model
Because if there's one thing that bugs me about Pictures of Naked Chicks in general, it's that guys don't usually stop to think about what that hot model looked like before the pic was retouched. Which is fine for fantasy purposes, but not when real life expectations surrounding girls and sex start to be digitally altered, too.
Guess what, son? Real girls have cellulite and pimples and scars. Sometimes one boob is bigger than the other. Sometimes there's actually hair somewhere on a girl's body besides her head. (Or razor burn or those little bumps you get from waxing in place of said hair.) Sometimes girls don't have an evenly distributed glowing golden tan -- and god help you if you point that out to her when she's on the beach in a bikini. Don't say I didn't warn you, boy. Whatever she does to you, you'll deserve it.
I believe it's my responsibility as a mother to raise my son to know the difference between real beauty and fake, Photoshopped "perfection." And to always choose the former over the latter.
Would you be okay with your son reading the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition?
Image via Sports Illustrated
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Comments (15)
It's nothing you couldnt see at a regular old beach so I would have no problem with it. The Victorias Secret catalogues I get in the mail show as much skin as this.
Nope, I won't be letting my son look at this. I don't consider looking at unpure pictures "normal". That is a moral issue for me, so to each his own. But I'd like to bring up another point for all of you who think this is ok- do you think that it is ok for a young boy to have an unhealthy idea of what a woman's body looks like?
I think this is fine. Some women really DO look like this. Plus, in my experience, when guys are around a naked woman in real life they are so happy that they don't notice whether or not you look like an airbrushed photoshopped swimsuit model. Otherwise all us normal women would never have boyfriends or husbands.
Nope, I'm with elephantmama. It's a moral issue for us as well. My husband's eyes are for me, and mine are for him. On top of that, my husband had a porn addiction for years. It started with looking at underwear ads in the Sunday paper when he was a child and spiraled from there. It almost cost him his job, and caused many problems in our marriage as well. It took lots of expensive therapy, and he still goes to Sexaholics Anonymous every week.
elephantmama -actually, there are PLENTY of 19 year olds with bodies like this. Myabe with a little smaller boobs, or bigger butt, but when you're a teen and if you're healthy you should look somewhat like this. I know when I was 19 I had a rock hard body from running track, after I had my baby not so much LOL. So I do not see how a young man looking at a young woman like this would have an unhealthy view, I wouldnt want my young son dating a 30 year old w/ children. I also dont see how a bathing suit is unpure, but to each their own.
Arliss - so if you go to the beach do you both wear blindfolds, or do you avoid situations where there may be pretty girls? I mean, its inappropriate to check someone out yes, but its impossible to not look in the direction of other people the rest of your life. If you are in the mall is he not allowed to look at the Vicki's Sec photos that are blown up?
Stacey - First, I should clarify that it has nothing to do with what he is "allowed" to do. I did not make up these ideas and force them on him. They are his personal convictions that I happen to share. But when we go to the mall, he looks the other way when we walk past Victoria's Secret. When he goes to Target, he walks down an aisle that will not take him past the lingerie section. He is very careful with what he sees, and he does his best to plan ahead. Unfortunately, there are no beaches close to where we live, but when we go swimming, he is simply careful. Of course it is impossible to avoid seeing people for the rest of your life, but there is a great deal of space between oggling and wearing a blindfold.
Ok I can understand that. It is good he realizes certain things arent appropriate, and that if he cant control himself he is smart enough to understand that and avoid the situation. Thats one thing I think divides women from men, is I can look at a naked man and have sex be the farthest thing from my mind, even if he's attractive. men (of course not ALL men)? not so much.
Definitely agree with you on that last part. Like I said, our eyes are for each other only, but I have waaaay less trouble with that than he does. Pretty much zero, actually. It's not looking that gets me going. And there's not that much opportunity for a hot makeout session with a stranger at the mall :)