Thinspiration Is Bullshit!
Monique | Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 1:15AM My brilliant daughter confessed to me recently, that she didn't love herself.
And when she said it, I felt my heart shatter.
Samara radiates beauty, from the places where beauty is least obvious; My daughter is generous and kind, she is intelligent and loving, she is present and she is full of wit, creativity and glitter.
She is seven years old, and already battling issues with self esteem.
She wants to change her hair, her extra leggy-ness, her skin tone, her smile... She wants to be "pretty".
And I know that I can tell her how wonderful I truly think she is until I am purple in the face and she won't hear a word of it. I went looking for other role models, appropriate role models, for her to look up to when she feels insecure.
When I came upon Thinspiration on Pinterest, which is essentially thin obsessed individuals who post sickening pictures of chicks that have their stomachs stuck so far onto their spinal column if they breathe too hard they’ll rupture something to motivate themselves to lose weight.
You know, because being "healthy" just isn't enough. Here are their, ever important, reasons...
Pathetic.
Some pictures have captions with clever ditties as to why you WANT to lose weight, like "So you can stupidly believe you're getting away with that whore outfit because you're not a size 10."
Some ask ridiculous questions;
Uh... Yeah, bitch. I am.
Worse? 90% of those using this as motivation, spreading these reprehensible ideals, are young girls. Teens, tweens, some not much older than my own daughter.
I worry for her. Is this the message she'll be receiving? And how much more powerful will it be than what her two sets of parents counter with? Can I ban her from the internet? Boys? Bullies? LIFE?
I can't, I know. But it'll take a very loud, convincing village to show her how to rise above this influence because I can't do it alone, I need help.
These women, who are someone else's little girls, need help.
Thinspiration is bullshit. But you know what isn’t bullshit? Wow Wow Wubbzy! Because ironically, as I sit writing this and watching Nick Jr. the song of the day repeats this message;
“Look in the mirror and love what you see.”
Word.
Love fits your body perfectly, confidence and happiness are the perfect accessories.
You’re beautiful, motherfuckers.
Reader Comments (13)
Princess Noodle is SO beautiful.
Look at her skin, those eyes, her personality, she's beautiful.
And fuck yes, you bet your ass, I want a cookie!
Effin' A. If there's a cookie to be had - I'm eating it, damn it. I'll take yours too! Om nom nom! <3
So, I actually almost cried reading this. It's heart breaking that your beautiful little girl feels that way. I was like that when I was young. I still feel like that all the time. When I was about 16 I had a food journal with thinspiration quotes and pictures through it. My favorite was "Nothing tastes as good as skinny looks." I still look at that list of reasons to lose weight, and I feel bad about myself. But I have to say, your thoughts and wording on this, is dead on a great message. Props!
You are so right.
I loathe thinspiration on Pintrest. Do I want that cookie? Damn straight I do! My personal favorite is 'nothing tastes as good as skinny feels'. Please, have you had nutella?
It's heartbreaking to know this is something your daughter is struggling with at such a young age. I hope the village is loud enough for her and that maybe more positive role models will emerge.
That WAS my favorite not IS my favorite, and omg Nutella is SO effin good. I tried it for the first time a couple weeks ago and my preggo ass inhaled it. Tastes like chocolate frosting! lol
Thinspiration IS complete and utter bullshit. We got lucky growing up, three sisters, and my mom never preached that to us. It was ALWAYS about inner beauty, not makeup or hairdye or about starving yourself skinny. This makes me so sad! I thought this was just a girl thing, and it's not. My son used to come home from 5th grade asking if HE was fat! SERIOUSLY?? I would get so sad and angry and frustrated. You have a beautiful daughter.
I hear you. I am battling the same thing with my 6yo right now. It is so hard as parents to influence our children when every fiber in thier little beings screams to not believe us untill they're oh, maybe 30.
There are TONS of good sights with info and tips such as SPARKsummit and pigtailpals.
This breaks my heart. Your beautiful girl. :(
EXCELLENT post. Like, want to give you a standing ovation excellent. Love it.
xoxo
YES. This exactly.
My two ladies are still babies but I'm dreading the day when they start dealing with this stuff. I have no idea what I'm going to do. I guess all I can do is just be there for them. Your daughter is beautiful. :) Maybe brainwash her with that Christina Aguilera song! lol.
I've never come across a cookie I wouldn't eat either.
I know it's very disturbing for a parent to hear this from her daughter. But the truth is that anorexia often is created by fears and culpability (unaware).
A girl who has anorexia often live in a family where the "control" is very important. (Parents who overprotect their children, for example). There are several causes for anorexia.
An anorexic girl is perfectionist, or want to be "the best" or "a perfect girl". They just don't like themselves... I know, it's weird and there is no reason for that... But this is reality. The family are one of the root if the problem.
I hope your daughter won't grow with these thoughts... Because, in adolescence, it could extremely increase.
And remember : The most you want to protect her, the most she stay in anorexia.
(Sorry for my English... It's not my mother tongue)
Just started really looking at pinterest. Can't stand the thinspiration junk... seriously the biggest reason I haven't set up an account. Its parasitic motivation, using self inflicted emotional/physical pain to spur you into fighting against food and your body. Making food an enemy... making your body an enemy... you need both to live. Fighting that just makes you live miserable...
The hardest thing, is realizing you can't convince someone to love themselves. That because you're the mom, she cant take it at face value when you tell her how amazing a beautiful and perfect she is. Confidence is such a personal battle, because the acceptance that matters the most of anyone's, is self acceptance.