A recent comment made me realize that I have not linked to this book here before. I consider it essential reading for every woman. Taking Charge of Your Fertility is an easy-to-read comprehensive owner’s manual for your reproductive system which will help you get pregnant or avoid pregnancy, to understand anomalies in your cycle, or to simply give you insight into the daily rhythms of womanhood. The book teaches you how to read your body’s own fertility signals, rather than the calendar. There is also a website which has (or had, it’s been years since I have been there) great and informative message boards. I’ll go add it to the list of links in the sidebar.
Link
Kate Winslet on Real Bodies
Reader Ashley sent me this link today. I knew I liked Kate Winslet, but man, what an awesome lady. Check it out, it’s everything this site is about and more!
Interview
Paula at Easy Baby Life interviewed me recently about this site. I have to say her questions were some of the most intriguing I’ve been asked – it’s a great interview! Go check it out! Thanks, Paula!
007, A New Blog
The wonderful Maria who runs the 007 Breasts website has started a blog all about breasts: breastfeeding, shapes and sizes of breasts, surgery and anything else that women should be aware of. I’m adding it to my blogroll right now!
Fifty Nude Women – showing in San Diego
presented by Shape of a Mother and Java Mama
**Please e-mail shapeofamother@pacbell.net for details and to confirm your attendance as we will have limited room**
A documentary about 50 real nude women
of all ages and sizes and colors.
No airbrushing or Hollywood sparkle
mars their beautiful flaws and perfect imperfection.
Come see what real women look like.
Fifty Nude Women has been included in The New Yorker,
applauded by Playboy, and will be featured
in the Baltimore Women’s Film Festival.
Loving Curvy Women (On Etsy)
Oy with the technical difficulties already. For almost a month now, the planets will just NOT align for me. Either the server that hosts this site is having problems, or else my computer is. If both of those are working, then I can’t access my uploader (and thus any entries I might post). Life is being incredibly frustrating for me at the moment. I am trying to have faith that someday this will all be worked out.
In the mean time, I have a link to share with you. In my attempt to fill my house with images of women of all shapes and sizes (both to save my daughter and also for my own self-esteem), I have been browsing Etsy for anything that fits the description. I hit the goldmine with Mamacita’s Shop. I asked her permission to post a link to her shop from here because I think her creations are some of the most beautiful and uplifting I have seen and they are entirely relevant to this site. She designs beads and pendants, several of which focus on curvy and curvier women figures.
I chose two for myself: the Wise Mama and The Call of the Wild. Because, apparently, I have a thing for women and trees. It was a really, really tough choice, though. So many of her pieces speak to me in one way or another. Like this New Mama piece which suits this website very well, or this gorgeous Big Mama who rocks her curves. And there are more! So go poke around her store and pass on the link to anyone you think may be interested. She was a really sweet seller and I hope you love her stuff as much as I did.
Articles on the Web
I was poking through some old (old!) issues of Mothering Magazine today when I found two articles you need to read.
The first I will also link from Save Our Daughters because it fits right in over there and is all about how to teach your children to be tolerant of people of all shapes and sizes. It’s a beautiful and necessary read.
The second mirrors the goal of this website in general, which is, of course, to learn to love your new mama body. It’s a stunning look at the way we are prepared to view ourselves once we birth a child, and then the author’s own feelings about her postpartum body.
I hope you enjoy them, and I hope you pass them both on to every mother you know.
Minnie Driver – “Podgy and fat” and completely awesome.
A reader sent me this article a few weeks ago now and I’ve only just now gotten to read it. How refreshing! Thank you, Minnie Driver!
I think it must be very hard to be a celebrity mom these days. If we feel watched after our babies are born, I can only imagine how they feel with tabloids stalking them for any chance to bring them down a peg. I hope Minnie’s words are heard by other moms – celebrity and not – and I hope they follow suit, it’s a trend we can use!
And thank you, Melissa, for the heads-up!
Soft Underbelly (Gawdess)
I am a lucky woman. I have four kids, two I gave birth too and two by the miracle of adoption. My body is strong and I can run long distances. Recently, inspired by this website I posted a picture of my stomach and how I feel about it to my blog.
Felted Wool Sculptures of Women
Awhile back, a reader sent me a link to this website where Stephanie Metz showcases and sells her really cool felted wool sculptures. I can’t stop looking at them – the detail is incredible and they beg to be touched (gently!). If you scroll down past the teddy bear skulls (which I also like but which do not so much pertain to this website) you’ll find a number of sculptures of women of all shapes and sizes, at least one of them pregnant. This one is my favorite. Which is yours?