A very interesting post at Michele & Lexie's page at the Examiner.com about image consultants for teens and tweens. These consultants charge big bucks (upwards of $500) to essentially give girls the "right" look so they don’t feel like outcasts.Hmmmm…OK, I completely remember what it feels like to be unsure, uncoordinated, hormonal and frankly a little goofy as a young teen. No one feels completely confident at that age; and kids - especially girls - can be mean as hell if you don’t fit the mold. We've all, at some point, been left wishing that we could "just be like everyone else".
But the idea of using an image consultant to help a kid conform to an ideal rubs me the wrong way. What about individuality? What about being liked for who you are instead of being admired because you've got the right label on your blouse or your makeup looks great?
Is image consulting for teens a much needed service or is it just another ploy by marketers to capitalize on natural adolescent insecurity and piggyback on the narrow ideals that are already being pushed on girls… that their real power lies in their looks and their ability to impress others?
This is such an easy answer to the problem. Make them over. Make them fit in...all is well. Oh really? Wouldn't it make more sense to help all kids understand the need for individuality and accepting others for what's inside? Is it OK to just say Let's make them look great and they'll be fine ?
Is this the right answer for our daughters?
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This reminds me why I dislike those girly salons popping up in malls across the country. I let my daughters experience one of those places - ONCE! What a mistake! My daughter came out looking like, well...just crazy. And not because they did anything overtly nutty like pour eyeshadow on her face. But in my predominately white neighborhood, let's just say the gals in the girly salon had no idea what to do with my girls ethnic hair or skin tone. But they did know a thing or two about how to *try* and make every girl that walked into the place look like their image of beauty.
Those girly salons drive me nuts too, Michele.
OMG! One of the reasons why I founded iTwixie.com is to help girls recognize their diversity from ethnicity to interests, and really bond with each other. If we model for our girls that our differences can be what makes our lives so rich and meaningful, won't they celebrate their differences, too? If we give them the chance to explore new topics, solve problems, express their opinions and take on challenges, won't they become stronger and better decision makers? It's a theory. A revolutionary one, true. Won't you join the iTwixie.com revolution?
Hey there Rebecca. Just popped in to iTwixie.com and WOW! The themes: iThink, iMactive, iMgame, iConnect - are exactly they types of strong, self-aware messages that can help counter the limiting ideals being pushed onto girls today. Thanks so much for telling us about it!
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