Ma Li has only one arm. Zhai Xiaowei has one leg. And below is a video of them dancing. They dance into the holes in people's lives. In the wordlessness of their dance, libraries of the soul open and volumes of unutterable wisdom fly off the shelves. A knowing comes forward. We all know this. We recognize the feeling of brokenness. We know what we do not have, will never have. We know that all the pieces in the world are not whole, not complete. We know that we needed, and that we need.

In September, Glamour magazine included a small photo of model Lizzi Miller. The photo wasn't on the cover, or even in a prominent spread; instead, it was tucked away on page 194, next to a piece about body image titled "What Everyone But You Sees About Your Body." The response, of course, was overwhelming; women were enthralled by Miller's size 12-14 body, particularly her tummy. Because she had a tummy, which was remarkable for a model in a fashion magazine.Jezebel's Margaret Hartman appreciated Glamour's attempt to include real women, but hesitantly:

My daughter's hair is crazy long. Like past-her-waist long. People ask me all the time if I've ever cut it (she had a bob when she was two and gets it cut every few months) and if it's hard to take care of (heck, yes). You see, I don't make her cut until it fails the toilet test.You read that right.

I read this article about a new show that will debut in January and my head exploded. I was IM'ing with a friend when I read about What I Hate About Me and decided that ranting to her alone was not enough. I had to share this nugget with you, dear BlogHer community and see if I'm over reacting or if a show about self-loathing sounds as loathsome to you as it does to me.

Is it possible to eat cookies and lose weight?  Well, Dr. Sanford Siegal would certainly like you to think so.  After all, at $56 for a week's supply, Dr. Siegal is going to make an estimated $18 million this year selling his weight-loss cookies.   It's called The Cookie Diet, and if you like cookies it may sound like a great way to lose weight.  But is it?

It used to be that parental praise was doled out sparingly, if at all. Our parents and grandparents didn't expect their folks to constantly tell them what a good job they were doing or how great they were; that's simply not what was done. And then pop psychology came along and told us that out kids need to develop good self-esteem, and that happens with our praise, and then somehow an entire generation of "Good job!"ers took over the world.

Not too long ago, designer Mark Fast caught our attention for including plus-sized models in his London Fashion Week runway show. Fast's decision inspired some really interesting discussion, both here at BlogHer and elsewhere, about everything from what constitutes a "plus" size to why couture matters. For the most part, though, everyone agreed that Fast's choice to show his clothes on women with actual curves was a step in the right direction.Everyone, that is, except Karl Lagerfeld.

I have been successfully off of sugar since my post Conquering Sugar Addiction:  The First Step Towards A Healthy Diet (and the toughest), but I know I am always just one bite of a brownie away from falling off the wagon.  And now there is another huge temptation - Halloween.  It seems like everywhere I go I am faced with those giant bags of Halloween candy.  The next few weeks are going to be a real test of my new-found willpower.

To see ourselves like those who love us do: Some of us achieve this, and some of us struggle. Sometimes it's our physical appearance that doesn't stack up, we believe, to being lovable. And sometimes it's a perceived failure deeper within. In her post "You're So Pretty" Ivana Kidd of The Phantom Line confronts her struggle in the midst of grief painted twice--the death of her mother and a miscarriage.

Last night, I took a break from my homework and read New York Magazine. When I hit page 77, I was surprised to see a stunning black and white photo of a large black women gracing the page. I thought Mo'Nique was looking good. Then I realized that it wasn't Mo'Nique, but Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe, Mo'Nique's co-star in the movie Precious.

Today is my birthday. Should I be stressed because I'm getting (and looking) older? Or should I be grateful for the opportunity to have another year of life?

I wore my bathing suit once this summer, in late August when I went to visit a friend at her parents' house on the Jersey shore. I blame my failure to launch a more timely Swimsuit Brigade for Honest Photos on this, as in previous summers I self-consciously pranced around in swimwear, wondering why I looked so "bad" despite my generally healthy weight, earlier and more frequently. Certainly, this summer has had no fewer body image and photoshopping scandals than summers past.