You make me up, you make me down, but after one-two-three-four kids, nothing, aside from relocating me to the nearest planet with less gravity, like say, the MOON, will stop my boobs from sagging. Well, either the moon, or $10,000 and a really, really good plastic surgeon.

Which got me to thinking about beauty in general. And how we’ve been debating on who’s hotter: East African or West African, Caribbean, East Coast, West Coast, tall, short, pygmy, Pop Tarts vs. Toaster Strudel, light, dark, rotund, skinny or in between.

What makes a woman, specifically a woman of color, beautiful? European model aside (damn you Barbie, daaaaamn yooooouuu!!!)

Okay, okay to be fair, the nice folks over at Mattel do at least TRY to make Barbie look “exotic” I guess…

Is it just me, or does this one look like Beyonce's doppelgänger?

I spoke to photographer Herb Way, the creator of Portraits of Eve: Women of Color Share Their Body/Soul Conversations, this weekend. Herb, 61, has managed to get A LOT of women naked–but in a classy way. Portraits is a compilation of nude women of color in various states of undress–some baring all–I MEAN, er’rything. What struck me about Herb’s work is how he managed to make the beauty of these women shine through. See for yourself:

(© Herb Way, 2010, all rights reserved)

These women looked at the camera, at Herb, unflinchingly, and they all had a statement to make about themselves and their bodies. “I regarded [the models posing for me] as a sacred trust. Many of the women that posed felt liberated, empowered, healed afterward.”

None, I mean NONE of these women look at all like Barbie.

“What I find to be striking, beautiful may vary from woman to woman. In general, I’ll say tasteful grooming, poise, gracefulness, sensuality, intelligence, articulateness, congeniality, warmth, class, humility, gentleness, a certain light in her eyes and a certain way that she carries herself. Physically, authenticity is very important. I hate weaves, wigs, and breast implants and I can do without the false fingernails with the designs on them,” he says.

"Portraits of Eve" creator, Herb Way

Thanks, Herb.