I managed to catch a re-run of the 'How to Look Good Naked' episode with Kelly, the lady who had had breast cancer. It was amazing, and I admit to having a few tears by the end of it. But, (and you knew there was a but, didn't you?) I did feel a few things need to be mentioned, out in the open as it were.
First of all, Kelly was magnificant! She started off way down on the confidence scale yet, by the end of the programme had shot off into obit. Go girl, as Gok would say. But, she had a few advantages to help her along the way, a great body for a start ~ heck, it certainly didn't look like she'd suffered the weight gain the rest of us get with lack of mobility due to treatments, tiredness or even the menopausal spread for those of us who get the chemical version early. Gok also took full advantage of a team of makeup and hair experts who pampered Kelly and dolled her up big time. I've taken part in the Look Good, Feel Better afternoon and whilst I don't normally wear makeup, the fact that someone spends time making you look better (even for a short while) is a boost to the ol' system.
And finally, Kelly had a one sided mastectomy. At no time did we see the scarred area (heck, why should we?) but a lot was made of the 'normal' side.
It seems to me that adorable as Gok is, he really was pandering to the 'make it look like before' audience. Now, before anyone decides to tell me off, I totally acknowledge that a lot of women need to do that. But, there are women like myself who don't.
I don't have any breasts now and I don't have a problem with my flat chest. FYI, I have a pair of prosthetics but you know, I cannot be bothered wearing them. The modified bras that are required to fit the pockets are generally huge and to tell you the truth, not very glamorous. I want delicate lacy things that don't remind me of nursing bras! Plus, I don't see why I should wear the prosthetics (named Ava and Gardner) all the time. The few times I have, no one has noticed so why bother? *shrug* I'm happy with things as they are, and am confidant enough in myself not to worry what other people think about it.
The same with my hair. Once the initial shock had worn off, I rather enjoyed being bald. I could wear any of my wigs (purple, red, blonde or brown) and I had dozens of hats made for me. It was a great way of boosting my mood each day. Now that I have my own regrown, okay it is much shorter than I want but it will grow ~ although I doubt it will ever get to beyond my waist as it was before chemo. To have a load of extensions glued into my delicate post treatment hair is not what I would want, neither would I want the large amounts of makeup as Kelly wore on the catwalk.
But I guess it's all good television. And if it made one woman happy then I am all for it. In fact, I would fight tooth and nail for any woman who needs to have a full Gok experience. But, there are some of us who don't ~ we don't want the pretend boobs, we don't want the mountains of hairspray, makeup and modified clothes, and we certainly don't want to pretend that we are the same as we once were.
So, would I go naked? You bet cha!
Perhaps a general comment rather than a specific one - I hate 'Fashion'! As a teenager and very young woman I was a slave to the fashions of the day. I wore very high-heeled shoes which crippled my feet, I wore mini-skirts and maxi-skirts regardless of suitability to my size and shape. I wore bras that pointed my boobs into cones (like Madonna!) and 'roll-on' corsets that did NOT roll on at all but were instruments of torture into which we forced our flesh and which only served to redistribute the fat. And suspender-belts... loved by men and hated by women...argh!
It takes courage to say "no more" to the fashion police but having done so I feel FREE! I now wear what I like. I wear clean and comfortable clothes. I wear clothes which cover up all my lumps, bumps, and saggy bits and those clothes which keep me warm in winter and cool in summer. And if some know-it-all fashion cop tells me that "wide lapels are in this season", I say "am I bovered?"
