It's Not Real

THIS is true beauty!

I spend a lot of time thinking about the bombardment of beauty in this world.  I have self-esteem issues myself and always have.  My daughter has some issues with body image and it breaks my heart.  I watch the struggle that people go through (yes ladies, men go through it too, just  not as vocally as we do) to try and be physically "perfect" like the people we, for some reason, idolize.  There is a GREAT post by Crunchy Betty here that says a lot of things that I think we need to hear.  First and foremost is this:

You need to understand that what you see in the magazine and on the TV is not real.  Stop aiming for it, because it is simply not real.

I'll let you read the rest of the post yourself and if you have pre-teen or teenagers, then let them read it as well.  Until we, as adults, understand that the standard of beauty that is set in this country is unrealistic, and is in fact dangerous, things will not change.  Our girls, and yes our boys too (they are the fastest growing population of anorexic and bulimic teens and pre-teens), will continue to look at their bodies in a negative light.

It's hard to raise children with a positive self image when they are constantly exposed to the "perfection" of the models that they see.  You can turn off the TV, but as long as they can see books, magazines, and billboards; they will see these perfect people.  They will not see the airbrushing, the stylists, the makeup crew, the photoshopping, or anything else done to make these pictures and people look so good.

I try to teach my daughter that it's all fake, that natural beauty comes from eating healthy foods, drinking water, and loving yourself.  I'm not always successful but I try.

"to be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting".
~e.e. cummings~