I'M A WRITER at Sports Illustrated, and every winter our magazine publishes a swimsuit issue, with photographs of supermodels in bikinis. The pictures highlight the popular hallmarks of female beauty, and the issue is a colossal financial success. But does it really define the essence of what makes a woman beautiful? Not according to many of the male athletes I've interviewed. I often ask athletes who their favorite role models are, and a number of the men name their mothers. Why? Almost always, the answer is the same: "Because Mom is the most beautiful woman in the world."
I wholeheartedly agree. But the beauty that these athletes and I admire in our mothers isn't material. It's spiritual, and it's composed of such qualities as grace, elegance, humility, sweetness, and tenderness. It also includes the innate abilities to inspire, correct, cheer up, and guide in the way that's particular to women—especially mothers.
I didn't always appreciate the rich, spiritual aspects of feminine beauty. As a teenager, I believed that the prettiest women were those who resembled swimsuit models and mixed in social circles far superior to mine. In college, I finally went on a date with one such woman, a blond-haired member of one of the most popular sororities. We had fun. But I was kind of bored and uninterested in pursuing another date, and that surprised me. For the first time, I began to wonder: Are physical features really what make a woman attractive or beautiful?
