Shock horror: nude supermodel has dimple on thigh

Labelling hips, a little dimpling on the thigh (anyone got a magnifying glass?), a small waist crease (which looks like what happens when any woman sits down) and supposedly uneven skin tone as “flaws” is already problematic. Who decided these were flaws and not part of being a woman? And if these are “flaws” then how are other women supposed to feel?

And what about all the other “flaws” she will accrue if she has kids and when she ages? Hawkins is only 26.

The problem is the emphasis on the physical body over any other qualities a woman might possess. And a freak-of-nature body which gets 24-hour a day attention and the best of care to earn its owner an income. Most women will never have a body like this.

Why would an editor and an organisation concerned about body image choose a Miss Universe title holder as the pin up for the love-yourself-just-as-you-are campaign?

The images attract comparisons, judgment, and provide more opportunity for objectification.

They have already prompted a rash of emails from self-appointed male judges who said Hawkins was pear shaped, that her bum was unappealing, that her breasts were too small that she should have kept her clothes on.

More worrying, the images have prompted women to compare themselves with Hawkins.

“she wants to make woman feel more comfortable about how they look , gee thanks I now feel worse ! im a size 10 and I still have more rolls than her!” wrote one. [Text as per original email.]

Another woman, in a reference to bulimia, posted:

“If anything is going to have me running to the toilet with my finger down my throat it's a picture of Jennifer Hawkins naked.”

And who exactly is going to bid for the photos, you wonder.

Perhaps the Melbourne man who posted this comment on the Herald Sun website? “*pant pant pant* OF COURSE Jen should've stripped, what a silly question to ask!”