posted 15 years ago
I think my man and I will go see that with his 14 year old daughter.....
I think our obsession with outer beauty is a symptom of the average person's feeling of helplessness and worthlessness. Going to a job that means nothing, knowing you're making some corporation money instead of getting ahead yourself, paying taxes to a government that does not represent you properly, etc. All of that leaves us with very little to feel worthwhile, other than our possessions and 'image.'
If you feel confident that your voice, brain, and hands are a gift to the world, what your butt looks like when you're nekkid suddenly seems hugely unimportant. I was about 15 when I decided that my body was a tool for creation, and I cannot tell you what a relief that realization was. I struggled with eating disorders in middle school...I feel that young boys in our culture are still told that their importance in life is in what they DO, while young girls get the message that SURE! you can DO whatever you want - so long as you LOOK really good doing it. (not saying that men aren't also pressured, but I don't feel that the pressures are equal between sexes)
I like to remind young girls that models are on television and magazines because that is their job. They are paid well to look like that, but the rest of us have better things to do and think about. A hundred years from now, no one will care what Kate Moss looked like last week. Lots of people will care that a few citizens thought about the future enough to plant some trees.
