Christie Brinkley is back in a bikini (and she’s brought two very special guests)! https://t.co/ODeeuhXCms pic.twitter.com/8v2v1Wwfy3

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 7, 2017

Christie Brinkley is one of potentially three cover models for the SI Swimsuit Issue. To that I say – ooh-rah, let’s hear it for us older broads (because Christie and I look so much alike). But Christie is gracing the cover with her two daughters, Alexa Joel and Sailor Cook. I like the concept of a mother posing with her daughters and the shot released is beautiful. But the message the three would like to convey is one of self confidence and body positivity. So remember that as you look at this picture, it’s supposed to make you feel better about yourself. Sailor, Brinkley’s 18 year-old daughter (from her fourth marriage, to Peter Cook), posted the following to Instagram:

I’ve had issues with my body image since before I can even remember. I grew up not loving how I looked and felt held back because of it. I don’t know why I always felt that way, sure I had baby fat and definitely went through a plethora of awkward phases, but I had a family that loved me i had friends who made me laugh etc. But for some reason I still looked in the mirror and always somehow found something to pick on. I went from being “too fat” to “too thin” to “too muscular” and I never felt satisfied. My body and I have been through it all. But recently I have been liberated. I am healthy, i treat myself well, and for that i’m happy. I’ve looked in the mirror and been able to LOVE the things about my body that beauty norms deem ‘undesirable’. I now have grown to know that my body is worthy of so many great things. I don’t need to be a size 0 to believe in myself. My body carries me each and every day, it loves the people i love, it holds what makes me healthy and strong, it bends it shakes it runs and it CHANGES. That is okay and that is beautiful. I could not be more grateful to the beautiful and strong @mj_day for including me in this years Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue ??? This is more than a magazine to me and always has been. As a growing young woman SI showed me all bodies are different and all bodies are worthy of celebrating. Thank you thank you @si_swimsuit for celebrating my beautiful mama, my beautiful sister, I, and ALL WOMEN!! How lucky am i?! ??? i think I’m dreaming. ??? thank you!!!!!!! ? (Also, thank you @hayleythorpeholla and @v_beast and everyone at @dogpound for changing my life ??) More to come!!!!!!!!

A photo posted by Sailor Brinkley Cook (@sailorbrinkleycook) on Feb 6, 2017 at 7:25pm PST

I want to say, unequivocally, that I support messages of body confidence. And this echoes the same message Sailor gave back in December after the Victoria Secret fashion show, don’t measure yourself by what the media shows you. Of these ‘messages’ Sailor’s was the best framed.

But then we get to Alexa, 31, who also looks amazing. But her post is much harder to reconcile:

Let’s STOP degrading and START celebrating ourselves and others, from both the inside AND out. ???There’s far too much degradation, competition, insecurity, and unhealthy standards associated with women and their bodies- particularly on social-media. As a conscious society, it’s up to us to flip this negativity on its head. I don’t have a completely flat tummy, or cellulite-free thighs… nor am I a model’s height or shape. Neither are hundreds of millions of other beautiful women out there. SO WHAT? Does it really matter, in the end? All that matters is how YOU feel about yourself. Set your own standards of beauty; both internally and externally. All of those unrealistic-looking, photoshopped images are nothing more than white noise, playing off of your own insecurities in order to make a buck. Don’t let them affect you. DO YOU! We are all perfect, just as we are. Please know that. Thank you @si_swimsuit for showcasing all heights, shapes, and sizes. For within our distinctions, our quirks, and our self-perceived ‘flaws’… therein lies the beauty. {Capture Credit: @si_swimsuit #BehindTheScenes Thank you for the honor of shooting me with my Precious & Golden Sunshines: Mamacita & Sailorina.}

A photo posted by Alexa Ray Joel? (@alexarayjoel) on Feb 6, 2017 at 8:04pm PST

How is that not a flat stomach?!? I don’t care if Photoshop was employed, she posted it like this. And it’s hard for me to hear about body empowerment from somebody who (allegedly) reconstructed theirs. I have no problem with plastic surgery but admit that’s where your “confidence” comes from, at least. Her next post was a bit more approachable. She thanked SI for the honor and says it did wonders for her ego. This I am fine with.

~’Twas a most humbling and rewarding HONOR to be a part of your February issue!??? Thank you @si_swimsuit & @mj_day for making me feel so at home. This was a lesson in learning to let go, take the plunge, and embrace myself from both the inside AND out- which is something I struggle with each and every day. My purpose is to now pass along this lesson of unconditional self-love and self-respect to every woman who’s willing to listen. Once again, from the bottom of my heart… Thank You.~

A photo posted by Alexa Ray Joel? (@alexarayjoel) on Feb 6, 2017 at 9:56pm PST

Christie rounded out the trio of “yay perfect bodies” cheerleading squad. I do think it’s great that SI has maintained a relationship with her. Jay-sus, she is a beautiful woman:

Yes! I am excited to announce that I am back in @si_swimsuit ..I figured with my gorgeous daughters @alexarayjoel and @sailorbrinkleycook by my side whose going to be looking at me! Oh and My kids think I walk on water, so let’s not mention the apple box concealed just under the surface. For a preview check out @people.com ..and thank you Sports Illustrated for sending the powerful message that good things come in packages of every size and we do not come with an expiration date! ??psI can’t wait to see everyone at VIBES on Feb 17th and 18th in Houston! #proudmomhere!

A photo posted by Christie Brinkley (@christiebrinkley) on Feb 6, 2017 at 6:22pm PST

Yeah, I think they’ll notice you, Christie. You’re the six-foot blonde standing on the water, above your daughters, dead center in the picture – I wouldn’t worry about focus-pulling. I don’t have a problem with what she’s saying and it’s nice she’s trying to say it but I feel like CB did when Christie talked about body image in 2015 – consider the source. I think the reference to the apple crate under the water supposed to be an analogy about public perception vs. reality. Actually, I don’t think that’s what she meant but I like the analogy so I am putting it in there anyway.

Why does it bug me so much that Christie is not only facing away from Alexa and toward Sailor but is holding her hand? I know that’s not Christie’s call but I feel like it’s sending the wrong message considering Sailor is a carbon copy of her.

Photo credit: Twitter, Instagram and WENN Photos