(Photo:Robert Maxwell)

Dara Torres, still an Olympic contender at age 41, has been touted as the “physical ideal for mothers, women at or approaching middle age, and just women in general.’’ While it gives me great pleasure to see a 40-something female athlete achieve at an Olympic level, I find the notion that her body is the physical ideal for “women in general” a little extreme, even in this age of extremes in body image. And why does the media always make body image a competition: ‘See, since this woman is ripped and lean at 41, you should all be ripped and lean at 41.’

This woman is clearly a professional athlete, and as such, devotes her entire life to working on her body. According to the New York Times, Torres spends $100,000 a year on support staff alone–coaches, trainers, etc.–to compete at an Olympic level. For $100,000 a year she’d better have an athletic body!

I’ve read two very interesting articles in regard to Dara Torres as a body and fitness ideal for women:

1. Dara Torres: The New Beauty Myth, at The-F-Word.org is a great commentary on what goes into sculpting a body the likes of Torres”–working out is her full-time job.

2. Olympic Abs vs. Simple Fitness, in The New York Times, which suggests another candidate for female “physical ideal”: 80-year old Estelle Parsons, weights in hand, who maintains a diverse, physically active exercise regime and is still going strong.

(Photo: Sara Krulwich/The New York Times)

I think that both of these women are amazing. Why does there have to be an “ideal” at all? How about finding what’s “ideal” for the individual? As women, we can celebrate Dara Torres (and Estelle Parsons) without feeling diminished by our own bodies.