the first word
by julie parker

I think on-stage nudity is disgusting, shameful and damaging to all things American. But if I were 22 with a great body, it would be artistic, tasteful, patriotic and a progressive religious experience! ~Shelley Winters

OUR BODIES, OURSELVES—the theme of this issue—is a title nabbed from the wonderful ground-breaking book created by the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. The book was originally printed in 1970 and titled Women and Their Bodies.

Women and their bodies..... oh my! This topic is so rich and so loaded with psychological and societal baggage, no way can 40 pages contain what women have to say about their relationship with their bodies. We've decided for sure that OUR BODIES, OURSELVES will be an on-going section in WNC WOMAN. Let the dialog begin!

If you are looking for 10 WAYS TO TIGHTEN YOUR TUMMY or WHAT TO WEAR TO LOOK YUMMY AT THE BEACH THIS SUMMER, you can find that in a gazillion other women's magazines. WNC WOMAN digs deeper and range wider than you will see elsewhere.

Before you proceed with this issue, I suggest you strip naked and stand in front of a mirror. (Unless perhaps you are reading this at Beanstreets or your local bagel shop.)

Say hello to your body. A nice, friendly, glad-to-see-ya hello. If you haven't thanked your body lately, this is a good time to do so. You may need to apologize to it at this point, too. Whether you have adored it or ignored it, if you are like most women your relationship has probably been a rocky one from time to time.

Perhaps it is time now to come into balance? Some of us have been so afraid of our womanly curves that we have dieted and exercised ourselves to the point that our bodies are close to gender-neutral. Others of us have gone to the opposite extreme and wrapped ourselves in all the excess padding we can find for protection. Even if you can look in the mirror and proclaim yourself "just right", we hope you will find something useful to chew on in this issue.

Now you can get dressed. You and your body will have plenty of time after you read this issue to get re-acquainted. The mirror thing was just to set the stage for the next 38 pages. Among the pieces in store for you:

It took us forever to come up with the centerfold for this issue. I wanted an artist who did figurative work, very body-oriented, and wasn't finding what I wanted until literally in the middle of the night the absolutely perfect person occurred to me. See pages 20 and 21.

On page 6, we rejoice with DeAnne Hampton who has triumphantly and joyfully reclaimed her body from a history of sexual abuse.

Dr. Emily Muscarella fills us in (page 11) on the severe consequences to the body of a current fashion trend.

Read In Praise of Casual Intimacy, page 14, on a deeply felt but rarely discussed subject.

Anne Bevan—the centerfold artist from our premiere issue—writes of Sunday Afternoon with a Nude on page 22.

Finally we are grateful for Peggy Millin's piece Sliding Down the Great Mother's Breast on page 38, who writes with great tenderness of day Temple Cassara, our featured artist in February, left her body behind.

Watch for next month's issue when we begin Byron Ballard's series: Embracing Willendorf: Learning to Love Your Body.