Recently, I watched a short clip from a one woman show. The show opened with the actress portraying several different female characters, from different backgrounds, race and religion. She set the scene with these women as they were actual characters sitting in her chair at a make-up counter in a department store. The opening lines for each character were virtually the same, from different reasons or sources, but still so surprisingly similar, it inspired this woman to dramatize the encounter and speak to its power over women today. Each response to this woman’s welcoming greeting was an apology for the way each woman looked, felt about herself, the less than perfect condition of their skin, or simply their lack of beauty.
The devastating effects on the psychological well-being of women in this country are embarrassing. From magazines to movies, billboards to Barbie, we have allowed the fashion industry and the media to brow-beat women into insecure, apologetic drones answering to the popular standard of the time. Women are made slaves to the make-up aisle at Target and Wal-mart to spend billions collectively on “age-defying” products to make the skin look younger and “healthier.” Aging is a process we are all going through. Why are we so desperate to stay looking young? Is it the façade created by the fashion industry that foists this paradigm on the women of this country, that you only have worth if you are young or look young? Does any of this make-up foster a greater intelligence or wisdom? Does it make women worth more to be or look young, to be better and more valuable at their jobs, hobbies, charity or family care? Is this really what “progressive” means for future women and their generational legacy?
Not only has make-up advanced, but we have an epidemic of cosmetic surgeries and procedures. Today’s woman is bombarded with the possibilities of “fixing” themselves with liposuction, breast augmentation, facelifts, tummy tucks and pumping “ass-fat” into lips for a fuller more appealing look. Sorry gang, Priscilla Presley and Dolly Parton have ruined themselves. They have allowed society to dictate their beauty and I find it shameful. We create viewership for garbage like “The Real Housewives of Every Affluent Region in America” for the most unrealistic depiction of life in the United States.
Is it not far more important that we empower our girls as they grow-up to demand respect for their intelligence, wisdom, foresight, and courage. We should be showing all of our children the benefits of a personal work ethic, utilizing their brains as much as their bodies and that by creating and nurturing their sense of self-worth they can drive forward and serve their families, their communities and their country in the process. We are losing ground every day in the ability to be world leaders as we put more emphasis on the cover of the book, than the chapter and verse.
