Blue Star Chronicles

Miss March, otherwise known as Mary Jo Madvig, posed with silk spring flowers and grasses. The Calendar Gals ordered 3,000 copies of their project and have sold more than 300 since they were, um, unveiled last month.

Nothing gets the attention of the public as much as nude women. A group of women calling themselves The Calendar Gals of West Des Moines decided to use that public relations fact to raise funds for breast cancer research.

The idea started over card games and girl talk. A couple of the women in the group had suffered from breast cancer and others had loved ones who suffered from breast cancer. About a year ago one of them suggested they take off their clothes and make a naked calendar to raise funds.

All of the women are in their 60s and 70s and describe butterflies and fear when it came time for the photo shoot. They took precautions that unwanted guests wouldn’t barge in by pushing the sofa in front of the door and one of their daughters-in-law took the photos.

They wanted it to be mostly PG-13 rated, sometimes R - but never X. So in each photo, the women were tastefully covered.

Miss March was shaded by silk spring flowers and grasses, Miss June by her garter and wedding dress from 47 years ago, Miss July by a gas grill and several American flags. Miss September posed by a teacher’s desk and a small chalkboard; Miss November by pumpkins, gourds and a cornucopia of grasses.

In truth, the movie ratings system of today would give this calendar no worse than a PG rating. But still….

“For old ladies, we were pretty risque,” pointed out Miss May, 78-year-old Kathy Miner.

It’s easy to focus on the fact that the calendar is made up of 11 grandmothers who took off their clothes. But, of course, there’s a greater meaning behind it all.

And if you look closely, you can see that meaning: a pink ribbon affixed to their bodies in each photo.

It’s called the Posed for the Cure calendar. More information can be found here.