I don’t consider myself a prude, but lately I’ve been clucking my tongue over the antics of female performers who are selling their souls for a bit of notoriety.
The Grammy Awards were the latest debacle in a long line of young women who think taking off their clothes and performing lewd acts is the only way to establish themselves as a “serious artist.”
Case in point, Katy Perry. She became well known and admired for her beautiful renditions of Christian music. One of her biggest hits, “Firework,” called for people to believe there was a spark inside themselves.
Now she’s pole dancing with demons on national television.
We’ve long watched young girls come bare it all for fame: Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan and Miley Cyrus come to mind. They went from pre-teen idols to 20-something sleaze bags, all for fame and fortune.
No denying they’re the talk of the town, from bloggers slamming them to their sexy videos attracting viewers by the thousands. Perhaps it’s brilliant marketing on their part because they’re financially successful and popular, but that’s a twisted path to success for women in our country.
These performers are a small slice of Americana. I firmly believe parents are the true voice of reason when it comes to teaching youngsters about the true meaning of success. The Dove Corporation is one of the few industries doing something positive for young girls.
The Evolution of Beauty
A few years ago, Dove created a video “The Evolution of Beauty.” A female kindergarten teacher underwent an all-day make-over session. Stylists curled her hair and professional cosmetologists caked on the make-up. Then the Photoshop magicians made her neck longer, reshaped her face and plumped up her hair.
The meaning was how can we define beauty when reality is so far removed from what’s on the pages of fashion magazines and on billboards.
They followed up that campaign with “Real Beauty Sketches” where women were asked to describe themselves and a police forensics artist drew what they described.
Afterwards, the women were asked to find someone in the waiting room to visit with. Later, the forensics artist asked them to describe the person they’d talked with. The results were striking.
The women were harsh and judgmental about their looks yet the people who talked with them described their new friend in gentler terms and much more accurately. The women were quiet and circumspect, wondering why they’d been so hard on themselves.
Dove’s latest project is entitled “Selfies.” A professional photographer talked with pre-teens and their mothers about their looks. All were critical of how they looked and found fault with their facial features.
The photographer then asked the girls and their mothers to take self portraits, or “selfies” with their cell phones. The moms self-consciously posed with their daughters and then they began to have fun with the photos.
Dove enlarged the selfies and posted the portraits in a large gallery. They gave guests Post-It notes and asked them to comment on the pictures. All the comments were positive – what a beautiful smile, love your eyes and confident smile.
The girls and their moms were reminded that true beauty comes from being strong and brave and being happy with yourself.
Not from acting like trash.
These self-proclaimed successful artists could learn a thing or two from young girls who came to understand the real meaning of class and beauty these Hollywood flashes in the pan have forgotten – ignite the spark in yourself and remember real beauty comes from within.