It's no secret...

that I have a problem with the media's portrayal of women on so many levels. I've been horrified with the treatment of women in media since my years in college when I took an independent study art class on the power of female portrayal. But, my frustration multiplied when I saw how these images had the power to affect my girls.

Beyond the fact that the media's preoccupation with beauty and physical perfection is damaging girls by creating an impossible standard to live up to, it turns girls into these narcissistic and superficial little beings who are more obsessed with flavored lip gloss than affecting change in their world. Girls are taught to focus 90% of their attention on obtaining physical perfection. They perpetrate these crimes against each other as they enter school by competing for the attention and favor of boys. It is a self-perpetuating cycle that is leading to the devolution of girls/women in society.

Did you hear about the hundreds of thousands of pairs of underwear that had to be pulled from Wal-mart's shelves? They were in the same section of the store Kai would be "shopping." For girls aged 4 to 14. On the front of these bikini panties was the phrase: "Who needs money" Um, are you freaking kidding me? The implication is obvious. Its great being a girl! It's like being your own ATM machine. You just use what you've been given and you never have to worry about money again. Wow, a whole country of 4-year-old prostitutes in training. Of course, flip the panties around and you see, "when you have Santa." But, still, it is unbelievable. How nice to Santa does a little girl have to be to get presents for Christmas? For God's sake, on what planet did this seem like a good idea? Are we letting pedophiles design little girls' clothing now? It actually makes me physically sick to think about the direction we are taking our girls in this country. It terrifies me that my girls could get caught up in this current despite my best efforts to keep them out.

And don't even get me started on the impossible and unattainable images of beauty in the media. As women, we are striving to attain (and allowing our girls to strive for) an image that is impossible. And, just because you have boys doesn't mean you are exempt from this onslaught of media corruption. Boys are given this false picture of the perfect girl/woman and it is one that they will never find. The only possible outcome is a society of perpetually unhappy boys/men who are always seeking (and never finding) the image of beauty they are told they should seek to find.

Anyways, this all started because I wanted to blog about these Dove Beauty commercials. I'm not silly enough to believe they are purely interested in the well-being of girls' self-esteem, but I do think their campaign is great. Check out these videos...





amazing. makes me want to do everything in my power to protect my girls from feeling this pressure...