This is a follow up from last week’s post, “talking to the image”.
After the image of the lotus had spoken, the blue circles in the image talked. The circles revealed themselves as pain.
Tag Archives: childhood
You DON’T HAVE TO be pretty…
It’s time for the second installment of my article “don’t make your child into a princess”.
This section will focus on the idea that as women, media tells us we have only one source of pride and value as a human being: our physical beauty. Without youth, smooth skin, white teeth, shiny strong hair and a thin figure we are valueless and completely unworthy – or so we are told. We have to do anything it takes to be pretty in order of deserving love and acceptance.
Within fifteen minutes of watching TV or looking at a magazine, 80% of women start feeling bad about their appearance. Their confidence fails and their self-esteem lowers, making them become self-conscious and self-critical. This strategy has been developed by advertising with the sole purpose of selling us women products that we don’t really need, anything from make-up to tooth paste to hair coloring to face creams and weight loss products and programs.
Don’t make your child into a princess
I have noticed lately a great amount of little girls, some as young as one or two years old, all made up and dressed up as princesses. These little girls are not rehearsing for a play or dressed in costume for halloween; they are “embodying” an “every day” princess.
This, of course, is nothing new; the archetype of the “princess” has been around for a very long time, and it is prevalent in children’s books and stories. Disney has done a lot to push into little minds the idea that “every girl is a princess”, and it sells millions of dollars in videos, dresses, accessories and plastic toys to complement the illusion.