beauty

I live in a family of nine; seven children and two parents.  My place in this line is first, leaving me with six younger siblings.  Being the eldest of such a large family, I have felt a sense of responsibility for my siblings from a very young age.  I want them to be happy and healthy in mind, body, and soul.

Recently, I have begun to realize what an impossible feat this really is, especially for my sisters.  Maria 14, Melissa -10, and Melena-8 are all growing up in a world where they are demanded to meet impossible standards that are based on physicality.  The definition of beauty that they are learning to model is unrealistic and alarming and as I paged through one of my favorite fashion magazines, I had to come to terms with the problems that this situation poses.

Now, more than ever, women are being bombarded with images of perfection: weight standards, hair color, ethnicity, eye color, clothing.  Although the awareness in this area is slowly growing, we tend to place emphasis on prejudice in regards to different cultures aka racism.  By no means am I belittling this obviously prevalent problem in our society; I am simply drawing attention to the dangerous effects that our society is having on growing girls.

While the technological advances that we are producing are moving us forward, they are also moving us back.  The problem is that with the internet and smart phones, everyone has access to infinite amounts of information, good and bad, including children.  The problematic perception of girls that is constantly being viewed can be found in hypersexualized music videos in which women are objects.  Their bodies are viewed by the camera in pieces which depersonalizes them.  Makeup ads for anti-aging products scream that wrinkles are unacceptable.  Mannequins, dolls, and Barbies all tell young girls that the only acceptable body type is something completely unattainable.

Even models admit to being photo-shopped and airbrushed to the point of nonrecognition and these are the faces and bodies that are plastered on the covers of magazines.  These are the images that infiltrate every commercial, and television show.  These are the man-made products to which my sisters compare themselves.

To be honest, it scares me to stand by and watch my sisters grow up in a world where the emphasis is not placed on their intelligent minds or loving souls or determination and work ethic. 

I fully believe that a person should only be competing with herself.  If adults can focus on personal improvement and becoming better people rather than constantly striving to reach perfection, then we will be setting important and significant examples for our students, sisters, daughters, and friends.  We must actively work to prove that a women's worth is not based on the way she looks, but on the passion, power, love, strength, thoughts, and ideas that lie under the skin.