Girl Power
Today there was a house filled with girls. My daughters Camille and Taina, my friend Jacky, her daughter Sueheli, my granddaughters Mia and Isabella, my friend Eugiene and even the six ladies next door having a girl weekend. I look at each of the girls around me and what I see is a power that is unlike males. These girls each have been taught that being a girl or woman means something and each one of them have been told they are valuable and just as smart as any boy or man. I often remember how hard it was for me to buy my daughter her first Barbie when she asked for it. I avoided that doll for many years and when in any toy store I would offer anything but a Barbie to my kids. I think this may have had some effect in that they really were not that interested in Barbies even after they had one. Today as women they share how the image of the Barbie sends the wrong message to girls. I personally think that a doll with an one inch waist and a ten inch bust is a bit confusing and makes me ponder what kind of message it sends our girls. Then as if matters were not bad enough I picked up a woman's fashion magazine and there she is a live Barbie, posed as if she were the doll herself equipped with breast augmentations and a super tiny waste. It was blood curdling to me. Not only does this model look exactly like a Barbie it was almost as if she had starved herself to look the way she did. She was not only not beautiful to me, she looked literally sick. My heart sank and all I could think of was that this was criminal. I thought it should be against the law for any public magazine to sell that kind of look, one that is not only fake but in my opinion unhealthy.
We have to teach our girls about girl power but so do the schools. Teachers should be talking about body image to girls in class and it should be a part of the school curriculum. Not one girl should be left to think that she is ugly because she does not look like the Barbie on the shelf and the Barbie inside the school toy box. I remember one commercial with women dancing in tight leather skirts. I think at the time it was legal to have commercials about liquor. These girls of course were drinking and laughing delighting in the company of handsome men. I remember my oldest daughter looking at the commercial with so much interest and how intensive she was. I was mortified and finally looked at her and said "you know that is fake don't you?". Most girls don't look like that and don't drink like that. I added, "most girls look like you, normal and completely fine". I did not know what else to say but I recall being really resentful that these commercials were on TV for kids to see. After that I became more vigilant about what she watched on TV and would sometimes ask her if she would like to listen to some music. I would put Linda or Better Midler on for her and she started to sing along to the songs. I was lucky or at least felt lucky that I had found something else she could interact with that was not some depiction of a Barbie or a fake image of women.
Today I looked around me at the women in my home and I was proud to see people who were doing and expressing freely. I could see how comfortable they are each in their own body even though none of them are Barbie like women. I delighted in the fact that they made themselves drinks and drank responsibly and enjoyed every moment. Each of them beautiful in their own way whether thirteen or thirty. All of them comfortable in their own skin. All of them with something to contribute and to say. Each of them saying it with conviction. As I looked around me I could see that girl power and empowerment. I could see that they could interact with males and keep their goddess energy the whole time. None needed to be competitive or arrogant. Each of them open hearted and willing to hear what each one had to share and say, laughing at each other's dilemmas and experiences. Where did they learn to become more than a Barbie doll and more than that image of a woman? To me it does not matter but what does matter is that the female power is not to be ignored or minimized.
For every woman who has gone against another woman I just want to share that there is sufficient reasons to stay bonded and supportive of each other. For every woman who competes with men to get a job and would fire a woman for being pregnant I want to say think about that. Women of the world have and will stick together. Women who know are aware that the power of the woman depends in part in the unity of women. I am so proud of the women in my life who support and love other women and show up for them. They are the kind of women who give of themselves in order to help a sister. I love that and I admire it and I wish I had that with other men.
Finally, I want to share that men should take a serious look at how we can be of support to our women and other women. How can we learn more about women and share in the unity that will make our world a better place to live in. Men, stand up and be counted. See how you and your brothers can be of loving and compassionate support of women. See what you can do about rape and some of the other disrespect towards women. Invite a woman to be a friend. Invite a woman to a dialog about what it means to be a female and what obstacles they have undergone. Put yourself in the place of a woman and ask one woman in your life that you love what it is to be a woman. Remember that in some places in the world girls are killed because they are not considered as valuable or worthy as a male. Stand up for humanity and stand up for one woman even if it is presented as an opportunity.
A woman is a powerful force in a different way that men are. Their definition of power is not like that of some men. Take the time to see beyond the images of women in magazines and Barbie dolls. Get to know a woman from the inside out. Learn a new lesson and a new way of thinking.
Power to the girl!!
We have to teach our girls about girl power but so do the schools. Teachers should be talking about body image to girls in class and it should be a part of the school curriculum. Not one girl should be left to think that she is ugly because she does not look like the Barbie on the shelf and the Barbie inside the school toy box. I remember one commercial with women dancing in tight leather skirts. I think at the time it was legal to have commercials about liquor. These girls of course were drinking and laughing delighting in the company of handsome men. I remember my oldest daughter looking at the commercial with so much interest and how intensive she was. I was mortified and finally looked at her and said "you know that is fake don't you?". Most girls don't look like that and don't drink like that. I added, "most girls look like you, normal and completely fine". I did not know what else to say but I recall being really resentful that these commercials were on TV for kids to see. After that I became more vigilant about what she watched on TV and would sometimes ask her if she would like to listen to some music. I would put Linda or Better Midler on for her and she started to sing along to the songs. I was lucky or at least felt lucky that I had found something else she could interact with that was not some depiction of a Barbie or a fake image of women.
Today I looked around me at the women in my home and I was proud to see people who were doing and expressing freely. I could see how comfortable they are each in their own body even though none of them are Barbie like women. I delighted in the fact that they made themselves drinks and drank responsibly and enjoyed every moment. Each of them beautiful in their own way whether thirteen or thirty. All of them comfortable in their own skin. All of them with something to contribute and to say. Each of them saying it with conviction. As I looked around me I could see that girl power and empowerment. I could see that they could interact with males and keep their goddess energy the whole time. None needed to be competitive or arrogant. Each of them open hearted and willing to hear what each one had to share and say, laughing at each other's dilemmas and experiences. Where did they learn to become more than a Barbie doll and more than that image of a woman? To me it does not matter but what does matter is that the female power is not to be ignored or minimized.
For every woman who has gone against another woman I just want to share that there is sufficient reasons to stay bonded and supportive of each other. For every woman who competes with men to get a job and would fire a woman for being pregnant I want to say think about that. Women of the world have and will stick together. Women who know are aware that the power of the woman depends in part in the unity of women. I am so proud of the women in my life who support and love other women and show up for them. They are the kind of women who give of themselves in order to help a sister. I love that and I admire it and I wish I had that with other men.
Finally, I want to share that men should take a serious look at how we can be of support to our women and other women. How can we learn more about women and share in the unity that will make our world a better place to live in. Men, stand up and be counted. See how you and your brothers can be of loving and compassionate support of women. See what you can do about rape and some of the other disrespect towards women. Invite a woman to be a friend. Invite a woman to a dialog about what it means to be a female and what obstacles they have undergone. Put yourself in the place of a woman and ask one woman in your life that you love what it is to be a woman. Remember that in some places in the world girls are killed because they are not considered as valuable or worthy as a male. Stand up for humanity and stand up for one woman even if it is presented as an opportunity.
A woman is a powerful force in a different way that men are. Their definition of power is not like that of some men. Take the time to see beyond the images of women in magazines and Barbie dolls. Get to know a woman from the inside out. Learn a new lesson and a new way of thinking.
Power to the girl!!
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