The pressure never lets up it seems. Just when my generation thought we’d freed ourselves from the girdles our mothers wore, now we find our daughters (and ourselves) squeezing back into uncomfortable and (according to an NBC report) potentially unhealthy “shapewear.” The preoccupation with looks, and finding our self-worth in our attractiveness, is a plague on womanhood that marches on. And now it’s not just constraining lumpy tummies and muffin tops, its also achieving the “thigh gap.” Who knew? Watch this report by NBC to find out more about this new obsession.
For heaven’s sake! I haven’t seen the light of day between my thighs for at least 20 years. And after trying shapewear, which my daughters insisted is a necessity (yes, I have a muffin top that threatens to overflow), I couldn’t wait to get out of it! How I wish our daughters could know how little it matters if they are not the best-dressed, prettiest, or thinnest. Moms and dads, let’s wage war on the warped message that their worth depends on externals. TALK to your girls about what really matters. Build up her worth based on her character and her talents, not her conformity to our society’s standards of beauty. And realize that females may be the ones putting more pressure on other girls than guys do. Dare I also ask you…moms…to examine the messages you are sending as well? Does our example or our words also make our daughters feel like nothing if they don’t measure up physically? If so, we need to change our own values first!