Let Them Be #Curvy

Instagram has some kooky rules on what hashtags it bans or not: Instagram bans users from searching for photos tagged as 'curvy' - but continues to allow images labeled with 'skinny', 'thin', and even 'anorexia.'

The word “curvy” has been used a lot on Instagram to hashtag photos containing nudity, but other more explicit words like #penis or #vagina are apparently ok to search for on the site.

The example of the reverse being banned, thinspo, is very different, right? Thinspo has been banned because it encourages the use of too-skinny girls as inspiration for what some worry are anorexics browsing for pics of inspiration.

Is Instagram afraid women are going to start looking at “curvy” women as inspiration to gain weight? We wouldn’t want that now, would we?

Actually, the whole idea of banning certain words from searches is ridiculous. Yes, I know Instagram is a private business and so can make the rules. But the rules don’t make sense.

When will we learn that “hiding” things, or banning them, just makes them more attractive and another #curvy word will just come to replace the one left behind.

If someone wants to fins naked pics on Instagram, they will find them, regardless of the words they are tagged with!

If a woman wants to empower herself by using the term #curvy as an awesome way to identify her body positively, then by God, let her and let people be able to find her and celebrate her.

I may not be curvy, but today I am #curvy!

Warning: Degrading Job Ahead

Which is a more degrading occupation? A stripper or an office worker?

Apparently, they both suck. In A former female tech worker turned exotic dancer says both are‘degrading in their own ways,’ we are told both jobs leave "Tiffany" unhappy.

I couldn’t agree more. I remember when I made the transition from stripper to administrative assistant that I had moments where I would wonder which was worse—dancing naked for dollars or fetching coffee and faxing for dollars.

“Degrading” could be seen by another individual as an entirely different occupation.

A lot of it has to do with the eye of the beholder, or in this case, the eye of the worker. Different things make people feel shame or humiliation.

Of course, there are certain tasks or how someone is spoken to that can inherently up the degrading factor, (like being called names, having drinks poured on you, or being asked to, ahem, for $20), but we all have different tolerance levels.

Have you ever had a job that you felt was degrading that didn’t involve shedding clothes?

Pro-anorexia Sites Not So Bad After All?

Interesting article by Amanda Hess abut pro-anorexia sites on Slate: Let Them Blog: The panic over pro-anorexia websites and social media isn’t healthy.

The consensus has been that these sites are dangerous and triggering for those with eating disorders. The sites often give thinspiration or “thinspo” tips and photos, basically encouraging people’s eating disorders as a lifestyle instead of as an illness.

Pro-ana blogs are easier to understand when you stop seeing them as propaganda organs and start viewing them as expressions of mental illness. In a paper published last year, psychotherapist Tom Wooldridge describes one patient with anorexia who used pro-ana blogging as “a psychic retreat” where she could “withdraw from overwhelming emotional pain.” Some sites are less autobiographical diaries and more portraits of anorexia itself: Posting thigh gap after thigh gap to Tumblr helps some girls release the pressure of the images that anorexia pounds relentlessly into their heads. One pro-ana blogger, who blogs under the handle AnaGirl Empath, cautions that pro-ana’s more extreme manifestations are “creative alliterations” that should not be “interpreted literally.” As the French sociologist Antonio Casilli put it last year, “Criminalizing these websites means [criminalizing] mental illness—a double burden for sufferers.” 

This change in focus could be healthy for those who suffer from any kind of mental illness, not just eating disorders.

If more sufferers felt free to write their experiences in any way that comes naturally to them while they are in the throes of an illness, how therapeutic that could be.

For the readers searching for tips on fasting and getting thinner, all they need to do is go to just about any Internet site.

Perhaps the harm is coming from somewhere else...

Write Your Stories

Sometimes it takes real bravery to tell your story.

There’s lots that can go wrong: people may judge you, you may have to make changes in your life, or you may even offend someone.

You can tell your story anyway.

If you have a story, or a “secret,” that you’re holding in…write it down.

There’s lots that can go right: people may celebrate you, you may get to make changes in your life, or you may even inspire someone.

Write your story down, even if you share it with no one.

The act of writing your story out can be transformational.

Don't Buy My Book!

A great essay in New York Magazine by Lily Burana, Where’s the Female-Stripper Movie of My Dreams? She brings up a lot of the same points that I see when comparing the female and male stripper movie genre.

The biggest issue I think is the failure to see women who work in or have worked in any kind of adult business as real, authentic human beings.

We all have a story that deserves to be heard. Every story is unique. Yes, clichés and stereotypes exist in the adult entertainment business just as much as they do with every profession, but always underneath, there is a person with a story.

I feel grateful to have told my story and to still be telling it and learning from it.

  

I will be releasing a new edition of Stripping Down: A Memoir soon. (Unfortunately, my decision to publish with a small press backfired and I have not been receiving my royalties.) Until then, if you are interested in purchasing a copy, please contact me directly for a signed copy, rather than purchasing through Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Self-Esteem in Male and Female Strippers

Daily Mail reports in The science of Magic Mike: Researchers reveal why male strippers take their clothes off(and say its NOT for the money) that male strippers perform for their enhanced self-esteem.

Maren Scull at the University of Colorado Denver did a few years study where she concluded what I already know from experience—men and women experience objectification in different ways.

Women often have experienced objectification much more than men, and oftentimes in a more negative and even threatening or violent way, but when men are objectified, they perceive it in a much more positive way.

Men can actually enjoy the experience because it’s not in their everyday experience to be negatively objectified everywhere they look, so they are able to gain positive boosts to their self-esteem.

“'Initially women who dance for men may experience a boost in self-esteem, but after time they suffer from a diminished self-concept…Because stripping is a stigmatising occupation, it has the capacity to negatively affect exotic dancers' self-definitions,' Scull said.”

I would agree that I definitely had more positive self-esteem when I began as a stripper and the direct objectification was still new and somewhat thrilling. The longer I stayed in the profession though, the worse I felt about myself.

All the negatives added up and worked to demoralize me and dehumanize me.

Thank goodness, for the joy I was still able to feel at certain moments when my audience was civil, adoring, and throwing money. I became the dance; I became my sensuality and I burned. Unfortunately, a fire always burns itself out.

Wear Whatever The Hell You Want To!

I’m curious. Which do you think is a bigger factor in why you wouldn’t wear a crop top?

Age or body type?

People reports on the reaction to a style piece in O magazine Reader Slams O, The Oprah Magazine for Body-Shaming Crop Top Comment – Women Fight Back with #RockTheCrop Movement.

The magazine answered a “reader” question about whether she could “rock a crop top” by saying you should only wear one if you have a “flat stomach,” otherwise you should “layer” to keep your unflat stomach hidden.

Well, of course, people are going to call you out for body-shaming when you say something like that, but are we taking this anti-body-shaming trend a bit far when no one can say anything without being accused of it?

Lola the Stripper Goes Completely Off-Topic

Yes, we all know that we can wear whatever we want. But when answering a stupid question (Sorry! Why are we blaming the answer and not the questioner for even asking?!), you’re going to get a stupid answer.

Yes! Wear whatever you want! But when it comes to style, there are always going to be people who will say certain sizes and ages shouldn’t wear certain items.

Can you rock something that a lot of people will disagree with?! Of course! But don’t ask for permission. Just wear whatever the hell you want. Why, oh why, are we still asking these questions?

#AndIAmBeautiful

#bellybuttonchallenge 

#loveyourbody 

#bellybutton

#fuckit


#sexytummy 

#whocares 

#challenge 

#daily 

#fuckbellybuttonchallenge 

#bellychallenge

This is just a small sampling of the hashtags that go along with social media beauty challenges and the challenges meant to disrupt their hold on our attention.

Daily Mail reports on the latest phenomenon in Eggs-tremely skillful: Quirky social media crazes have become secrets to winning in Chinese beauty pageant.

The egg collarbone challenge

Social media beauty challenges have proliferated recently. From thigh gaps to coin or egg balancing in one’s collarbones to The Belly Button Challenge, which involves touching one’s belly button by reaching around one’s waist, these challenges are meant to highlight how thin someone is.

These challenges are everywhere, from Chinese beauty pageants to Instagram—the latest being “A new Instagramchallenge has thousands of teens posting dramatic videos of themselves 'lookingugly'.”

The latest social media challenge has teens smearing their faces with makeup in the name of body-positivity — but the videos are actually just insulting…The hashtag #DontJudgeChallenge was trending on Instagram earlier Monday where there are over 85,000 thousand posts using the hashtag.

Of course, just as we have all these negative social media body challenges, we also have lots of people challenging the challenges with some challenges actually worth doing.

Daily Mail reports in 'I have acne and braces but I'm beautiful': Teens hit back against make-up shaming challenge on social media by exposing their flaws in stunning bare-faced selfies.

Teens are actually showing their flaws and tagging them #BeautyInAllChallenge. They’re saying, this is me, pimples and all. And I am beautiful.

Today I’m starting a hashtag to encourage everyone to my #AndIAmBeautiful social media challenge:

Take a photo or video of yourself with one hand over your heart to represent the message coming from your heart and give a reason that has nothing to do with physical appearance about why you are beautiful, and label it #AndIAmBeautiful.

#AndIAmBeautiful because I care deeply about people...

Sexy is Funny

Female strippers are thought of usually as either hot, sexy, gorgeous women or skanky, slutty whores. 

Male strippers are thought of as what by the general public? Are there the same polar opposite opinions?

What about funny?

Channing Tatum’s co-star in Magic Mike XXL, Joe Manganiello said:

Male stripping is funny, it just is. You would have to work so hard to work around the comedy, the innate comedy of male stripping…

 It says a lot that we see men stripping as funnier much easier than we do women stripping.

I think that the humor for audiences comes from the awkwardness we may experience at seeing men do something that is seen as “womanly.” Being sexy has always been a female’s territory.

I think there is something inherently funny about public nakedness in general.

If I tried now to do what I did back then, I would not be able to keep a straight face. Trying to “be sexy” is quite funny.

One photo shoot I did for a foot fetish magazine was actually hysterical. The shoot took place in a real studio with photographers, lighting, and sets. I worked with two other models. We started dressed, eating grapes on a velvet couch. We ended nude, legs entwined, displaying our toes to the camera. My improvisation of feeding grapes to the others from my clenched toes was a hit. It was outrageously funny to me, but the other models really seemed into it. The blonde sucked on my toes and moaned. I did my fake head-back orgasm, but I think hers was real.

In some ways, it’s so simple as a stripper or model to put on that fake sexy face and pretend to be so hot and bothered. It was easy to make men think the look was real.

Perhaps that is also where part of the “funny” came from for me. What kept me going when the men were jerks was knowing that they were giving me money for pretending to feel and be something I wasn’t really experiencing or being.

We would laugh backstage at how easy it was to make men believe we were real.

Looking back now, I see I really was an actress playing a part most of the time.

It makes sense that I would be confused about who I really was after leaving my other life.

What was real and what was fake got all mixed up.

Team USA wins Women’s World Cup, but Loses in their Paychecks

Interesting factoid floating around on the Internet today is how much less female soccer players earn than their male counterparts.

In “Winning Women's Soccer Team Paid 40 Times Less Than Men Who Lose,” Jezebel reports:

…the National Women’s Soccer League salaries range from $6,000 to $30,000 and teams often have a salary cap of $200,000. The Men’s League Soccer league salary cap clocked in at $3.1 million last year, and the total payout for the women’s World Cup will be just $15 million compared to the men’s $576 million sum. 

The knowledge of gender pay inequality is obviously nothing new in any field, but with the victory of the women’s soccer team in the Women’s World Cup, it’s brought to the forefront again.

How is this wage gap allowed to still exist?

It seems fitting that the only area women consistently earn more money than men is in the modeling business.

One commenter on the Daily Mail was happy enough to explain the difference:

Easy...demand. That is the same reason WNBA players make a fraction of what NBA players do. I'd rather look at women in skimpy outfits and watch men play basketball instead of the other way around.

I guess that explains it.

Magic Mike XXL Male Strippers Celebrated

Magic Mike XXL hit theaters and now there’s a plethora of male stripper parodies and remakes hitting the Internet.

  

One Chicago talk show, You &Me This Morning, had their male co-hosts trained by a male stripper and they put together a remake of the Magic Mike XXL trailer.

Conan crashed a Ladies’ Night Out viewing of Magic Mike XXL and hilarity ensued.

What I find most interesting is how lightly a movie about male strippers is received. Men with “dad bodies” are quick to make parodies and everyone is able to laugh about it.

Imagine if there was a stripper movie along the lines of Magic Mike that was all about female strippers.

Would we be seeing parodies made by “average” women? Would we all be able to laugh about it?

Would we see large groups of men renting limos to go hang out together at the theatre?

The two just don’t really compare.

There is no equivalent to male stripper shows in the female stripper world. Yes, there is burlesque, but even that is treated differently.

Is it all about the power mechanics at work?

Male strippers are more often celebrated and applauded. We are not seeing a lot of talk about how male strippers are whores or anything of the kind.

It is more just about a choice they make and they are seen as powerful.

Unless a female stripper is doing burlesque or just playing the role of “stripper” in a movie, she is often looked down upon. She is seen as used and most likely a prostitute.

When and how will this ever change?

Eat Right and Exercise for a Bounce Back Body--Or Maybe Not

The uptick in celebrities sharing after-birth photos of their bodies looks like it’s here to stay.

At first, we were mostly treated to photos of the women who snapped back into shape in what seemed like overnight.

People magazine had a photo segment called Body After Baby: Star Moms Who Bounced Right Back. The piece is introduced like this:

Check out Blake Lively, Zoë Saldana, Mila Kunis and more stars flaunting their post-pregnancy figures. There's even one famous mama who hit a red carpet 11 (!) days after giving birth.

 

Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP; Stephen Lovekin/Getty

I felt buoyed up by Hilaria Baldwin’s after photo, which shows what many mothers probably recognize—the after-baby-but-still-there-bump.

@HilariaBaldwin/Instagram

Revolutionary! Show your still-there-bump loud and proud!

Yes, there are some women who definitely do return right back to their original figure, but a larger percentage of women never look the same after birth.

After three children, my body has definitely changed.

I photographed my belly after my last birth; I knew it would get better eventually and I’d be able to look back and say, thank goodness.

Hmm, why would I want to save photos of my poor, wrinkly flesh after having been stretched to the limit for nine months and then suddenly deflated? Perhaps as evidence of the  sacrifice I made for my children.

Then today I saw a quote from Baldwin, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

The yoga teacher told the DailyMail: “Giving birth to Carmen made me realize the body does go back to what it was before…If you eat healthy and treat your body well, it will go back to its original state.”

Sorry to burst any bubbles, but—Yes, your body may go back to its original state, but…it probably won’t.

Eating healthy and exercising will obviously give you the best shot at having your body look the way it did before baby, but trust me when I say, that is not necessarily true.

I have still not come to terms with how my belly looks.

I have tried to love it and celebrate it and be proud of it.

I could lie and say I love my belly wrinkles, but I do not.

I don’t know whether to hide it so as to not scare small children or display it as a feminist badge.

All I do know is that I want to love my body just as it is. And I am trying my hardest to get there.

Claim Your Super Power

This morning in the minivan, my four-year-old said, “Do you know who my favorite super hero is?”

“No. Who?”

“Hulk Smash!”

“Why? Because he's so big or because he’s so strong?”

“Strong!”

“Do you want to be strong someday?”

A pause from him. I catch my mistake in the silence. Why am I delaying his being strong to the future as opposed to right now?

“I mean, are you so strong?”

“Yes!” He shouts back without delay. “I am so strong!”

Why can't I be as confident as he can in being what I want to be? He tries on abilities with no problem, claiming them for himself as desired. I know deep down he is aware that he isn’t literally as strong as Hulk, but that does not stop him from embodying it for himself.

When does our ability to declare positive attributes for ourselves grind to a stop? When do we begin to focus more on our weaknesses, on what we are not, on what we cannot do or be?

Is there any way to recapture that brilliant childlike belief that we can all be superheroes?

We are superheroes. With super powers.

We just need to claim it for ourselves.

Who do you want to be today?

What super power do you create for yourself today?

WARNING: For this to work, you are actually going to have to live into the strength you choose. You are going to have to “act as if” you already have the power, which you do, you just might not realize it.

You will need to be brave and feel your power and live it.

Women’s Stories Matter

How quick we are to judge other women and their stories.

An essay by Sarah Scott on Elle Décor, "I Made a Huge Sacrifice to Buy My Dream Home," has caused a stir with many commentators tearing apart the writer for what they see as her selfishness and privilege.

Scott’s personal essay details how she and her husband are able to afford their dream home by sacrificing having a third child. The writer concludes that the sacrifice of not having the third child hurts, but that it is a decision she and her husband made consciously.

With that said, the sacrifice has been made. Because we live in this dream home, we can only afford to have two children. It's our quiet sacrifice but it's also our beautiful life, well-earned and fully-lived.

The comments overall take issue with what is described as her self-pitying tone and her “poor little me” story.

“Not sure there is a point, it's a 'poor little me' story that smacks of utter selfishness. Spare a thought for the women who can't have children instead of bleating on about your uterus aching for a third child. Difficult choice huh....your dream house versus a third child. Unbelievable!!!”

It is understandable that when we see someone complaining about something that we don’t have the luxury to even consider, that we will feel upset. When I see photos from some of those “Rich Kids of Instagram” photos I admit I get riled up by the utter obliviousness and decadence, but these photos seem to be all about rubbing in what the photographers have on purpose.

Cat taking a pic of all the people that can’t sit with us #Balmainarmy @catmcneil @Iblamejordan @harry_brant by petermbrant

  

Scott’s essay though seems to be a genuine story that she is sharing about her life and her choices. It does not feel like she is looking for pity, but rather that she is explaining her experience of what is sacrifice for her and what that looks like in her life.

There will always be someone who has more than us, but when we try to rip down a woman for expressing her experience, we are really only displaying our own jealousies, pent-up anger and our own self-pitying ways.

Shouldn’t every voice be heard? Shouldn’t every woman’s story matter and be respected?

I’m a Stripper, Not a Pole Fitness Instructor

OK, all you pole fitness instructors out there, we get it. You’re not strippers.

“Not that I have anything against exotic dancers, but what they do is completely different to pole fitness and what the sport has developed into,” says Eleanor Mills in I'm a pole fitness instructor, not a stripper.

I suppose the media may be partially to blame, they see a way to tie Strippers to an article and they think it’ll get more views.

Why else do all the articles about pole dancing studios have titles like: ‘I’m not a stripper’: Maine pole dancing class aimed at fitness.

And you have to have your “I’m not a stripper” quote nestled in there.

“The energy here, the vibe, is integrity, art, dance, fitness passion — there’s no type of stripper vibe,” said 207 Pole Fitness student Buffie McLaskey. “As you can see, I’m not a stripper. I’m just a regular person.”

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I feel like I’m stuck inside the Seinfeld episode “The Outing” every time I read an article about pole fitness.

Of course, in the episode, the saying, "… not that there's anything wrong with that,” was referring to homosexuality, not strippers.

Throughout the episode, Jerry and George, and most of the other characters, fear being seen as homosexual, yet also feel guilty and afraid they will be perceived as homophobic…Seinfeld has stated that he is particularly proud of the episode, saying that it simultaneously satirizes both homophobia and excessive political correctness.

Listen, if what you’re saying in real life needs to be followed up quickly by “…not that there’s anything wrong with that,” then obviously, you think there is something wrong with it, or you wouldn’t mind having that “that” associated with you.

So, I’m asking all the pole fitness dancers out there to just get off their high horses and admit that, yes, they don’t like being associated with strippers for a reason—because being a stripper is looked down upon. Because being a stripper is seen as trashy and disgusting.

But, twirling around on a pole in skimpy clothes with your pelvis the center of attraction is high and mighty. And athletic. And strong. And feminist.

But strippers? That’s completely different.

And you want the world to know that there’s a difference between you and them.

But, you want to be politically correct, too.

You want to be friends with everybody. I get it.

It’s a lot like the way when I say I was a stripper, I expect the next words out of the listener’s mouth to be, “Oh, you were a prostitute, huh?”

“What? No! I was an exotic dancer! There’s a big difference between what I did and what a hooker does,” I would often say. “But, I mean, not that I don’t think prostituting should be legal, I do. But it’s different. That’s not what I did.”

So perhaps it’s all a natural reaction for us to elevate ourselves above the “negatives” associated with our professions.

And perhaps it’s not all about political correctness, but really about honoring the choices that other women make, even if we would not ourselves make those same decisions.

Equal Rights For All: Standing Up For What You Believe In

Tyra Banks was in the news yesterday for an Instagram Post she shared about the modeling industry. She offers support to the models of today who have such high and sometimes impossible standards they are required to meet.

@Ken Towner/ANL/REX Shutterstock via Daily Mail

Models have so much pressure today…They have to be slimmer than slim. Skinnier than skinny…And they have to do selfies that make them look relatable, but not TOO relatable, because then people may comment that they don't understand, "Why the heck is THAT girl a friggin' model??!!!!" 

When I was a young model, yeah, we had to think about our weight, but not like today. I think I was size 6, not a size 0…I'm sending love and hugs to all working, aspiring and super models worldwide. You all have lots to live up to. And I'm here cheering for you every single day. Stay strong girls.

Her post and the reactions to it got me thinking about how I look at the Stripping world and the strippers of today and how I write about my feelings toward the adult industry.

Some critics were quick to point out that if Tyra feels so strongly about the state of the modeling industry, why is she still a part of it? Why does she participate in judging young models on reality shows like America’s Next Top Model?

I was just talking to my husband the other day about how I tend to write about stripping and nude modeling from a very middle-of-the-road attitude. I don’t express anger about the industry. I tend to focus on the fact that every woman should have the choice of what she does with her body and that there isn’t anything inherently wrong with stripping or any other adult entertainment activities.

But when I talk to him about these things is when he notices the anger. That got me thinking: Do I express myself differently on the same topic whether I am writing about it or talking about it? And if so, why?

Perhaps I am more guarded and careful about my words when I am writing, but when I speak, I may get caught up in the emotions and really just let out my truest feelings.

Like Tyra, I need to give myself permission to “be a part” of an industry in certain ways, but also advocate for better conditions or point out the problems and flaws within that world.

I also need to allow myself for my opinions to shift and not be afraid of being branded a hypocrite because there will always be someone not happy with what I have to say or who I am.

While writing this, I just heard the amazing news: the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage.

Wow—this is all thanks to those who have fought for equality for decades. This is all because of people willing to declare what they felt, even when it was a very unpopular belief to hold.

I hope this will serve as inspiration for me and everyone to always fight for what we know is right and what we believe in.

Stripping Down the Video Blog

A former stripper, now a writer, teacher and mom of three, I've decided to create a Vlog to go along with my Blog, Stripping Down.

I want to really strip down and have fun in life and pursue all my dreams, even though I suffer from depression and sometimes have a hard time working. My Vlog is going to be about my attempt to live the life I dream of and to help other people live their lives to the fullest, too.

After struggling with depression my whole life, I realize I need something else to sustain me. I need meaning. I need to push myself into joy every day. I am willing and committed to trying anything once, which might help me live my life more fully and more authentically.

Please follow my journey here and please subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Blaze Starr Had No Apologies

The New York Times reports Blaze Starr, a Burlesque Queen Who Was Linked to a Governor, Dies at 83.

She was best known for the 1989 movie Blaze about her affair with Gov. Earl K. Long of Louisiana.

Via Nytimes.com: Blaze Starr in 1950. CreditApic/Getty Images

I love this quote from her:

“Society thought that to be a stripper was to be a prostitute,” Ms. Starr told The New York Times in 1989, at the time of the movie’s release. “But I always felt that I was an artist, entertaining. I was at ease being a stripper. I kept my head held high, and if there is such a thing as getting nude with class, then I did it.”

She managed to stay in the business quite a long time—30 years. Starr left when the industry was becoming too “raunchy.”

I was just lucky enough to stumble into the “career” right at the time of the raunch.

Bravo to Blaze Starr for having no apologies. This seems like an incredible feat to achieve. May she rest in peace.

Top 3 Reasons I Love Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair Cover and All It Represents (Plus my 1 reservation)

Photo via Vanity Fair

1.         No matter celebrity status, success, money or privilege, coming out to the world as a women took more courage than most people display in their entire lives.

As accepting as many liberal Americans are today, I sometimes forget (or maybe just want to) that not everybody is not as accepting and freethinking as my friends and I are. Heck, just saying that, I realize some of my friends may be thinking—I’m not that free thinking, Sheila!

2.         Caitlyn Jenner’s very public transition from a celebrated male athlete to a confident woman will help so many confused young people.

For any young people confused my their gender identification, having a world-famous role model to use as proof that there is nothing wrong with what they feel in their heart, can hopefully be transformational and a source of support.

3.         It is never too late to make major changes in one’s life and self.

Jenner is setting an example that no matter how one has portrayed oneself to the world, no matter for how long, it is still possible at any point in one’s life to say, this is the real me. Jenner shows that regardless of what some will say, one can come into one’s true self at any age.

Photo of Caitlyn Jenner from Vanity Fair

 My one reservation

How wonderful that Jenner has the wealth, the status and the privilege to make her transition in such a well-supported way.

Her status as a respected athlete and her fame from reality television has given her the opportunity to transition with the best team of specialists available.

Money was no object at any point of this change.

Her ability to be photographed by the world-famous Annie Leibovitz and to be styled by the top makeup and hair professionals available, and to be dressed in the finest of couture, and to be lighted and primped and polished and photoshopped to perfection, does not represent the reality of most people transitioning.

We are again presented with an idealized female representation of beauty that most of us can never achieve.

Of course, that is not to say that this cover is not beautiful. It is.

I imagine most of us, were we to be given the opportunity to be on the cover of Vanity Fair, would not say no to being beautified by the experts…

A Quick and Easy Yoga Energy Boost

No matter how you’re feeling, five minutes of yoga can only improve that feeling.

As hard as it can be to get moving when you are feeling depressed, it is exactly what you need.

I will admit I don’t always take my own advice, but when I do, I am always grateful.

So, what are you waiting for? Take a quick five-minute yoga break. It doesn’t have to look any certain way or even be any “real” yoga poses—just move your body and feel the energy boost!