"Jesus teaches us another way: Go out. Go out and share your testimony, go out and interact with your brothers, go out and share, go out and ask. Become the Word in body as well as spirit." -Pope Francis I

Showing posts with label True Beauty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label True Beauty. Show all posts

Monday, December 9, 2013

The Victoria's Secret Objectification Show

Most girls around this time of year are boiling over with excitement for the highly anticipated Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. I can't tell you how many tweets and instagram pictures I've see from girls gushing over how beautiful the models are, and how excited they are to watch the show. Even after the show is over girls continue to post about the models' endless legs, flawless hair, and perfect curves. Unlike most girls, I find the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show absolutely insulting and degrading to women. Why? 
  1. The most obvious reason is that the models are strutting around in their underwear and bra on live television. Try to think of one great reason why it is okay for a woman to do that. . . Oh wait. . . there is no good reason for anyone to do that. I know this is the 21st century, but that does not give anyone an excuse to parade around in the undergarments. Lets keep it classy folks. 
  2. The show distorts the image of beauty. Before, during, and after the VS Fashion show I hear a lot of girls complain about how they wish they could be like the models they see on TV. Girls get this idea in their head that in order for guys to notice they need to dress immodestly. However, immodesty doesn't make women more appealing. In fact, dressing immodestly defiles some of the beauty God gave women. Humans are unlike any other creature on earth because God gave us a living soul, which is far more beautiful and precious than physical attractiveness. God took lots of time to make you who you are, and He didn't make any mistakes when He created you. By dressing immodestly you are not living up to the awesome creation that God made you to be. When a woman dresses modestly it protects the dignity God gave her. Oh and if someone only likes you because you are physically attractive, and can't appreciate the fact that you are a stunning creation of God inside and out, then they aren't worth your time. You deserve better. 
  3. We must help our brothers in Christ. Dressing immodestly (or half naked in the case of the Victoria's Secret Models) causes men to degrade a woman from a person to a "thing." In fact there was a study done by Princeton University that actually proved, that when a woman shows lots of skin, the part of the male brain that sees a woman as a person shuts off, and the part of the male brain that is associated with the use of objects turns on. The VS fashion show is an invitation to men all around the world to come and objectify women free of charge. When girls go crazy with the tweets, instagram pictures, and get excited for the show, they send a message to men that it is okay to use a woman for pleasure. When we endorse the VS Fashion show, or immodesty for that matter, we give men the go ahead to feed into temptation and lust over women. When lust enters the heart of an individual, it simply does not stop when the TV goes off or the magazine gets put away, the sin continues to aggressively pursue our brothers in Christ. Not only is this unfair to women, because now we're being objectified, but it is also unfair to men. As daughters of Christ we are called to help our brothers get to Heaven. By not challenging men to be better men we are failing to be our brother's keeper, and failing to be the bold women Christ challenges us to be. 
  4. The exposition of the female body unveils a mystery only meant to be unveiled by one person. I think we can all agree that the female body is the most beautiful creature on the planet. This is by no accident. In fact, women are referred to as the "crown of God's creation." God created women to be physically attractive to reflect His own image and likeness, not just because God was bored one day and needed something to do. He did not intend for women to go around and flaunt their goods, and get used up like extra change. God meant for His gorgeous daughters to preserve the mystery of their beauty, and reveal it one day in the context of marriage in order to reflect the relationship of God and humanity. God meant for his daughters to be cherished and loved by a man who respects her dignity and values her worth. By parading around in their bras and panties, the VS models are revealing a gift that should only be unwrapped by one person; their husband. 
We live in a society in which immodesty and objectivity are encouraged, but as Christians it is our duty to stand up for what's right even if we face opposition. As children of God, we don't need people to affirm our looks to make us feel secure. All we need to know to feel secure is that Christ loved each and every one of us so much that He died for us, so that one day we could be united with Him in Heaven. So this year cancel that recording and choose not to watch the Victoria's Secret Fashion. Instead, go spend some time with our Lord, and let Him tell you how beautiful you are. Let Him reassure you of your worth. Let Him cleanse your heart. Let Him love you. Challenge yourself this Advent, to see the dignity and worth in every person you encounter. . . Especially yourself! Do not neglect to acknowledge the fact that you are worthy of love.


"People were created to be loved
Things were created to be used
The reason why the world is in chaos, 
is because things are being loved 
and people are being used."

-Al 

P.S. 

Here a link for more information about the study Princeton University did: 
http://www.colleenhammond.com/dressing-with-dignity/science-proves-men-think-of-immodestly-dressed-women-as-objects/

Oh and here is a great video about modesty by Jason Evert:

Sunday, November 17, 2013

A Senior Struggle

A couple weeks ago I had my senior pictures taken, which is something that I had been waiting to do practically all of high school. During my photo shoot I felt like a princess. I mean what girl doesn't like getting dressed up and having her picture taken by a professional photographer? For the first time in quite a while I felt really secure about myself. I left my shoot feeling truly beautiful and confident.
Then Wednesday night my photographer, Stephanie, sent me the link to my photo gallery. I was really excited, because Stephanie had posted a preview of my pictures on facebook a couple nights earlier, and I got some really sweet responses from friends and family. I happily clicked on the link, only to find myself disappointed when viewing the photos. 


Here's what was going through my mind while viewing my pictures:
  • What's going on with my face?
  • Why am I squinting?
  • Wow I'm cheesin' way to hard in that picture
  • Is that really what my hair looks like from the back?
  • I should not have worn that sweater. 
  • I look like a walrus!
  • Why am I so awkward? 
  • UG I'M A POTATO
When I say this is what was going through my mind, I mean it. At first glance, I could only think of my flaws. Everything looked wrong and I was frustrated. All of my confidence melted away, and I felt like I was the ugliest girl in the world. I angrily closed my laptop and sat there for a while in silence, and asked myself why I couldn't think of one positive thing about myself? Then, for some reason, I remembered this video I'd seen earlier that day made by Dove called "Real Beauty Sketches." Here is a brief description of the video:

 "The short documentary features Gil Zamora, a former forensic sketch artist for the San Jose Police Department, with his back to his subjects, he draws portraits of a series of women based only on their own descriptions of how they think they look. He prompted them to detail everything: hair length, facial structure, and their most prominent features. . .Each woman was asked before the social experiment to spend some one-on-one time with one of the other participants. The forensic artist then drew portraits of the same woman according to the stranger’s description. At the end of the video, the artist reveals the two sketches – one from the participant’s description, the other from their partner. (Time Magazine)"

From the two sketches collected at the end of the experiment, it was concluded that the sketches created when the woman was describing herself to Zamora, resulted with a picture of an unfriendly and ugly looking woman . However, the sketches created when a woman was described by a stranger, resulted with a picture of a lighter and friendlier looking woman.
Dove concluded from their experiment that:

"Women are their own worst beauty critics. Only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful."

I ended up looking up that video again and re-watching it several times so the message could penetrate through my rather thick skull. Although it was weird watching the same 3 minute video over and over again, I'm really glad I did. Like most women, I struggle with seeing myself in a positive light. It seems like every time I look in the mirror, no matter how much time I spend getting ready, I can always find something wrong with me. Society tells us that beauty comes in a specific color, shape, and size, but not every girl fits that description.
 I don't fit that description, but that doesn't mean that I am not beautiful. When I was looking through my senior pictures I didn't realize that. I let Satan and society convince me that my pictures were ugly, because I didn't fit that definition.
I felt insecure, and the only way I could fix that was by looking to my Creator. 

Sometimes when I feel insecure, I have a difficult time coming to God and talking to Him about what's going on. Sometimes I feel silly for worrying about such small things like my senior pictures. Even though I know that Jesus loves me no matter what, I get scared that Jesus might laugh at me or think that I'm stupid.  
So telling Jesus that I didn't feel beautiful was really hard to do, but I did it. I realized that Jesus didn't die on a cross, just for me to turn around and doubt His love for me. Christ is waiting for us to come to Him with our problems, no matter how big or small. Christ is waiting for us to come to Him, so He can remind us of our worth and beauty. 
My struggle isn't gone, but every time I come to Christ He changes my heart a little more. Eventually, it'll be a thing of the past, but for now, when I don't feel beautiful I give it to Christ and let Him hold my struggling heart. 

After some time with Christ I looked over my senior photo gallery once more, and realized that my pictures turned out just fine. Stephanie did a great job, and I couldn't be happier with my pictures! 
I am a beautiful daughter of God, even when I don't feel like it. Jesus always sees me for who I am, and He sees you too.



There could never be a more beautiful you. Never forget it 

-Al

P.S.
Here is the link to the Dove Real Beauty Sketches video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk

Enjoy!