Book delivers answers for women about their bodies

When pitching your dream book idea to friends, the last thing you want to hear is: "Ewww!"



Many, however, said just that to Nancy Amanda Redd about her plan to write a reassuring, practical guide to women's bodies. It didn't matter that she wanted her book to also be funny, honest and medically accurate. No one, friends and publishers said, would want to see real women's bodies, let alone read about what goes on with them.



Lopsided breasts, back acne, dandruff, stretch marks, yeast infections and seemingly mysterious body bumps fell into the TMI — Too Much Information — category. And, according to the Martinsville native's critics, those issues weren't the stuff of one's literary aspirations.



The former Miss Virginia 2003 and a Top 10 Miss America finalist didn't listen. From her own experience struggling with body issues and a lack of information, the 26-year-old said she knew there was a need for such a book. Eventually, she convinced a publisher, and "Body Drama: Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues, Real Answers" (Gotham Books, $20) was born.



The 272-page book, which hits bookstores Dec. 27, includes chapters on hair, mouth, shape, skin, breasts and down there. Yes, there.



Whether the issue involves something at a body's top or bottom, Redd embraces traditionally embarrassing or uncomfortable questions. Teens are her target audience, but women of all ages as well as teen boys can benefit from her ultimate goal: to show the many faces of normal.



The 2003 Harvard grad and women's studies major recently spoke from her Los Angeles home about society's lack of tolerance for normal. Redd also explained why the book's two-page vagina layout was a deal-breaker when considering publishers.



Q. Why did you feel compelled to write this book?



A. I remember how awful it was when I didn't understand this stuff. I didn't understand a lot of it until I went to college. . . . When I became Miss Virginia . . . I went around to a lot of different schools and I would always start my talks with, "When I was in middle school, I had big glasses and I felt weird and disgusting." . . . Afterwards girls would come up and say, "I feel weird and disgusting, too." Then I'd say, "You can e-mail me anytime." . . . and I'd get e-mail that was very heartbreaking: "Guys don't like me. . . . I feel gross all over." . . . This is an epidemic.



Q. How so?



A. You can sit down with a teenager and have an hourlong conversation about plastic surgery, . . . but try and have an hourlong conversation about their body, and that conversation will be cut short. It comes down to being embarrassed. Also, they don't know anything. . . . There are not enough real facts out there to start real dialogue about what real bodies are supposed to look like. . . . There is nothing



to support normalcy. . . . In order to feel connected, people need reference points. They need materials.



Q. The process from idea to book took 2 1/2 years. What changed during that time?



A. There was all this discussion about body image on "Tyra" and "Oprah." The irony is, there is all this discussion, but still no photos. So you can talk all you want to, but a young woman's imagination can run wild. . . . American women's bodies are (depicted as) sexualized, hairless and without cellulite. It's just time for a reality check.



Q. You get very real with the two-page display of vagina photos. Why include them?



A. Growing up from birth, (boys) can look at what they've got. They can play with it, get to know it and have a relationship with it. . . . We can't. . . . We never get to see what a real vagina looks like. . . . (The display) is frightening to look at . . . but a penis looks weird, too.



Q. Do you anticipate any negative reactions?



A. I anticipated it to be more of an issue in the (book) review stage. But either people have flipped past it or read something else. . . . Not a single person — no one — has mentioned the vagina spread, except (one) radio show. . . . Only time will tell.



Vaginas are everywhere. You either show young men and women real women so they know what they look like, . . . or show them the unrealistic.



Q. What did your mom think of the book?



A. She was really concerned about the title of the book at first. . . . When we changed (it), she said, "Oh good. Now I can give a copy to our pastor." . . . When she saw all the (nudity), she asked: "Is this allowed?" But she grew up in the '40s and '50s, and you didn't talk about anything. I didn't talk to her about anything . . . not because she was a bad mom — it was just uncomfortable. Since the book came out, we've had so many conversations about our bodies. . . . I'm constantly validated by other people telling me about their own body drama.



Q. You're targeting teen girls and women but said boys would learn from the book, too. Why?



A. It would be good to show (boys) because then they won't have unrealistic expectations of women. (The book) is not sexualized. It's education, not sex education. If you know your body, you can own your body, and you can love your body and you save yourself so much stress.



Q. Some might say it's ironic a former beauty queen wrote a book on body image. What do you say?



A. No one has more body drama than someone who has participated in a swimsuit competition. You're forced to itemize and to scrutinize every single flaw — whether (imagined) or real — that you have. . . . I had to do it for a year . . . and it was this fantasy land where it made sense to tape down your boobs and put makeup on your thighs and put glue on your suit so it doesn't ride up your tushie. Once I got some distance from that I thought, "Wow, that has got to be the fakest thing." So teens know I've been there, done that on all sides . . . and lived to tell about it (because) . . . as I was walking on stage in 4-inch heels and a skimpy bathing suit, I still felt like I was stinky and gross.