Am I Pretty or Ugly?

After you read this, I want you to share this. I want you to send it to your friends and family. I want your daughters, nieces, granddaughters, students, neighbors, etc, to watch these videos.

This is serious stuff, and sharing on FB isn't enough because guess what? The majority of these girls who are affected by the media and self-esteem issues are young, and they're getting younger.

I also want to recognize, before going any further, that this does occur in men and boys also, but the videos I've found specifically address women, so if I find some strong notes on men, I'll post on that another time. But for now, maybe even show boys these videos as well. It might just be beneficial.

Little girls, starting at the age of 5, sometimes younger, are concerned that they aren't pretty enough. They've resorted to asking strangers on YouTube if they're pretty or ugly. And the comments don't help! There are actually folks out their, other children, teens, and adults, who are encouraging this denial of beauty to these young, impressionable ladies by leaving terrible comments!

You can search the words, "Am I Pretty" into YouTube, and MILLIONS of results show. Look at that number. Look at this video. This is the first one that pops up. The top comment? A very hateful message left for this child. Keyword: Child!

I saw this next video a while ago, posted to FB from Upworthy. It included a compilation of these little girls, but they recently changed it instead to show teens who embrace their quirky characteristics. I decided to attach it, even though the original message has changed, to show some uplifting words from girls. The video is linked directly below.

http://www.upworthy.com/these-little-girls-are-asking-the-most-devastating-question-i-can-imagine?c=ufb1

And I have one more quick point to add before leaving today. This TED Talk that was posted, presented by an actual model. Her answer to the question that all young women ask her, "How can I become a model," is something I would never expect. But she makes a great point. And if you're curious to hear what she has to say, watch this video too.

Watch more. Talk to the young ladies in your life who trying to understand the meaning of beauty. Sit down and have a talk with them. Watch YouTube together, read inspirational books, watch documentaries. Show them what beauty is and what it is not. It's not in the media. Those pictures, videos, movies, aren't real. Let them know.

And above all, tell them that They Are BEAUTIFUL! (And so is everyone else, we don't need them to continue to tear others down.)

Thank you,
<3 Tawny

P.S. I hope that you do share these, at least with one person.