Flipping through magazines while waiting for my hairstylist often makes me sad. I look at the photos of perfect bodies and hair and wonder why I can’t achieve it, no matter how hard I try.
Conversations with my stylist are enlightening. The hair is seldom real, extensions are added along with tons of product to hold the hair in shape during a shoot.
Photoshop is often always used to make those bodies a bit tanner and thinner.
What message is being sent to young girls? Or even older women?
We aren’t good enough as we are. Even Christian women who know in our hearts that God created us, we are beautiful and wonderfully made, still think what we look like now can’t be what He desires.
So we tan, eat less, schedule another exercise class and maybe loose a few pounds.
Then we fall into a funk.
Why? Because we still don’t look like the magazine ads, the commercials or our favorite star.
A friend of mine produced this video as a class project. It’s worth watching and not just once. Show it to your daughters and your friends. Get into a discussion about what real people are supposed to look like.
Very nice article Diana. I know I am a guy, but I have talked to girls who have had this problem, and recently wrote an article on this subject on my blog. Please visit http://www.joshuabedford.com/more-beautiful-you/ and I would love for you to leave a comment on that post linking to this one!
Thank you Joshua for visiting. I did check out your article and couldn't agree with you more. The song says it all.
Diana
That's a great video! Thank you for blogging about such an important topic. We need less Photoshop and more realism in our standards of beauty.
Rabia,
i agree. More realism would be good for everyone.
Diana
Very good post, Diana. Though I thankfully don't suffer from anorexia, as an American woman, I'm brainwashed to not appreciate my looks. Sigh. I did just Tweet this & sent the link to a couple of people with young daughters.
Elaine, thanks so much for forwarding the links. It's a great video and one that would be good to watch when you don't feel 'good' enough.
I don't know what He intended but I'm guessing it wasn't what is showing up in the ads. Diana
Diana, you're so right. I wonder if we even know what God intended anymore? I enjoyed the video as well.