Attention Women: Are You Buying What They’re Selling?
Calling all women (of all ages)! Whether you know it or not, you are cordially and exclusively invited to an ongoing event of your lifetime. Let me be the first to (sarcastically) welcome you to the unending perfectionistic toxic culture of feeling and believing you are never enough.
You, my dear, are a beloved guest of honor to this event. While women play a very important role in society, you continue to fight an uphill battle. With a barrage of messaging and images meant to cut you down in subtle ways, rest assured there is something on the market you can buy to help you feel better. At least for a minute. Be it a magic hair wand, a new eyeshadow color palette, or a timely seasonal drink, you can trust businesses are there to support you when you are feeling at your worst.
As a woman, every day of your life, businesses will push you to find flaws in your skin, defects in your body shape, and hoping you realize your wardrobe is endlessly outdated, even after you just updated it. Sure, you can have a few moments of feeling good in your beige colored sweater and wide legged jeans. However, it’s only a matter of time before those colors and styles are out. Rest assured, you’ll see plenty of advertising pointing you towards what to buy next. Just be sure to follow, otherwise you are bound to feel like you aren’t enough.
In addition, please remember you are meant to be thick in all the “right” areas. However, know the thickness and areas will change with each decade. So don’t get too invested as the script is sure to flip. Suddenly, with warnings from social media influencers who show up daily to tell you what’s trending, you’ll find your coveted areas have fallen to the wayside in favor of something thinner or thicker, whatever paid advertisers have decided for the quarter.
Now if that’s not enough to get you down, remember, you are summoned to be remarkably flawless. Make sure no wrinkles cross your skin, especially if you are over age 25. In fact, if you are over age 25 and you have wrinkles, I hate to tell you, but toxic feminine culture says it might be too late for you. Regardless, if you haven’t already, you should be saving and spending your hard earned cash on facials, serums, wands, and invasive procedures all while keeping your nails manicured with the perfect color for the season. If you are unsure about the seasonal color then head to your favorite social media influencers who will tell you what the color, shape, and length of your nails should be based on what their paid advertisers say. Make sure you give those accounts a quick follow, so you’ll never be out of date as long as you are glued to your device, as things change quickly.
In this culture of never enough, you are invited to be in a constant state of comparison with not only your friends and peers but with complete strangers. With an inside view of everyone’s well-curated life, you too can feel terrible about yours. Sure, you can try to remember someone else has it worse, but in those times of meaningless and endless scrolling, you are sure to feel that your life is absolutely not enough.
But hey, don’t feel bad. It’s not entirely personal. This invitation has been delivered to women since the beginning of time. An invitation given to your mothers, grandmothers, and many of your female ancestors. And I guarantee you, most of them picked up their invitation to never be enough and either consciously or unconsciously accepted it. Sure the method of delivery was different, but the message was the same. You are “supposed” to be/look a certain way or you are not enough. Not enough to date, marry, be successful, associate with, live…the list is endless.
Despite what I’ve written above, I’ve got some good news. I know there is hope. Now more than ever, one of the many wonderful qualities women of this generation possess is a voice. While it continues to be challenged, your voice and actions as a woman have power. What you give your attention and money to makes a difference. Who you follow and allow yourself to be influenced by matters in your life.
Will You Accept?
So let me ask you, are you ok with accepting this invitation to never be enough or will you confidently decline? Will you allow media moguls, paid advertisements, and big businesses who have zero interest in your well-being to be your life drive? Or will you choose to settle into who YOU are and who YOU are meant to be? Will you accept yourself to look how YOU do and make the changes YOU desire to feel good for YOU? Will you honor the things YOU like and move towards the life YOU want to live despite what businesses are trying to sell you? Will YOU let your unique, individualized self be your guide?
In this one wild and precious life, I challenge you to always choose YOU. Stop accepting the invitation to never be enough. Be the voice for yourself and for future women generations. Let’s declare to this perfectionistic toxic culture together: “I’ve had enough of what you’re selling. I am enough.”
Workshops for Girls
Wise Girl Workshops hosts a variety of workshops for girls to help boost self-esteem and confidence. We also focus on understanding media’s impact. If you would like schedule a workshop or join one of our upcoming ones, then please contact us.
If you want to learn more about the research regarding other issues facing teen girls, then please head to the CDC’s latest study.
