On Saturday at Les Passages, hundreds of excited young girls and their anxious moms were lined up, hoping to be "discovered" at a beauty event hosted by New York's Elite Model Management.
Why isn't there this kind of excitement at science fairs or events that actually require more clever and creative thinking? Why must the focus for females always revolve around physical attributes??!! It would be a wonderful thing if self-esteem was fueled by one's accomplishments and intentions, not simply one's looks. As my grandmother always said, "Pretty is as pretty does."
At last, some real progress for women in Kuwait.
Scroll down the page for another post today.
Great news on the Kuwait front - one small step...
I agree with you about all the hubbub about beauty versus creativity and knowledge. My daughter refused to join the debate team because she considered it social suicide. She would have been perfect for the team.
Posted by: dutchbaby | 22 May 2009 at 19:08
this is indeed a great leap for Kuweiti women...hope it will be followed in other countries where women's voices are still unheard. thanks for the link Tara.
As for the "tyranny" of beauty, yes it is sad and a bit pathetic but I guess we all succumb to it more or less...the power of appearance is so strong ! i wish little girls were taught more about how to develop inner self confidence.
good post Tara!
:-)
Posted by: my castle in spain | 19 May 2009 at 10:55
Good question.
No good answer. I remain mystified.
xoxo
Posted by: Colette | 19 May 2009 at 01:07
love ascender's comments! Builder Betty :)
I so agree....we all need to work on our inner selves.
thank you for this.
x..x
Posted by: Stephanie Hilvitz | 18 May 2009 at 21:17
I am thrilled about this news! Slowly but surely, women in the middle east are making progress in a male dominated world. As to the girls with their Moms running to Elite for a chance at being discovered, I feel only sadness. Even success at this profession comes at a high price to self esteem and development as a human being. There is this show here called, "Toddlers and Tiaras" about Moms who push their daughters into beauty pageants. I have to wonder, why anyone has not seen this as child abuse? You know the lesson this is sending young children? You should see the show and how crushed some of these parents are when their child loose and how they display this dissappointment to their children. Let's get excited about a sharp wit, the persuit of knowledge and kindness towards others.
Posted by: Yoli | 18 May 2009 at 21:10
no truer words spoken. my girls would get pretty excited about participating in science something or other. Both of them inspired in childhood by bill nye the science guy. and maybe that is where it needs to start from; we need a builder betty instead of a builder bob!
Posted by: AscenderRisesAbove | 18 May 2009 at 17:04
Wouldn't you love to see a tv show geared to woman called How Do I Think?!! Now that I'd tune into on a regular basis. :-)
Posted by: ally bean | 18 May 2009 at 14:55
Oh how I agree...with my oldest going into 6th grade and already feeling the pressure about how she has to look...ugh,I am happy that she seems to be resisting this for now.
Posted by: poppy fields | 18 May 2009 at 09:56
Oh I'm so old fashioned. I do value beauty, in a way. But I think that we need to focus on the fact that all of us have beautiful aspects to our looks. That we needn't be a cookie cutter society of look-alikes.
Maybe just aspiring to your personal best in all areas is something to value.
(My little nine year old already feels the pressure. Her classmates are rail thin. She struggles with it. It breaks my heart.)
xoxo
Posted by: Gillian daSilva | 18 May 2009 at 06:42
Tara, what is happening to my comment? Is it disappearing? : (
Posted by: Christina | 18 May 2009 at 05:57
This is so true. I look at my community and see how lost the young girls are with putting looks first. It really is sad. It's the educated woman, who truly has a chance at the race.
xo
Posted by: Christina | 18 May 2009 at 05:56
oh, wow, Tara, isn't this awesome? (Kuwait)
I like your choice of the word 'intentions'. This is key. You often get right to the key.
There's a quote, I can't remember who said it or the exact words, so of course I shouldn't put it here, but it's something like: mediocre minds discuss people, good minds discuss events, great minds discuss ideas.
Posted by: Chris | 18 May 2009 at 05:07
It's alway about the LOOK. No matter what. It's always about the beautiful people. How Do I look...What NOT to wear....Extreme makeover. Here's to BRAIN Power!
Posted by: pam aries | 18 May 2009 at 04:05
Thanks for posting this. I agree! And maybe with more people putting the idea out there, we get closer to it!
Happy Sunday! (Like your header cartoon!)
Kirsten
Posted by: Kirsten | 18 May 2009 at 00:56
Girls Rock' rocks!
I think often about what I could do to support the adolescent and teen girls in my community to find more of their own power and confidence. Thanks for the nudge to maybe do more than thinking about it.
Posted by: Marianne | 17 May 2009 at 21:00
I just watched a great movie called Girls Rock! http://girlsrockmovie.com/
which asks the same questions...
Obviously there's no easy answer, and as a former makeup artist I see both sides of the issue of personal appearance in the bell curve of self-esteem, but until sciences, reasoning and logic are taught as core curriculum in schools (and dare I say it, in concert with the reduction of religiosity around the world), we will always be taking one step forward, two steps back.
Posted by: tangobaby | 17 May 2009 at 19:15