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Beauty Culture
The following is an excerpt from a conversation that I overheard while getting a haircut the other day:
Little Girl: I love my Barbie! I bring her everywhere I go.
Hair Dresser: Do you like her blond hair?
Little Girl: I guess so.
Hair Dresser: You are never too old to want to be like Barbie. Every little girl should want to grow up to be and look like her.
The hairdresser’s name is Kate. She is 34 and has two kids of her own. It was difficult to listen to the rest of the conversation because I started to think about America’s beauty culture, and its implications on our society. To be candid, I immediately thought: How can a parent hold such an unhealthy belief and probably instill the same values in her own children? It was obvious that Kate believed what she told the girl, not exclusively from her words, but it was also clear from her towering heels, the superfluous amount of makeup on her face, and her noticeably fake bleach-blond hair. This woman physically reflected her own words. At least she was consistent.
Disclaimer
The ideas and thoughts expressed in these posts do not reflect the beliefs of any organization or individual, except my own. Ironically enough, however, these posts may not even reflect how I currently think or feel. I have grown and changed over the years - and rather than delete or edit old content I have decided to leave my posts as I originally wrote them to preserve their authenticity.