Katie Couric's Notebook: Cankles

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Since the dawn of time, it seems women have been told that their bodies aren't good enough, their waists should be smaller, their thighs thinner, their arms more buff.

Now, there's a new imperfection to add to the list: cankles.

The term refers to the area where the calf meets the ankle - and apparently it has to be lean. Gold's Gym declared July "Cankles Awareness Month" and plastic surgeons are now performing liposuction on ankles.

The word itself is something of a joke - like muffin top or spare tire - but the concept has really taken off. Hillary Clinton is sometimes teased for having cankles and teen queen Miley Cyrus complains about them in her autobiography. The Wall Street Journal just ran a story about the anti-cankle craze.

It's all a bit much.

As we enjoy the dog days of August, let's hope women throw on their summer dresses and bathing suits, and work harder on loving and accepting their bodies, rather than perfecting them.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

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