The one piece of advice I give to the younger generation….

My advice to young girls is to cover up – stop giving it all away and leaving nothing to the imagination. I recently saw the photos of Kim Kardashian’s generous rear and I was gobsmacked. This woman is a mother and she’s out there doing full frontal nude shoots like it’s the most wonderful thing in the world. Yes, it’s natural, but it’s also for monetary and self-centred reasons. She said that she wanted to do it before she had another child and while her body is still firm, but who is she kidding? She could afford and receive more plastic surgery til she collapsed in a flammable heap!

On a serious note, I want to warn younger girls of the downsides to exposing your body for the sake of a few bucks and a warm fuzzy feeling. I have seen those websites that ask, ‘What advice would you give to the younger generation?’,’What’s one lesson you have learnt?’ – and this is it. I want young girls to know that your body is sacred and special and having it photographed for all the world to see is going to come and bite you in the well-oiled backside!

In my 20s, I took part in some raunchy shoots for a lad’s magazine. I won’t mention names (for fear of retribution!) however it was one of those experiences I look back on now and cringe. I was naive to say the least, and because I had a curvy body and a voluptuous chest, I was exactly what the photographer wanted. It was not porn, I must clarify, but it was still not something I’d wish to pull out now for old times’ sake. I hung up my modelling boots and went on to be a dental nurse and then a mum. I was mortified when, in my 40s, a male friend of mine said he found the aforementioned magazine when he was clearing out his brother’s house and it had some pretty risque photos in it. I thought I’d burnt every last copy of that darned thing but there it was, 20 years later, haunting me. In hindsight I shouldn’t have had public photos taken but what did I know? It was a silly decision I paid for years later. Having to sit my two daughters down to explain it was quite a crap moment as a parent as I felt they lost respect for me. But I think they learnt their lesson and to this day they aren’t a guest star in a nudie magazine!

I digress – this day and age allows things to be circulated much more easily than they could be in the 70s, 80s, 90s and even 00s. It’s a different time and taking a snap of your breasts or bum can land you in hot water with people ranging from your family to your employer. It could come around again in years to come, even when you thought you deleted it. It’s both embarrassing and heartbreaking.

It’s an important conversation we need to at least state (instead of lecture) to our grandchildren. At the very least, if bringing up Kim Kardashian’s bum means you can segue into the conversation about their own body, then it’s a step in the right direction. We don’t want our granddaughters to be condemned for their naive photos in years to come just because they saw a celebrity do it. They need to know that she is deluded and her child will no doubt be brought up thinking her body needs to sold. It’s exactly this type of thing that promotes distorted body image, and we cannot sit idly by.

What are your thoughts? Have you done something like this in the past that you regret? Have you spoken to your granddaughter about body image and the dangers of posting images on social media? Tell us below.