Her striking image, running in slow motion on the Californian Santa Monica beach in that tight red swimsuit that could barely 'contain' her impressive curves, took our breath away back in the 90s. Beyond preferences and 'extra aesthetic embellishments,' Pamela Anderson, let's be honest, was admired for her body. Well, now we have just found out from the actress herself that, while the whole world was sighing over her bronzed skin, she, who was 25 at the time, was not comfortable in her own skin and it is now, just turned 57, when she finally starts to like herself. "For the first time in my life, I feel good about myself when I'm in a swimsuit. It's very liberating!," Anderson confessed in an interview with 'Glamour' magazine.
Although Anderson's testimony may be hard to believe and, upon reading it, we may think "yeah, right, now she comes pulling false modesty when she was the first to know how great she looked," the truth is that the star of 'Baywatch' is not the only 'goddess-level' beauty who has publicly admitted that, in her youth, just at the time when she was most admired for her physique, she didn't feel as good. "After having three children and being over 40, I can finally say that I truly feel comfortable in my body," Elsa Pataky revealed to ZEN when, a few years ago, she passed through Madrid to present 'Desafío Max' (La Esfera de los Libros), the second installment of her fitness advice published with personal trainer Fernando Sartorius.
The fact that even two stunning beauties like Pamela Anderson and Elsa Pataky acknowledge that they have only started to feel comfortable in their bodies in maturity and after becoming mothers gives a lot to think about regarding the relationship women have with their own bodies since adolescence. It is clear that, in their cases, the pressure is much greater because, like it or not, appearance plays a key role in their profession, but why do we find it so hard to love ourselves, especially during our youth? Because, who can raise their hand at 17 or 18, when everything is 'supposedly' firmer and more youthful, and not beat themselves up with those hateful refrains of "I have small breasts, I want a flat stomach, or I hate my 'saddlebags'"?
And I say 'she' and speak for us because, honestly, I am not aware -please, gentlemen, correct me if I'm wrong- that they subject themselves to such 'self-torment'. Not only do I not recall ever reading about a 'sex symbol' like Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise confessing how insecure they felt about their physique at 20, but I also can't remember any of my male friends from youth covering any part of their bodies with a towel when we were in swimsuits at the pool, or resorting to that very 80s trick of covering their behinds with a sweater tied around the waist, as many of us used to do even in Physical Education class (I, at least, did both, the towel or sarong and the sweater...).
Perhaps with time, we 'gain' in self-esteem what we 'lose' in youthfulness. Or maybe, there comes a moment when we simply stop caring about what others think. And that moment, as Pamela says, cannot be more liberating.