The turn from Barbie to more realistically proportioned women is a positive trend

MUCH HAS been written lately about women's body image, reality advertising - the kind that puts more realistically proportioned women on the pages of fashion magazines - and the Barbie doll.

Along with images seen in the media, the 46-year-old Barbie doll apparently has had an unrelenting influence on the psyche of the American woman, especially when she's looking at herself in a mirror.

For the record, lets set a few things straight.

What is 'body image'?

The short definition of body image is the way you perceive your physical appearance, how you feel about it and how you think others see you.

Who's got a bad one?

American women suffer from serious body image problems. About 80 percent of American women are dissatisfied with their appearance and nearly half of all American women are on a diet at any given time, according to the experts.

Pick up the latest women's magazine, or take a look at Oprah or Tyra's new shows to confirm that women of all ages spend a lot of time tearing themselves apart.

A Barbie reality check

If Barbie were a real woman, she would be 7-foot-2 and possess these unlikely measurements: 40-inch bust, 22-inch waist and 36-inch hips, according to the magazine Marie Claire.

This Western ideal for women is rarely seen in nature, nor is it the desired aesthetic in many parts of the world. Among Brazilians and Africans - and in our own hip-hop culture, for example - the butt is all the rage.

Check my reality

Sure, like most red-blooded American girls, I grew up playing with Barbie dolls. My mother saw to it that I had a generous, multi-cultural collection in shades of vanilla, chocolate and caramel.

Yet somehow I remain undamaged by Barbie or by the prevalent images in mainstream media, which for the most part never acknowledge my type of beauty.

Call me strange, but I just never cared about fitting into society's ideal. It never occurred to me to compare myself to a doll or the models in magazines. My mother says I've always happily danced naked to my own drummer.

My race, body and image are the antithesis of the dominate culture. Thankfully, I don't share the negative self-image that seems to rule the lives of so many women.

I have always had the proverbial "thunder thighs," full hips and generous derriere. I've never done anything but celebrate my unique qualities and "shake what my momma gave me."

I therefore applaud the Dove "campaign for real beauty" and the new Nike ad that proudly boasts, "Big Butt, Thunder Thighs, and Tom Boy Knees." I've always been a Nike fan, but they get mucho props for this gutsy move. I particularly like the ad's in-your-face invite that those who don't like the lady's butt can kiss it.

The women in these ads are a better reflection of the products' customers. It's high time that so-called "ordinary" women were celebrated.

Maybe some young or older women who suffer from a dysmorphic body image will see these new ads and be encouraged to embrace their authentic selves. Maybe these ads will trigger a new revolution where women stop torturing themselves with endless surgeries and starvation.

It is my hope that women of every size, shape and race will read this and be inspired to come to a place of genuine self-acceptance and self-love.

Perhaps Maya Angelou said it best in her poem, "Phenomenal Woman":

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

But when I start to tell them,

They think I'm telling lies.

I say,

It's in the reach of my arms,

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me. *