I am a girl. (I know, right. My super-short haircut makes it a tad confusing.) And I am a citizen of the 21st century. As a citizen the 21st Century, I have failed to see some of the things that are ingrained in 21st century culture. Things like advertising, and subliminal messages, and things that probably be off putting if you actually think about them. A lot of this has to do with media. As a 13 year old girl in the 21st century, I make advertising. I AM THE ALMIGHTY TARGET MARKET! Unfortunately, most of the advertising geared towards me is focused on telling me how much better I could be. I could be thinner, prettier, taller, have longer hair, have no pores, wear jewelry, and be born with giant anime eyes. And we, as girls of the 21st century, get these messages ALL THE TIME, even if we don't quite realize it. Think of all the magazines flaunting headlines like “Be Sexy Now!” or “Lose 37 Pounds every 37 Seconds!” or “Make Him Love You!” What I didn't, and most people don’t realize is that even though we walk by these messages every day and think “maybe losing that much weight that fast isn't healthy,” we aren’t invincible. (Sadly, science has not reached that point yet.) And whenever we see these messages, even though we may not realize it, they have an effect on us. They become too normal to be analyzed. These type of messages sell things because they tell girls “you're not quite good enough! We have something that can make you sooo much better! Buy it!” Sadly enough, a lot of people brush these messages off or buy into them because they're so normal. But they shouldn't be so normal. I am advertised to as if I should only care about my appearance and if boys like me. So that's a problem. That's why organizations like FIRST Ladies are crucial. In an age of airbrushing, it's nice to be told that I am a girl who happens to have short hair, doesn't look like media tells me I should, and isn't interested in “girl things,” and that's okay.
~ Anna Marie Mitchell 3/01/15
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