Long, beautiful legs.

This morning Mara was sitting on the toilet and said "My thighs are fat". I wanted to throw myself on the floor and kick and scream. I do not talk like that. I would not speak negatively about my body in front of the girls and try not to in general. It makes me so angry that my 4 year old who doesn't hear negative body image messages at home (not from mom and dad, not from TV) uttered these words. ANGRY! Crushed might be more accurate. I have worked way too hard to instill a sense of confidence and knowledge that she was created with this amazing body that can dance, run, climb, stretch and roll in the grass than to hear her utter those words.
I have a neighbor who I really like but I have heard her say her stomach is fat or her thighs are fat (and she has 2 little girls too and she's not at all overweight). I guess that's where I need to start. After Jedd and I responded to Mara's comment by saying she has beautiful, long legs with strong muscles (rather than throwing myself on the ground), I asked her "Where did you hear that? . . . Sasha?" (neighbor) Mara got a smirk on her face. Dear Lord. As if the media doesn't do a bang-up job of making girls and women feel inadequate and so less than beautiful. As a friend and fellow mother of little girls, I need to go next door.