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Body Image in Girls
By Mommie | July 19, 2008
I received a Girl Scouts magazine in the mail the other day. Since my daughter is in Girl Scouts I thought it was for her, but it was actually for me. When I started reading it, I was quite surprised to read an article in it about girls and body image. I’m not sure if I was surprised that the article was just so blunt, or the fact that the “wholesome” Girl Scout magazine had such harsh stories in it…
The article talked about a workshop that the Girl Scouts held that was focused on boosting the body image in young girls. They had interviewed many girls, ages 6-18 and put some of the interviews in the article. One in particular was a girl talking about how much she wanted to be a stripper. She was about 14.
The point of this is that images and shows affect girls in very strong ways. My daughter is only 6 and I have one heck of a time fighting the mainstream for her benefit. I won’t let her watch Hanna Montana, even when all of her friends do. She can’t watch the Disney channel after she gets home from school at all. She has almost all of her channels blocked on her TV. She can’t watch High School Musical or anything like that.
So you may say what a horrible parent I am. But here’s the deal. I watched Hanna Montana a few times. It’s innocent enough, but it also covers kissing and boys. My daughter is 6. She doesn’t need to know how to kiss, or learn to deal with boyfriends. Same with most of the Disney shows on after 3 pm. To many are focusing on issues my daughter shouldn’t have to deal with yet.
In addition I find it hard to let my daughter emulate some of the girls on these shows. I was flat out shocked when my daughter explained to me that the actress on Zoey 101 is having a baby. I of course knew this, but how on earth did she know that? She heard it from her friends at school.
Body image, self-confidence and peer pressure all are going to gang up on my daughter. I don’t want her to be sneaking around finding the best diet pills to take in order to look like one of those girls on TV.
Am I too harsh? You may think so, but I’m happy with the boundaries we are laying down as a family!
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July 19th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
You might be glad to know that the Girl Scouts have a program to teach girls to be happy with themselves and that beauty is not one set look.
It has different programs for different age ranges.
Your daughter isn’t in the youngest bracket yet, but you could check it out to see if you think it’s a good program for your troop when she gets to that age.
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/program_opportunities/leadership/uniquelyme.asp
July 19th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
I personally wish all little girls were raised in a much better manner in which to conduct themselves and shown their worth but sad truth is they are not.. I don’t think the troops are trying to let the girls down but maybe teach better.
July 20th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
I think it’s great to lay down boundaries, just don’t be too controlling. My mother used to be so controlling and as soon as a got old enough I started sneaking around to do whatever she wouldn’t let me do. I snuck out my window at night, snuck make-up and different clothes to school, etc. Just make sure you talk to her, always talk to her.
July 25th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
There are definitely times when it is good set these boundaries. Your daughter is only six and doesn’t need to know about some of these things. On the other hand as soon as they are in her head you can’t ignore the situation and need to hit it head on, with pertinent information she can understand.
For example if she vaguely knows that sex is involved in the creation of babies you can spin this to your advantage. You can use Jamie Lynn as an example of one of the very few who will make it only because she has oodles of cash. Since most girls don’t nor do their families this makes having a baby before you can financially support yourself a bad idea. Put out in basic terms almost any of these situations can used to our advantage as parents.
I of course am dreading this year at school for my son. He’ll be starting the third grade in a few weeks and is starting to show an interest in girls who have been fawning over him since kindergarten. It will be me the stay at home dad who gets this call from the principal and I’m not looking forward to it.