The media bombards us with images of women that trade on their looks. When young girls see this they figure that the only way they're going to get anywhere in life is by looking pretty. Every time I see a story about that 17 year old girl who married that 51 year old actor (at her mother's urging), I'm like "For real?" Now that the two of them are married she spends her time posting provocative pictures of herself on Face Book in low-cut tops and short shorts. Cleavage abounds up top and down below. If that's the way this mother wants her child to live her life, then that's fine. Those escapades don't need to be laid out for public consumption.
Of course one of the biggest pop culture headlines of the moment has to do with Kim Kardashian's 72 day marriage. The backlash is monumental. During a period in our economic history when a large part of the population can't keep their homes and there's a man trying to rob Burger King with a sock http://consumerist.com/2011/11/man-tries-to-rob-burger-king-with-a-sock.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter, the last thing this world needed was the gross display of conspicuous consumption that constituted her wedding to Kris Humphries. This isn't the effin' 1980s! To spend all of that money and have all of that hoopla, and then to turn around and say "I'm divorcing him." flies in the face of everything that many people hold dear.
If either of the women that I mentioned above were homely, with no sex appeal, do you think we'd even know anything about their stories? Of course not! The media is teaching our young women that if they want to get anywhere they have to be beautiful and willing to exploit that beauty for all it's worth. In a bid to measure up, eating disorders continue to be on the rise, and bullying seems to be at an all time high.
The only way to completely insulate your daughters against this would be to ban all forms of media from your household. Not only is that drastic, it's nearly impossible. A more effective way to combat these harmful messages is to sit your girls down and talk to them. Let them know that looks fade. Unless they're willing to spend their whole lives chasing youth (which I consider a waste of a good life), there's always going to be someone younger and prettier. If a woman doesn't base who and what she is on her looks, that's not going to matter to her. There's a whole world out there that needs fixing. Women have the intuition, listening skills, and nurturing nature to bring this world back around to what it needs to be. There's no law that says we can't look good while we're doing it, but let's not make looking good our sole purpose in life.
AMEN my sister and I mean that!!! EXCELLENT post and I wish you'd send it as a letter to Marie Claire, or Glamour magazine!
ReplyDeleteThis is an important post. Media has been teaching girls that looks and lack of shape are the most important things is life, besides $$, for decades. Think Twiggy. I hadn't heard about that 17 year old and don't know who you're talking about but Kim K just reinforces our point about taxing the rich! KK did nothing to earn the $$ she's pi$$ing away. She and the Hilton kids & so many others have never worked and are only rich decause of Daddy or granddaddy. It's time they paid their share rather than keeping the drug cartels in business. Not to mention them making a mockery out of marriage when gay couples who are really in love CAN'T get married.
ReplyDeleteGrate powst michelle. Teh constant bombardment of stoopid hoomanz wumenz on televiszhunz iz alwayz gettin in da way of good showz like Birdz in Trees an stuff like dat. An whyz it all abowts stuff? Ya gots ta haz this, an ya gots to haz that. Allz I needs iz a mousie an sum nipz!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post Michelle and so "right on." Sometimes I think all the media does is corrupt the younger generation - and the older generation too for that matter.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everthing you say here. And I will go to the mat on this issue. Society today idolizes the lowest of human behavior. The teenage girls of today are participating in their own bondage and are enslaving themselves with cheap behavior. I talk to so many teen girls and try to get them to understand that they need to respect themselves and to demand that boys respect them. They will not listen to me. But at age 19 my daughter is still a virgin (and not I'm not being hoodwinked by her). She's chosen this course out of respect for her own body and not for reasons of religion. We also got rid of our telly 4 years ago. It was a family decision and we don't miss it. We women have to pull together to change these things. You would make a great mentor to a young girl Michelle.
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