I cannot stand Cosmo. I used to get it when I was in high school and it was hell to finally get them to stop sending it to me.
It is incredibly demoralizing and repetitive. But I think if you can see that, and make efforts to go in the direction you want for yourself, that's the best thing you can do to undermine their pervasive evil. Because if everybody can see how fabulous you are without their bullshit, then that's a step away from it. I believe that. It's worked for me.
Yeah, thank you. It's true, of course, that making efforts to go in a different direction are great...but I guess I just want to get to a place where all of that bullshit just doesn't even touch me. :) I mean, it's nothing new...it's just me wanting everything RIGHT NOW--self-knowledge, assurance, comfort, etc without really working for it. haha
i think the hardest part for me is that i know what crap cosmo is...and yet, like you said, i turn 14 again and fret about it all and have to actively remind myself what crap it is. that its a constant struggle. that i can walk around with my head held high and my laugh ringing through the air and then i walk past an issue of cosmo and wonder if my laugh is too loud, is my nose sticking in the air too high? it angers me to know that the magazines are getting me to question myself, even when i think i'm stronger than their glossy photo spreads.
on a sidenote, the organization of the magazine section used to infuriate me to no end. the movie and music sections were underneath the men's heading and the women's section was just those crappy women's magazines and parenting ones and such. the women's section is still that way, but at least the music and movie sections are not listed as a men's interest anymore. end sidenote rant.
yes, exactly. it's that it's such a freaking constant struggle. it's so stupid! argh!
love your sidenote. i almost made mention of that, but then felt like i didn't want to talk about the newsstand in my blog about self-love and body consciousness and the politics of women's media. ;)
It might be hard for me to empathize because I've never paid a damn to those magazines. Like you, I don't bother with beauty products beyond baby powder, and I'm unperfect and still manage to be the most beautiful woman my husband knows.
And I kind of think everyone is beautiful except for really unhappy people. It's easy to spot them. A lot of them invest too much time in looking pretty. Know what I mean?
I know you didn't write this looking for an affirmation, but you deserve one anyway: you are SO beautiful, in all ways to me. You are absolutely in the top tier of women that immediately spring to mind when I think of souls and bodies that I find gorgeous, sexy, honest, clever, passionate, whip-smart. It's alright to feel insecure every once in a while, but you already are and have all the unpackageable things those magazines are trying to sell to girls. You'll got it all.
You're right, of course, that everyone is beautiful. I think I've said as much in this journal plenty of times, too. And I totally believe it. And I think that absolutely includes the makeup-less, and the makeup-full. Joy is beauty in whatever form.
And holy motherloving crap, thank you for that amazing slew of compliments, I don't deserve them!!!!
Wheaton has a women's studies dept? Ok, that blew my mind.
I stopped reading those mags in a college. My self-esteem rose dramatically. That stuff is just bullshit. I try to imagine the woman I want to be (I'm thinking ahead to my 20 yr HS reunion... who do I want to be then?) and aim for that.
Those magazines do not encourage honesty, authenticity, vulnerability or anything else that I value that makes a person magnetic or powerful in my eyes.
HAHHAHA!! TOTALLY DIFFERENT WHEATON! There are two. There is the VERY Christian one in Illinois which I've never seen and then there is MY Wheaton, in Massachusetts, small private liberal arts college (wicked emphasis on the "liberal") devoted to activism and equality studies. :D
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It is incredibly demoralizing and repetitive. But I think if you can see that, and make efforts to go in the direction you want for yourself, that's the best thing you can do to undermine their pervasive evil. Because if everybody can see how fabulous you are without their bullshit, then that's a step away from it. I believe that. It's worked for me.
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on a sidenote, the organization of the magazine section used to infuriate me to no end. the movie and music sections were underneath the men's heading and the women's section was just those crappy women's magazines and parenting ones and such. the women's section is still that way, but at least the music and movie sections are not listed as a men's interest anymore. end sidenote rant.
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love your sidenote. i almost made mention of that, but then felt like i didn't want to talk about the newsstand in my blog about self-love and body consciousness and the politics of women's media. ;)
Reply
It might be hard for me to empathize because I've never paid a damn to those magazines. Like you, I don't bother with beauty products beyond baby powder, and I'm unperfect and still manage to be the most beautiful woman my husband knows.
And I kind of think everyone is beautiful except for really unhappy people. It's easy to spot them. A lot of them invest too much time in looking pretty. Know what I mean?
I know you didn't write this looking for an affirmation, but you deserve one anyway: you are SO beautiful, in all ways to me. You are absolutely in the top tier of women that immediately spring to mind when I think of souls and bodies that I find gorgeous, sexy, honest, clever, passionate, whip-smart. It's alright to feel insecure every once in a while, but you already are and have all the unpackageable things those magazines are trying to sell to girls. You'll got it all.
Reply
You're right, of course, that everyone is beautiful. I think I've said as much in this journal plenty of times, too. And I totally believe it. And I think that absolutely includes the makeup-less, and the makeup-full. Joy is beauty in whatever form.
And holy motherloving crap, thank you for that amazing slew of compliments, I don't deserve them!!!!
Reply
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I stopped reading those mags in a college. My self-esteem rose dramatically. That stuff is just bullshit. I try to imagine the woman I want to be (I'm thinking ahead to my 20 yr HS reunion... who do I want to be then?) and aim for that.
Those magazines do not encourage honesty, authenticity, vulnerability or anything else that I value that makes a person magnetic or powerful in my eyes.
Reply
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