In her latest play “The Good Body,” “Vagina Monologue” playwright Eve Ensler lifts her shirt to reveal her own “flabby, post-40 stomach” to a grateful audience. In the June issue of “O,” on page 217, Ensler does the same thing. Her belly is soft, not Kate Moss’s, but it is not an unattractive thing. And that is Ensler’s point: that the pursuit of a perfect physique is driving us all crazy and should, in fact, be over, kaput, a non-issue in 2006. Here’s one of the many vivid paragraphs she writes:

“Hating one’s body is an all-consuming occupation and a dangerous distraction. It is an addiction. As we spend our days focusing on our thighs and butts, thousands die in Iraq, 37 million live below the poverty line in American…. In our isolated pursuit of thinness or the perfect body, we give up our power, our vision, our rights. We abandon a world that is in desperate need of our attention.”

And later: “Love your body. Take back the world.”

On the next page, you’ll find an interview with meditation teacher/psychologist Tara Brach on how to relate to your body and detach from your critical self-assessments. So many women are paralyzed by internal chatter about how attractive they–and the women around them–are. Thanks to “O” for devoting space to this hugely important issue.