Moms 'N Charge was founded by Christine St.Vil, she teaches moms across the country how to feel good without feeling guilty. I met Christine last year at a Fashion show/Fundraiser, Runway Moms for a Cause. Her energy is contagious and I am addicted to her blog! Needless to say, I was thrilled when she welcomed me as one of the new contributors! And today... my fist guest post went live!!
#DearBlackGirl You Are More Than A Pretty Young Girl
How many times have you referred to a little girl as pretty? I will be the first to admit, I have done it a million times or more, I have even used this seemingly harmless word to describe our own daughters on more than one occasion. It’s the natural thing to do, we complement young ladies on their physical attributes as the default. Girls are pretty, boys however, are most often referred to as smart, funny, ambitious or strong among others. Why do we compliment girls on their physical characteristics but we compliment boys on their personality or skills?Young girls are bombarded with multiple images of physical beauty every day. Beauty is redefined in their world every moment. This fuels the obsession more and leaves young women objectified by a voyeuristic public arena. There are more than enough studies out there suggesting that these images can and do negatively affect how young girls (and grown women) see themselves.
I want to suggest that the words we use can also have a negative effect on how young girls see themselves. Words are powerful, so we should use words wisely. We should use words to inspire, uplift, transform, and instill confidence. We should use words to empower our young ladies. They should look in the mirror and see beyond the pretty girl.
I’m wondering if we paused for a moment the next time we think about complimenting a young lady on how pretty she is if we instead focused on alternative characteristics. The things we can’t “see” but are not difficult to identify. I wonder if by simply changing the conversation we could encourage our young girls to learn to appreciate all the wonderful qualities they have as human beings. There is not much we can do about the external images and advertisements waiting for our young ladies around every corner. But there is something we can do to help build them up and redirect their attention to something other than pretty.... You can read the entire post by clicking here.
Please share your thoughts in the comments, I would love to hear from you! And remember, sharing is caring so spread the love!
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