 |
| Let's teach girls to love what looks back at them! |
 |
| Perfection blooms in various ways for every girl. |
Our girls need to know that beauty is at its greatest when formed from the inside. Every girl in this world is capable of being taught that true beauty illuminates through her attitude, her outlook on life and her own self respect. When it comes to outer beauty, we put girls under tremendous pressure to be perfect. Instead we should teach them how to create their own beautiful without sacrificing their morals, values and inner contentment. So many young girls have the impression that they are not pretty enough and every factor of their young lives either solidifies or denies that belief. Three of the biggest contributors to their self image include society/media, boys/men and their friends. The largest contributor SHOULD BE the positive female and male role models in their lives. We can change this by recognizing the other factors and actively combating them.
SOCIETY/MEDIA:
It's a good thing that I don't base my standard of beauty on Google! In researching for this week's topic of raising girls into women, I did an image search with the term "beautiful women". Many faces and scantily-clad bodies popped up on the screen. None that looked like me! Don't believe me?! Check it out for yourself:
 |
| The media's role in defining beauty is based on what we teach. |
Scrolling down 16 pages of images made me think about the insecure young girl I used to be and the heavy influence the media had on me to dress, talk and look a certain way. Add in some music videos, wall posters, and television shows and I NEVER thought I was good enough! An article I found suggested limiting girls’ exposure to media when they are young as a way to help them develop their own ideals (www.pbs.org/parents/raisinggirls/powerful/). I agree to an extent, but the media is hard to “hide”. At some point girls will get introduced to the media’s version of beauty. For me communicating the real from the faux and setting a “follow my lead” example are good tools in standing up against unrealistic media standards and imparting confidence in our young girls/women. They may still be influenced, but they will also have an internal knowledge that THEY are in control of defining their beauty.
BOYS/MEN:
 |
| Easy A Poster *Pic courtesy of http://www.daemonsmovies.com/ |
Dressing to impress for some young girls means being the center of attention for the opposite sex. Stereotypical messages are sent to our young girls everyday to be sex symbols. Shapely and seductive dummies with more sass than class. We need to teach girls to be beautiful for themselves, possess self-respect and confidence and the consequences that can lead to attracting boys/men by looks. No girl should be subjected to being judged, objected or mistreated but it happens. We live in a world where your reputation precedes you and your appearance is a critical factor in your overall treatment. A young girls’ beauty should be defined outside the parameters of sexuality and intimate relationships. I recommend watching the movie Easy A with a young girl in your life as an example of what NOT to do.
FRIENDS:
 |
| Good friends are a beautiful girl's ally! |
Young girls are extremely impressionable and the friends they allow into their lives play a part in the women they will become. True friendship is loving, kind and accepting. I always tell my niece that she should surround herself with positive friends who love her for who she is. Friends that will acknowledge and appreciate her inner and outer beauty and let her know when she is looking great. Or crazy! Or slutty! Or whatever (and still do it in a positive way)! Many young girls become linked to “frenemies” (the equivalent of an enemy with the mask of a friend). These damaging friendships can affect the way they view themselves and prevent them from embracing their own beauty.
 |
| Show the girls in your life where their light is and how to shine! |
Don’t allow the young women in your life to lose sight of their own inner light. My mom patiently tackled every one of my changes growing up and worked with me until I believed what she said. Even on my worse day, she had the ability to make me feel like a supermodel. Although there were make-up tips and shopping trips, the most influential act she did was tell me everyday that I AM BEAUTIFUL. You would be surprised what those words could affect when said at just the right time. We need to surround our young girls with positive support, love and compassion. Let them know that they don't need to look like anyone else to be gorgeous in their own right. Use every day to help them see their own beauty without the influence of any other factor. Regardless of what they see, hear or are told, we have a responsibility to make them feel beautiful everyday!
0 comments:
Post a Comment