Media Friday

Today I am starting a new feature where on most Fridays I will post a topic in relation to this site (i.e. abstinence, virginity, self-esteem, confidence, peer pressure, etc.), that is being talked about somewhere in the media.  (Don’t worry though, your favorite features –Monologue Mondays and Interviews from the Male’s Perspective- aren’t going anywhere! In fact, I have a new interview coming up in a couple of days, so be on the look out for that J).

But back to the topic at hand, today I found a VERY interesting article about a trend that is happening amongst some teenage girls: posting Am I Ugly or Pretty YouTube videos for the world to judge them. You can read more about the article here.

I have to admit that I was a bit disturbed when I read the article and saw the videos. These young ladies are making videos of themselves and asking strangers to rate them on whether they find them attractive or not.

The teenage years are supposed to be filled with fun and laughter; learning new things and discovering oneself. There is enough cruelty going on within the schools that they shouldn’t be freely offering to subject themselves to even more scrutiny.

When I think about “reality” t.v. stars, teenage fashion magazines, and teen idols, I understand how a developing young woman would look at herself and feel like she doesn’t measure up in comparison. The truth is that no one does though; not even the stars themselves- but no one focuses on this unglamorous truth. Airbrushing, plastic surgery, makeup contouring, and all of the other potentially damaging habits to a person’s self-esteem and confidence are not HOT topics.

Why have we become a society so focused on outside beauty that young women are beginning to think that that’s all they have to offer, and if they don’t have the looks and physical attributes (that they deem beautiful), then they feel worthless and unattractive?  

Why are we not teaching them the reality is that beauty fades, but it’s what’s on the inside that will sustain them?

Has our reality become so skewed as a people that perceptions matter more than reality itself?

I am only 26, but if I could sit down and talk with these girls (or anyone who measures their self-worth in how appealing they appear to others), and share with them the little wisdom that I have learned so far, then I would tell them that beauty is a subjective term. What one person finds attractive, another person might see as not so appealing.

You are beautiful, and you don’t need someone on any type of social networking site or anywhere else to tell you that. Stop comparing yourself to other people and realize that you have something to offer the world that no one else ever will be able to. You are special and no one else compares.

Believe that.