As the mother to a young daughter, the movie Miss Representation frightened me. I already knew that women were being treated differently than men in the media, but this movie made it much more clear how awful this society treats women. The part that scared me the most was when they explained how the media is affecting young girls. By putting these "examples" out there for them to look up to, we are telling young girls that they are not good enough. We are also telling them that their value and worth lies in their appearance. This is the wrong message. We should be teaching girls that what is important is what is on the inside. The way they treat people, the education they receive, and many other similar things are what really matter.
An issue that has always struck a raw nerve with me is that of pageants. At very young ages, parents are entering their children in these events that expose them to things they are much too young for. Fake hair, fake teeth, loads of makeup and even fake tanning are all used in these pageants. This is showing very young girls that they are not good enough the way that they are. These girls are then judged against other girls and a winner is chosen. This is not healthy. We should not be judging CHILDREN on how they look, especially when most of the things about them are fake. This is setting them up for a life in which they will constantly be worried about how they look and how they measure up to those around them.
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