I was at Target Saturday night, (aka the happiest place on earth) and I was drawn to the newest issue of Glamour magazine. If any other person had been on the cover, I would've just passed by it. But this wasn't just any person.
It was Taylor Swift.
If you don't already know this about me, you should know that I never pass by anything Taylor related without some sort of proper acknowledgement. Don't judge me.
So in this case, I thought the proper acknowledgement would be to buy the magazine. I picked it up and threw it in the cart. After a few minutes of admiring the cover, though, I realized something.
There's a reason why I never buy that magazine. Aside from being filled up with ads- many of which are way inappropriate and or have nothing to do with the product being advertised- it hardly ever promotes healthy self esteem. I wanted to support my girl, but why should I subject myself to needless topics in the process?
I decided not to.
Most women's magazines fall into the category of being more harmful than helpful, and the majority of articles are about losing weight or
looking hot or
making him fall for you.
Is this really what we're teaching young women to want?
In Troian Bellisario's issue of Seventeen, she bravely talks about her past struggles with an eating disorder. She makes it clear that they are a serious thing and that's the way they should be treated. Yet, on the cover of that very same issue, the magazine proudly tells you that you can "get an insane body. It's hard, but you'll look hot." As if that's what we should strive for. Magazines tend to contradict themselves that way. And honestly, I'm sick of it.
I'm sick of the lies that we are fed every single day. The lies that tell us we are not good enough. The lies that tell us we need to change the way we look and act. The lies that tell us we are worthless.
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| {via me} |
There is too much focus on how we look on the outside, and not enough on how we look on the inside. But the inside is the part that really matters. Don't buy into the lies. Believe the truth instead.
You are good enough.
You are beautiful.
You are of great worth in God's sight.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to look pretty or be healthy, of course. But it needs to stop becoming the focus of our lives. That's when things can get complicated and messy. When you look in the mirror, look beyond the hair and the eyeliner and the lipstick. Find your spirit. Make sure it's gentle and quiet. I bet it is already. And that's all you need. All you need to be beautiful.
