You Are Beautiful
Tuesday, September 18, 2007 at 12:15PM 
If I were feeling a little more lawless, I’d gather all the copies of Cosmo and Seventeen, douse them in kerosene, and strike a match. I’d throw in reams of print ads from Calvin Klein and watch with delight as Kate Moss’ stick-thin image was reduced to carbon. I’d add copies of Shape and Runner’s World until the flames reached toward the heavens, and then I’d crank call the editorial desk at Muscle and Fitness until they stopped publishing pictures of women on steroids.
I’d get the master tapes of America’s Next Top Model and dub over them with “Nasty Girls”, broadcasting the results on every television station in America. I’d skywrite “CrossFit.com” across the Boston skyline, and gently admonish the hoards of long distance runners trotting along the Charles River—with a bullhorn.
I’d take every woman with mass media-induced ideals of beauty, and I’d show them what it really means to be beautiful.
Beautiful women are strong and powerful. They are athletes, capable of every feat under the sun. They have muscles, borne of hard work and sweat. They gauge their self-worth through accomplishments, not by the numbers on the bathroom scale. They understand that muscle weighs more than fat, and they love the fact that designer jeans don’t fit over their well-developed quads.
They know that high repetitions using light weights is a path to mediocrity, and “toning” is a complete and utter myth. They refuse to succumb to the marketers that prey on insecurity, leaving the pre-packaged diet dinners and fat-burning pills on the shelf to pass their expiration date.
Beautiful women train with intensity. The derive self-image from the quality of their work and their ability to excel. They don’t wear makeup to the gym, and they wouldn’t be caught dead with a vinyl pink dumbbell. They move iron, they do pull-ups, they jump, sprint, punch, and kick, and they use the elliptical machine—as a place to hang their jump rope.
They spend their weekends in sport, climbing walls, winning races, and running rivers. They laugh as they sprint circles around the unschooled, turning the image-obsessed into benchwarmers. Beautiful women don’t care if they’re soaked in sweat and covered in dirt, if their nails are chipped or their hair out of place. They care only about quality of life.
Beautiful women are happy, healthy, and strong, and they’re right there beside me, tossing conventional beauty on the ever-growing flames of what used to be.
Be beautiful.
Picture of Sammy scaling "Lean Tree & Groan", courtesy of John Knight. Way to go, Sammy.
Reader Comments (60)
Awesome post Jon! The magazines and shows on E! and other trashy celeb-focused channels have distorted the image of a woman to the point that every woman can't help but feel inadequate. Of course, the cover models are all airbrushed and to see an untouched picture of them shows that, by and large, they look just like most other women. It's sad to see beautiful women concerned about their weight and looks...and the funny thing is that it's not the guys they're trying to impress.
Cheers
Scott Kustes
Modern Forager
Word! Tell it like it is, Jon.
Great article!! I forwarded it to my wife to reinforce her hard work and determination when she gets down on herself. I tell her the same thing all the time, I am sure she will be stoked to see/hear it elsewhere. Keep up the great work!
This is one of the best articles I've ever read on the Internet, period.
Rock on.
Thank you for putting words to this.
I emailed the article to every woman I know! Way to go!
Awesome! Oh but you forgot that us "real women" dont care about calluses all over our palms either or marks running up our legs or maybe those patches of rough raw skin on our tailbones from repetitive situps!
Jon;
Definite keeper this article.
Plan to post at work, right next to the take out menus.
Jay
Wow! That certainly provokes some though. I just met someone that worked in a modeling agency as an agent and it was sad to hear what she had to say about the self image of the top models there. A 14 yr old was told to lose weight; the next day she said she was hungry and someone asked what she had eaten and she said "A bottle of water." That's all she had eaten the whole day! She said the reason a lot of the models can be so thin is because they're between 14-19 years old (and I assume, haven't fully developed).
Amen brother.
Way to go Brother!!!
I'm passing it on and getting out my bullhorn!
Thanks Jon! Just what I needed. My ever thickening legs, butt and waist, while training for my O-lifting comp, has often made me question if this is what I really want. Your post has answered that for me...yes it is exactly what I want!!!
found this article first thing in the morning. gonna be smiling all day now!! well said!!
word, jon. the world becomes a better place every time a woman steps away from a mirror and gets underneath a barbell.
if you find one of these women, and she's single and between the ages of 18 and 24, shoot me an email ; )
I have never seen it written nor heard it said better! Awesome.
Nicely said, Jon! Sammy is a lucky woman to have a man that appreciates her true and natural beauty! Thanks for sharing this! Man does Dave have to come up with something good to compare with this!! Hope to see you & Sammy soon, Jon.
Jon! Wow! What an amazing post, thanks so much! I am also impressed with the number of responses by males that are so excited by what you put into words. I have developed a huge passion for CrossFit and love my big shoulder muscles! All the better for pulling hard moves on the rocks! Go Burly Girls!
Awesome Jon!
Will see you and your beautiful GF this weekend!
Jon,
Thank you for posting this eloquent expression of these important truths.
Well put, Jon. And by the way, those barbells are great!