Thursday, May 13, 2010
Why I'm glad I don't have a girl
For those of you who have girls, I want you to know that I'm doing my part. I talk to my boys REGULARLY about what the world is telling women, and how to recognize lies, and the importance of health and acceptance. But, man, is it a crazy world out there. (Thanks to Kristi for the link.)
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4 comments:
Mabel got her first anti-fat propaganda from her Sunbeam teacher, who somehow packaged it with the Word of Wisdom. This is SUCH a hard battle. I have to believe that parents can make a huge difference, but the destructive messages certainly are pervasive. For example, I've read an anorexia experts saying that it's best if parents don't diet, but that if a mother does go on a diet, at the very least she should conceal that fact from her daughter(s). But all the time you see mothers not only dieting, but encouraging their daughters to diet with them.
I was having a conversation with my sisters recently in which we agreed that my mom really had succeeded in passing on a healthy,sane attitude about eating and body size, and that none of us remembers obsessing about food or thinness in our adolescence. This was quite a coup (and opposite to what my mom had learned from her mother). Then my sister Mary sighed and said, "I wish I could have kept that healthy attitude into adulthood," and I had to agree. But at least we weren't doing destructive things to ourselves during critical growing years. Well, actually we're still not doing destructive things, but we agreed that it's harder not to obsess about food and size than it once was.
(I know the destructive messages to girls encompass much more than food and size, I'm just focusing on that aspect since it's one I've thought about a lot.)
Mabel's also hitting the age of girl relationship drama, which she's always avoided but now can't since a mean girl at school is doing her best to break up Mabel's friendships with two best friends, and is also doing some bullying. Mabel's bewildered about what to do and I try to give her good advice but I wish I could just spare her the whole experience. I do ADORE having daughters (they are so much fun) but I agree that the world is a hard place for women. (Men, too, of course. Just in different ways.)
Wowza. I couldn't keep my eyes on the screen, but it nails it head on.
I just listened repeatedly to a talk Sister Dalton gave at Women's Conference and one thing she included was how we have to do our part to consider what we are doing to contribute to the objectification and sexification (my word, obviously) of women -- in buying products that market by objectifying women.
It's an uphill battle to be sure.
I definately worry more about my daughter than my boys. That was a great video.
Woah... what a video. I worry about raising a daughter in the future - if things continue to get progressively so much worse...
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