Miranda Kerr, Backstage at the VS Show

Now when I watch the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (which aired last week on CBS and airs again tomorrow on CW), I wonder if refusing to pose in panties is considered overly prudish today. In an era when the VS Angels have replaced Miss America contestants as role models for girls, does all that bare skin even faze anyone? Do the erotic blown kisses, taut tushes, and sizzling bedroom eyes make teens squirm if they’re watching with their parents?

VS Show 2012

I don’t have the answers, as my kids are all too young to watch. I do know that Coco Rocha has a policy of no lingerie, not even swimwear or revealing couture, and she has 425,000 Twitter followers, so she must be considered pretty cool.

I also know that decisions are swayed by cultural norms. At age 22, I headed to Germany—where hanging out naked in the park was no big deal to the locals—and within a month I found myself in front of a camera in a bra and panties. Here’s an excerpt from my book about that shoot:

I’d never done a lingerie booking before and wondered if there would be an audience of male photographer’s assistants present, or worse, boxing brief-clad models—maybe even guys I’d face later at the gym, who’d smirk knowingly at my padded sports bra.

Bettina Putzkammer’s studio, in the basement of the photographer’s home on the outskirts of town, turned out to be testosterone-free, but I still managed to humiliate myself. I didn’t know that the robes and slippers offered to lingerie models are not to make them feel cozy, like guests lounging at the Four Seasons; rather, they provide coverage so the model can remove all of her undergarments to ensure there are no lines on her skin when the shoot begins. I put the robe on over my bra and underwear and neglected to take off my socks. So I felt doubly stupid when I was reprimanded for the lines my socks had left on my calves and for the tan lines from my bikini top.

“Oh, you Americans,” said Bettina, referring to our resolve to keep our boobs modestly under wraps, unlike all those swinging free among the sunbathers at the Englischer Garten. Gawking at bare bodies in the park was a highlight for the American guys who came to visit their model friends in Munich. In the Schönfeld meadow, men and women, of all ages and sizes, tanned and frolicked in the buff.

Other than the novice upkeep of my skin, which for 250 DM (about $150) an hour ought to be seamless, my initiation into panty posing went smoothly. This type of job was considered racy in Denver but it was no big deal in Munich. Maggie didn’t even ask whether I “did lingerie” or not. Anyone who had the right body (not too skinny, not too flabby, and a 34B/C, pre-Victoria’s-Secret-Extreme-Cleavage era) did, even though these skin-revealing shoots didn’t pay double-time as they had in Denver. The significant decrease in the likelihood of family and friends seeing the pictures of me in my skivvies made up for the lower rate, not that I would complain about $500 for a morning’s work. If I never got another booking, I had airfare home.

I don’t regret deciding to model lingerie. These days, teenage girls go to prom wearing less (have you seen band-aid dresses?!).

Herve Leger Band-Aid Dress

Gisele and Baby Benjamin Brady

Gisele Bundchen had a water birth at home in Boston in December 2010. She made the decision to go this unconventional route after watching Abby Epstein’s documentary, The Business of Being Born. The film, executive produced by Ricki Lake, explores the history of midwives and OBs and highlights the risks (and absurdities) of the modern approach to childbirth.

Cindy Crawford had both of her children at home (Presley in 1999 and Kaia in 2001). She always thought she would go straight for the epidural until a prenatal yoga teacher opened her mind to the idea of natural childbirth.

Miranda Kerr had a drug-free childbirth last year. She admitted having her 9 lb. 12 oz. son was incredibly painful (Gisele, in contrast, said her labor “didn’t hurt in the slightest”). Kerr was determined, though, and is proud she got through it.

Two of my model friends had water births (one in England, at a birth center, and then at home; and another at a birth center in Upstate New York).

Based on their experiences and three months of research for a childbirth article I wrote while pregnant with my first baby (Happy Birth Days), I left my OB at Yale Medical Center and opted for no epidural with a midwife at a birth center in St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, Connecticut. What I’d learned touring hospitals and birth centers, interviewing scores of doctors, mothers, and midwives, and reading stacks of books and articles, made it clear that I would be in better hands there and much less likely to end up having major surgery to deliver my baby. The 50-minute drive hardly mattered in a 17-hour labor.

While I have to side with Miranda re. labor pain—contractions are a 20 on the 1 to 10 pain scale—the actual birth, on a birthing stool, measured well within the bearable range.  (I found the birthing tub uncomfortable so I didn’t use it, but I had the option.)  I had no stitches and was walking around, euphoric, 30 minutes later. The baby never left our side, we had a one-on-one nurse all night, and the pediatrician fell into the relaxed pace of the mellow environment when he examined our new son right there on our family bed. Relatives enjoyed the homey kitchen and family room area. If there had been an emergency, the regular maternity ward was twenty feet away. (Unfortunately there are only a handful of birth centers within hospitals left in the U.S., and sometimes the term “birth center” is misleading and just refers to the maternity ward.)

After the birth of my twins by cesarean in ultra-medical Spain, I had an easy—if you can use that word in conjunction with childbirth—VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) with the same midwife. I am so thankful to the model friends who first alerted me to the scary direction the medical world is going with something that is a natural process. The cesarean rate in the U.S. has climbed from 5% in 1970 to over 30% now. A new site offers cesarean rates by hospital and state: cesareanrates.com  Some hospitals listed have cesarean rates as high as 72%!

On the flip side, taking the risks of having a baby lightly is just as foolish as going with an OB who is “quick to cut.” Pregnancy and childbirth without adequate medical support (or a sound backup plan should complications arise at home) is very risky. Women in Third World countries face this reality every day. Kudos to supermodel Christy Turlington, who is working to make motherhood a joyous, not potentially deadly, prospect for all women:

Crystal Renn in Sports Illustrated, 2012

Stacy London: The What Not to Wear Fashion Stylist gave a speech I wish I’d recorded for my daughters to hear when they are teenagers. Awesome. Read about it here:  Fashion: The Real 411

Miranda Kerr: She sends a similar message to London’s in her book, Treasure Yourself. The rest of these do-gooder catwalkers aren’t bad either: VS Models: More Than the Sum of Their Angelic Parts

Madonna: The uber-confident age-defying star and mom who made us models welcome: My Encounter With Mama Madonna

Heidi Klum: For turning holiday weight-gain into a gift. Bless you.

The pageant has a talent factor (ballet, violin, opera singing…)

VS has a Hooters factor (the jiggling and wiggling of abundant cleavage and toned rears). Which event draws more fans? The panty parade of course.

The iconic beauty pageant is fizzling, while VS is sizzling. This seems discouraging for the next generation of young women in this country. But a closer look at these models—beyond titillating tight shots and giddy backstage footage—uncovers a new meaning of secret angels.

The lingerie queens can’t pause mid-pivot to deliver a speech on how they plan to help people or save the planet, but many of them already are. It takes experience on the VS runway and a perfect-10 physique for a model to “earn her wings” (not to mention strength training and remarkable balance in 6-inch heels, as the extravagant bejeweled accessories can weigh up to 50 pounds). But so many of the sultry Angels work as another sort of angel in their down time that it appears the undergarment giant is factoring in role modeling as well when granting wings.

Read my article, Victoria’s Angels: More Than the Sum of Their Angelic Parts, on lemondrop.com…

Tonight, millions of viewers will tune into the most popular lingerie extravaganza of the year: the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Last year, 8.3 million people watched the Angels strut their stuff in barely-there underwear — twice the number that saw Miss America crowned.While the Victoria’s Secret show may seem full-cupped and empty-headed, a closer look at these models might show you that there’s more to them than (admittedly, pleasantly) meets the eye.

See, for example: gorgeous Brazilian Adriana Lima, who grew up playing with orphans in her poverty-stricken hometown. From early on in her career (she moved to New York to model at 15), Lima donated money and bought clothes for needy kids every time she went home to visit. In an interview at age 19, she noted the self-centered nature of the fashion world and said, “When I help someone, I lose .01 percent of my ego.”Despite frequently being ranked one of the sexiest women on Earth, in 2006 Lima told GQ that she planned to remain a virgin until married. (She and Serbian basketball player Marko Jaric wed in 2009 and had a baby — over nine months later.)Alessandra Ambrosio, another Brazilian and veteran Angel, is an ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and supports several organizations in her homeland. Ambrosio also threw an Open Your Heart benefit with fellow strutter Coco Rocha during New York Fashion Week last February and raised $20,000 for children in Haiti.
Chanel Iman works with the HerShe Group, which helps girls in foster care. “I’m just grateful to be given the opportunity to do more than model, to be a voice as well,” she says, “and to help teens who didn’t get the chance in life that I did.” Iman also supports St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Arise Christian Center. She will turn 20 the day after her second Victoria’s Secret show, and her wish for wings will come true.

Miranda Kerr, who is sitting out this year’s show due to pregnancy, is so eager to set an example for teens that she put her advice into a book called “Treasure Yourself.” The spiritual supermodel from Australia is an advocate for Wildlife Warriors and Children International.
Dutch beauty Doutzen Kroes is expecting as well. She married D.J. Sunnery James, the father-to-be, on Nov. 9. The happy couple requested that guests make donations to dance4life or the World Wildlife Foundation in lieu of wedding gifts.On Doutzen’s Facebook page, she writes, “Over 7,400 people have joined the dance4life campaign. That is the same amount as people getting infected with HIV each day worldwide! Please join dance4lifeand share this message with your friends to make even more people aware of HIV. Together we can do something about it!” As of this minute, 71,382 people “like” her page. That’s called supermodel pull.Marisa Miller, the famously voluptuous blonde who got her wings in 2007, will hang them up this year. She’s too busy following her passions, which include supporting the military. Miller, whose grandfather is a veteran, is the 1940s pin-up gal in a campaign for Harley Davidson’s Military Appreciation Month. She has also turned down numerous TV offers, instead choosing to do a reality TV show about the military and their families.

The grounded supermodel, who has graced troops with her presence during USO tours, says, “They get so excited for a signed photo. I thought, I can do better than that.”

Miller also is an ambassador for the American Cancer Society, helps raise awareness of breast cancer in women under 40 through the Young Survival Coalition, and recently participated in a telethon for autism. To round out her charitable causes, the California girl and avid surfer supports the Surfrider Foundation in its mission to protect the world’s oceans, waves and beaches.

Head Angel Heidi Klum, who is calling it quits at 37 after 13 years of walking for Victoria’s Secret, is likely the most visible model of the bunch. People know her as the girl Page Six nicknamed “The Body” and as the stern host of “Project Runway,” but they may not know about her altruistic bent. Klum donates the dresses she wears on various red carpets to charity. She supports UNICEF, IMCG (which raises skin-cancer awareness), and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

When 19-year-old newcomer ErinHeatherton expressed how excited she was to be chosen for the show in ’08, she said, “I grew up watching Victoria’s Secret.” That sounds like what her mom’s generation would say about Miss America. If the next generation is made aware of all the good being done when these lingerie goddesses put their

clothes on, maybe a little skin isn’t such a bad thing.

Jill Johnson is a former model working on a memoir. She provides insight and advice on her site: Modeling Mentor.

[All Images: Getty]