Thursday, December 13, 2012

This is not a Christmas post but rather about age and, specifically, hips.

Here's a recent photo of me. Forgive the camera -- I've never figured out how to take a picture of myself without it being there. When I take photos of myself now, as I near the half-century mark (I have until August 27th), it's usually on a dare. I imagine I have thousands and thousands of photos of my children and The Husband and probably only twenty or so of me. This is not because I am generally the photographer in the family but more purposeful -- I am vain, and it's the stuff of bourgeois nightmares. I am thinking about a photographic essay, though, titled Self-Portraits in a Barbie Bathroom with a Black Camera:

No full body shots, yet. After listening to Lucille Clifton recite her homage to hips, though, I'm tempted. I found the video via this wonderful website.




Reader, in keeping with my other interactive posts this week, to what body part do you pay homage?
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15 comments:

  1. Suzi Banks BaumDecember 13, 2012 at 8:42 AM

    Oh my Elizabeth, if I may claim you today as I read and read your posts, but today I stopped longer and there is Lucille Clifton, whom I adore....I pay homage to my smile, to my lips and the way I hold my mouth when I am thinking. I celebrate the lines that soften when I smile. The ease it brings to my brow and the lift to my cheeks. Both sets. Thank you for your posts and this whole website. I'd love to intersect more with you. xo S

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  2. Denise Emanuel ClemenDecember 13, 2012 at 9:17 AM

    Ain't that poem the best?
    I pay homage to my spine and the long scars traced along it.
    And, hey, you're looking gorgeous!

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  3. HeatherDecember 13, 2012 at 9:36 AM

    I promise I will ponder this and get back to you because honestly, I got nothing in this moment.

    To say I have a self esteem/body image issue, would be an understatement. There are very, very few photos of me and my children often say how would they ever make a video or collage of me for a birthday or special occasion? To which I have no reply.

    2 years away from the big 5-0 and I think I should get a handle on this, don't ya think?

    I'll be back ...

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  4. BirdieDecember 13, 2012 at 10:42 AM

    I pay homage to the large wrinkled indent between my eyebrows. It was put there though years of thinking and worrying and loving.

    I pay homage to my hands that are looking older now, more like my mother's. They care for a lot of people. They care for my family and the people I care for in their last days of living.

    I pay homage to my breasts. They sag now but they fed two children, one child for 2 1/2 years.

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  5. TaradharmaDecember 13, 2012 at 11:43 AM

    I pay homage to my left leg, with its new knee and its long scar that runs down to my shin. Poor knee went through a lot over the last decade.

    I love Lucille Clifton, thanks for sharing this.

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  6. Ms. MoonDecember 13, 2012 at 12:27 PM

    My legs. Which, if I am wearing tights, I will put up against almost anyone's in this world. The skin is not perfect but the form is lovely.

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  7. Vesuvius At HomeDecember 13, 2012 at 12:45 PM

    I got a great ass.

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  8. Vesuvius At HomeDecember 13, 2012 at 12:47 PM

    I always think of bel hooks. "here is what I have / big thighs / lil' tits / and so much love".

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  9. GbergerDecember 13, 2012 at 1:03 PM

    I'm catching up here after a particularly grueling week. Your writing is comforting and beautiful, as are your photos - as usual. Thank you. Sending love to you and your family.

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  10. karioDecember 13, 2012 at 2:16 PM

    I love your photos and I love that the camera is always in them. It reminds me that we ought to pay homage to the tool we use to get those shots.

    As for body parts, I used to revere my hands and fingernails that grew without effort into perfect ovals, but now I think it is my calves. They are not marred with cellulite and stay somewhat svelte thanks to the four story house we live in.

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  11. MARY BELLDecember 13, 2012 at 5:57 PM

    Muffinlicious: an homage to the classic mom's muffin tummy...it will make you giggle!
    http://youtu.be/92B2I1jHBKk

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    Replies
    1. ElizabethDecember 13, 2012 at 9:13 PM

      The funny thing is that I am friends with the woman who made that video,and her blog -- Cool Mom -- is on my sidebar! I love that you found it and linked to it, Missy!

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  12. UnknownDecember 13, 2012 at 9:43 PM

    omg thanks Mary Bell and Elizabeth. I just had an Italian meal with my husband, so muffin is in the house!!

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  13. Alison PiepmeierDecember 14, 2012 at 4:16 AM

    You are HOT! Truly!

    And my term for the muffin tummy is wub. A friend came up with it (okay, I found the Baxter Sez post where I talk about it: http://piepmeier.blogspot.com/2010/04/i-love-wub.html). Homage to my wub!

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  14. Verna WilderDecember 14, 2012 at 12:59 PM

    Love this poem! Makes me want to dance around and shake my booty, which is wide and it jiggles and it looks FINE in a pair of jeans, even at my age, my 67-year-old age that startles me when I think it, and I love my white hair and the way my eyes are deeper, like my grandma's eyes, and they're still green, I like it that they're green, and so I pay homage to my whole aging body, to the green eyes that look out at the world and search out joy and beauty and these green eyes cry for all of us when another crazy-ass gunman takes out his crazy-ass anger on little children and teachers and some people going to movies and others just going about the day, appreciating all that is good in the world. Let's keep doing just that - appreciating ourselves and each other. Elizabeth, you are a treasure.

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