Lady is a Tramp
When I discovered I was having my daughter, the first emotion I felt was fear. I feared raising a girl who would eventually become one of the dreaded over-sexualized airheads that seem to be the stereotypical young woman today. I feared the day my daughter would start dating as I have become more aware of the types of "relationships" that young people now deem normal. And who can blame me? Merely watching commercials for such trash shows as "The Hills", "Gossip Girl" and "Rock of Love" make me want to ship my daughter to a remote area in the Northwest Territories where the closest glimpse of modern society is 100 miles away.
Young women today seem to be inundated with images of society's "ideal woman": overtly sexual; morally corrupted; extremely thin with oversized breasts; avid consumer; materialistic; focused on brand names; and unintelligent. The ideal young woman has become Barbie in the flesh, a realization of every man's dark sexual fantasy: a shell of humanity without substance or purpose, created only for the satisfaction of men's sexual desires. Young women who display any sign of intelligence or character or morals are deemed "frigid" or "boring."
What is a mother of a girl to do? These images of women as sexual objects are everywhere: on TV, in magazines, on billboards and buses. And try as we might to shelter our daughters from these images, once they go off to school and into society, they will be exposed not only to these images but to real people who are exactly what those images represent. I do not intend to sit by while society tells my daughter what type of woman she should become or how she should look or act. I intend to teach my daughter what my parents taught me: that physical beauty and youth are fleeting and when the wrinkles set in, and beauty is no longer apparent on the outside, what remains will define who you really are. When all the Barbies grow old, what will they have to offer to society or to themselves? I want my daughter to think upon this question and, hopefully, it will inspire her to put more effort into developing her intellect and her character than into her outward appearance.
The path society is setting for our young women today leaves me little hope for my daughter's future. But I can, and will, do my best to ensure that my daughter does not take the path society has set for her. I hope I can guide her to another path, one she can create herself and one far removed from the path many young women unwittingly follow today.
Young women today seem to be inundated with images of society's "ideal woman": overtly sexual; morally corrupted; extremely thin with oversized breasts; avid consumer; materialistic; focused on brand names; and unintelligent. The ideal young woman has become Barbie in the flesh, a realization of every man's dark sexual fantasy: a shell of humanity without substance or purpose, created only for the satisfaction of men's sexual desires. Young women who display any sign of intelligence or character or morals are deemed "frigid" or "boring."
What is a mother of a girl to do? These images of women as sexual objects are everywhere: on TV, in magazines, on billboards and buses. And try as we might to shelter our daughters from these images, once they go off to school and into society, they will be exposed not only to these images but to real people who are exactly what those images represent. I do not intend to sit by while society tells my daughter what type of woman she should become or how she should look or act. I intend to teach my daughter what my parents taught me: that physical beauty and youth are fleeting and when the wrinkles set in, and beauty is no longer apparent on the outside, what remains will define who you really are. When all the Barbies grow old, what will they have to offer to society or to themselves? I want my daughter to think upon this question and, hopefully, it will inspire her to put more effort into developing her intellect and her character than into her outward appearance.
The path society is setting for our young women today leaves me little hope for my daughter's future. But I can, and will, do my best to ensure that my daughter does not take the path society has set for her. I hope I can guide her to another path, one she can create herself and one far removed from the path many young women unwittingly follow today.
posted by Margie at 12:41 AM
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