Friday, December 13, 2013

Really, Girls???

I have a serious pile of work to do today.  Will has been home sick the past two days, and for a 7 year old, he takes up more time than a baby!  Either he feels so awful he needs constant cuddling or he feels decent and is B-O-R-E-D.  Luckily, he's at school and today is my day to "make like a burger and KETCHUP!"  But, today I am sitting at my computer and every site I open has the same story over and over and I finally have to have my say.  Pause while I step onto my soap box...

To Avon (and all other) Teen and Tween Girls With Cell Phones, Ipods, and Other Gadgets:

Your generation is the first of its kind.  You have grown up with technology that I could not have imagined at your age.  I had Prodigy Internet that basically did nothing and a cell phone when I hit college.  You had phones in your hands at birth.  Your phones have Internet, cameras, and the ability to connect to anyone and everyone at the touch of a button (or screen)!  You are connected and tech savvy in a way that my generation was not.  But, here's the part that's a problem.  You are equally as STUPID as all past generations of teens.

The difference between your stupid and my stupid is that my stupid didn't result in a permanent record.  Your stupid does.  I knew girls that would flash their ta-tas to attract boys or keep boys or just make the boys talk about them, but that flashing, while still dumb, stayed between them.  You put your ta-tas out there for the whole world to see.  Really, girls?  Two things to consider....

1.  Because you are the generation of technology rich teens, you ought to know better.  You've been raised in a world where social media spreads faster than the common cold.  Sex tapes and embarrassing photos of celebrities are media frenzies and you know that. No matter how much your boyfriend says he loves you, you know that things happen.  Break ups happen.  Remember how you were in love with a different boyfriend last week, month or year?  And what happens when that love dies, and yet your ta-tas live on in his phone?  IT NEVER GOES AWAY!!!  Look at SnapChat, the app meant to let you send naked selfies and they disappear. Let's all pause to thank the moron who thought that was a good idea.  You and I both know, there are ways around it.  One little button push and the image is saved as a screen shot to be passed around to the masses.  And, maybe you won't see it today.  Maybe not tomorrow.  Maybe when you're running for Senator and your naked teen body is splashed around the tabloids.  Maybe when you're getting married and your future in-laws Google you and they get an eyeful of their new daughter.  You have the technology ladies, don't be ignorant to how it works.

2.  You're better than that.  Boyfriends will love you without selfies.  Nudity is not required to get a boy's attention.  I can picture your eye rolls now, but speaking from someone who may be (gasp) 35.... I was once 15.  I get the pressure you're under, but rather than bowing to the pressure to impress a boy, think about the person that you should value most.  Not him, you!  A boy should earn the right to see that part of you, and that doesn't come quickly.  If you profess love, make him prove it, not you.  And in this case, proof is in the lack of pudding!  If your boyfriend says he loves you, he won't pressure you for something that is just plain DUMB!  It could get you both in trouble, result in  your humiliation and exploitation, and he shouldn't want that for you.  If you are trying to get a boy's attention, that's not the right way.  Dazzle him with your class, your mind, your self esteem.  If it takes your bare breasts to make him see you, he's not really seeing you at all.  He's using you.  Don't volunteer to let someone use you.  You're better than that.  I know that even if I don't know who you are.  If I can tell that, you should be able to see that, too.

I was seriously disappointed to learn about this story.  As the step-mother of an almost 15 year old, it takes my breath away.  Be smarter than this, ladies.  Be stronger than this, girls.  Protect yourselves, women, because I am promise you this, no one else is going to look out for your best interests except you.  Be smart enough to do it.