Let’s let girls be girls

Since when did my trips to the mailbox start requiring a wagon? The number of catalogs rolling in during the holiday season is insane. Most of these go straight in the trash, but this year I’ve been on the hunt for some good family holiday pajamas (I know, cheesy, dork mom over here) so I was skimming through a few catalogs in hopes of finding some holiday treasures. 

Because we know a girl who models for a lot of the catalogs we get, anytime we open a catalog, it’s sort of a treasure hunt to find her on those glossy pages. A Where’s Waldo activity, but only better because her gorgeous face is easy to spot and it’s fun watching for her and feeling like we know a celebrity. 

What’s not fun is that I spotted her on a website that we wanted to cross reference from our catalog hunt and saw that she was modeling an adult sweater. Bless this eleven year old’s heart that she, of course, didn’t likely sign up for an adult gig, but the brand masters at be decided it would be a good idea to have her model this particular adult sweater. 

Most people looking at this picture would assume that she was an adult, well a very young adult, but definitely not a child who still hasn’t crossed into her teenage years.

Not okay. Can we just let girls be girls?

Can you remember your eleven year old self blissfully unaware of the internet or phones and just working on your latest mix tape or watching Brittany or Christina or Madonna’s latest music videos? No wonder we all have completely screwed up beliefs about our own bodies and expectations when we’re comparing ourselves to eleven year old models who maybe haven’t even gone through puberty. 

It’s no secret that the modeling world is notorious for choosing only certain sizes, ages and colors. This is sloooooowly changing, but it’s important to be able to call out what isn’t reality for yourself and your kids. Maybe a little more listening to, I Know Victoria’s Secret by Jax, then watching their runway show and pouring through other catalogs that still prioritize the thin, young, able-bodied, white female.  Can you imagine what our world would be like today if Brittany, Christina or Madonna were singing about body image and dude’s in Ohio deciding what’s “pretty”? 

The one thing that’s clear is that we have to keep fighting to let our girls be girls. Don’t even get me started on crop tops for eight year olds. Be mindful of what materials are coming into your home and have conversations with your kids about what’s real in these images (Hint: not a lot). 

If you need help in how to talk with your kids about all things body image related, I’ve got you covered in my upcoming book! Stay tuned, good things are coming….

And Vineyard Vines for the pajama win.