Quit buying what they're selling

Miss Ashley Judd wrote this amazing article the other day, defending herself (and pretty much everyone) against the blatant and unfair pressures individuals have placed upon them regarding their appearance.

This issue is as old as time itself, but most are sensitive to the fact that the issue isn’t dissipating at all. In fact, it seems as though the crippling pressure is on a steady up-cline.

Women and men both have the unrealistic archetypes shoved down their throats. These unobtainable morphed projections of the self that human beings simply can not fit into.

But we have to be careful when talking about these issues. We can not simply point the perirval finger at the media, magazine covers, or entertainment industries.

Because although those factors do play a role (maybe even a large role) at the end of the day WE make up those organizations...

Each of us contributes to this self-inflicted 'never enough' disease. We allow ourselves to buy into the lie that they're selling.

"We are a generation brought up to be true to ourselves and to be proud of our accumulated years of experience. Yet we're encouraged to hide those years when they show up on our faces. On one hand, we criticize those who choose surgical intervention, often dismissing them as weak and inauthentic, as if they have personally betrayed the lofty goals we worked so hard to achieve. As a culture, we have begun to applaud those who go 'au-natural,' even root for them as they struggle against pressures to look young and perfect. On the other hand, it's this very same culture that sends the opposite message; be authentic and you risk losing your job, your mate or even worse, you may become invisible! It's a catch 22." Vivian Diller

We can't limit this to just women either. Men are undergoing some extreme pressures as well these days. And don't even get me started on the unjust nature handicapped people get subjected to. Actually, they rarely even get a platform to work off of. The more disfigured of us simply get hidden away and left to feel unwanted, isolated, and devalued.

But we can't change the world until we change ourselves.

And I know for a fact that I'm subject to many of the same flaws in my thinking as everyone else. I grew up a part of this culture and I haven't been spared the indoctrination on what is and isn't considered acceptable.

Brené Brown does a really good job at giving some tools

Contextualize (Look at the big picture)
Normalize (Know that you're not alone)
Demystify (Share your stories with others)

And these tools can work with A LOT of things. But in relation to the shame we feel about our appearance, I think it's especially useful.

Let’s create a cultural shift we can be proud of.