Rebecca Eckler

A few weeks ago I posed in some very sexy lingerie for a photo shoot and story. Here’s the link if you don’t want to read any further and just want see me nearly naked: www.postcity.com.

For those of you still reading, thanks! Because, while the photo shoot was SUPER fun, the reaction was even more entertaining!

I knew immediately when the photos of me were posted because my Blackberry started going off in rapid fire. It was late afternoon and I had been racing out the door when the first email arrived: “OMG. Your photos!” 

Of course, my friend – really, an acquaintance – also included the link. I clicked the link for a whole two seconds before realizing I actually COULD NOT look at myself. I was really late for a meeting and I COULD NOT look at myself. 

Oh, the Internet. How l love thee. How I HATE thee. Man, things happen FAST thanks to the Internet. A couple other sites had immediately picked up the photos and twittered about it, including the link. By the end of the day, I had emails from numerous friends and acquaintances, some of whom I hadn’t heard from in years. 

Of course they said I looked good. I mean, people I know are not going to send an email telling me how disgusting I look. My favourite was from a friend who said I looked like a Victoria Secret Model. (She’s one of my best friends who is also…a LIAR!) 

That week, I would run into someone I knew from my overnight camp years at Yorkdale Mall and he would tell me he liked the pics. A woman at my daughter’s music class told me she saw the pics. A woman at the gym said her husband loved them (making me quite uncomfortable). My mother heard from a friend about them. For a week or so, I seriously wondered how celebrities with leaked sex tapes leave the house. 

Of course, not everyone loved these photos. Some people actually made fun of me. Yes, that’s right! 

Oh, uppity-Canadians! Seriously. As if somehow people would take me less seriously thanks to posing in lingerie, when bikinis show way more skin. (Also, I don’t remember the last time I wrote for Report on Business magazine. Oh, that’s right. I haven’t! I’m a mommy blogger and lifestyle writer/author!)

Since I am human, I did wonder about some of the negative responses – especially if people said I looked ugly - if posing in lingerie, was a mistake. But then I thought, “Hell no!” I wondered what other writer/journalist in Canada would actually do this. 

I had the opportunity to get all made up, wear beautiful lingerie, get fabulous photos taken by a professional, and paid to write about the experience. Am I embarrassed by the photos? Well, yes, of course! I hate looking at photos of myself. Am I embarrassed I did this? No way. It really taught me to be comfortable with who I am. A 36 year-old mother who felt sexy! As I write now, I’m in a ten year-old bathrobe with clouds on it, wearing a winter hat. Not so sexy.  So, if you get the chance to get some sexy shots done, I say, “Go for it.”

Photo by Marlen James