Photo: Jade Beall
This couple is beautiful.
By Merethe Najjar — Written on Jul 24, 2017
The human body is wonderful, amazing, and can speak in ways that words simply cannot. The beauty and form of our bodies are things that artists, poets, writers, and romantics have been trying to capture since time immemorial.
Some of the greatest pieces of art that we so admire, even to this day, are those of people, in battle, in mourning, in concentration, and yes, especially in love.
Photographer Jade Beall loves taking pictures of the human body, and recently released a series of photos on her Facebook page of a couple in their seventies.
The images show 75-year-old Gerry and 70-year-old Darwin in loving embraces, laughing, smiling, and holding each other. And yes, they are totally nude.
You may have wondered what people look like naked as they age and get older? Well, these two show us ... and boy is it beautiful.
“I refuse to accept the widespread (mostly Western) human belief system in regards to what is beautiful,” said Beall on her page. “Especially when it comes to the sacred vessel we call our body.”
Her lovely words are side by side with the couple she’s photographed, who have been together and in love for the past two decades.
“These elder bodies: the temples to decades of wisdom, heartbreak, strength, failure, triumph, THRIVING. How, I wonder, could they be anything but beautiful?”
While Beall’s presentation of the images is lovely and endearing, the best, most perfect example of what we should each be striving for in our own lives comes from one of the pictures’ subjects, Gerry.
“I love my body,” she says in a caption. “I use a cane, I am having vision problems, and my breasts reach to my waist, but you know what? I like me!”
Even Darwin admitted that he wants to lose some weight, but these issues are not what they believe make them beautiful or not.
All Photos: Jade Beall Photography
Beauty is a concept that has occasionally become twisted by those who don’t understand it, and they make people believe that in order to be beautiful, they must have a perfect body and no flaws. But this isn’t what makes people beautiful, and Gerry and Darwin are absolutely not afraid to prove it in these nude photos.
At 75 and 70 years old, they have embraced the concept of true beauty in a way that most people younger than them struggle to do. It’s easy to see the comfort and love in their pose, and there’s no question that they are truly happy with each other, despite whatever their complaints are about their bodies.
This couple might be elderly, but they aren’t afraid to teach relationship and body goals, and they have taught us that no matter who you are, if you are beautiful on the inside, it doesn’t matter what your outside looks like.
This is what love looks like, and that, my friends, is beautiful.