Fantasies
Women, Power, Body and the Psychological Benefits of Taboo
"I want to be a lingerie model when I'm 80."
Posted February 19, 2014
My client Gina said, “I want to be a lingerie model when I’m 80.” We were taking about life goals.
Lingerie at 80? Why not?
There was a recent to-do about a woman in her sixties modeling lingerie for American Apparel, a clothing company.
Gina is a fifty-something powerhouse businesswoman who is thinking about a career change and some weight loss. She is about 10 pounds over her desired amount. She works out when she can, wishes she could run more and is disconcerted by what she perceives as accumulating sags.
She perked up when she thought about the lingerie/fitness goal. “It’s reachable,” she said. “Maybe not an actual modeling gig, but a body I like.”
Here are some other ways she described the idea of it: “Taboo, novel, fresh, a whole new world, not throwing in the towel.”
“It’s not about men,” she said, “It’s for me!”
Empowerment? Feminism? Fun? Call it what you will, but if it provides an interesting thought process, motivates, has a take-
charge quality and demands a bit of daring, sounds healthy to me.