Everyday I wage a war against the mirror, Ariel is that because of you?

"Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us"- Christensen Reflection

As I started to read this piece I thought I knew where it was going. I all but predicted where it was headed ,towards the crude depictions and stereotypes embedded in our culture. The idea that not only has our media shown us but some of our "beloved" cartoon characters have  as well.This has been a constant theme through out the decades. It is understandable that this "hidden education" should outrage us. Anyone that was assumed to be different was viewed in an ugly light. This can only create a "them against us" mentality. That there is the "normal"or SCWAAMP and then everyone else.This idea promotes a misleading feeling that if you have the qualities spelled out in SCWAAMP you are to be valued. Not only will a person in our society be valued but they will have everything backing them. In other words media,news,entertainment everyone is telling you that you are important and represented and "we have your back". How is that to make people that do not fit into SCWAAMP feel?

Absolutely one of my favorites as a child. Looking at it with new eyes .

It's amazing to think about something as lighthearted as a Disney movie being a driving force of SCWAAMP.  As a child in America some of our first memories of the media are Disney movies. While watching  you never think that your being "groomed" but you are.  While working through this reading I couldn't help but come up with an analogy. In this instance little kids are like aliens. If an alien was to come down to Earth and see a human walking a dog and then picking up after him with poop bags what would they think? Having no prior experience with humans in this situation the alien would think the dog was the master and the human was the pet or "animal" being used as a tool by the dog.The alien could go back to their planet with the idea that dogs rule and humans provide a service to them. If nothing ever changed that alien's point of view and other aliens agreed because they had seen it too ,what's to say this wrong idea would ever go away? The reason I attribute children to being aliens is because very simply their young ,everything they learn is new. They are a blank slate that has no point of reference until one is created. When we sit small children in front of the television we are giving permission to anything that is on their to shape them. Children begin to believe anything they see and with enough repetition or "hidden education" constantly presenting itself it begins to shape us becoming all we know.

This reading made me wonder with the over influence and importance of beauty,wealth etc. in our society what had it done to me? Did it add more pressure to an already mounting problem?

 I myself suffer from BDD (Body Dysmorphic Disorder)
this is something that I have had for a long time however not until further in my adult years did I begin to understand. When you have BDD nothing is ever good enough. There are good days and bad. When suffering the bad times can take a toll. Every time you look in the mirror,every picture you see (of yourself or someone you want to be) your mind starts to race with ideas. Most of the time these ideas are of things that need to be changed. Over the last 10 years I have done many things to alter my appearance. My hair has been every color,length and style possible. I've had several types of hair extensions,wigs, fake eyelashes and nails that could be bought. I'm no stranger color changing contacts cosmetic dentistry and even plastic surgery.

After all of those things and the need for everyone to tell me I'm pretty or knowing what they thought of me (even though I never believed you) it still wasn't enough. When you have BDD you can change everything about yourself feel o.k. for a minute ,the next you feel like the ugliest person in the world. This is not information I usually give out freely but I feel it needed to be shared for this reading.

However I am not completely blaming the media for this issue in me,but it did not help. Seeing countless images of perfection and what needed to be obtained as a young person my self worth took countless beatings. I feel when you are sensitive to certain topics your looks,race.economic status you tune in to anything that has to do with it.

When your struggling with a disorder constantly being berated with images and ideas of how you "should " be just fuels the already blazing fire. So while I don't think Ariel in the "Little Mermaid" is the reason for my constant need for "beauty", I do feel that movies like hers and others feed to that little voice that say "you need to be this,this is what you want".

As I've gotten older my self worth has improved greatly however I feel it would have been a little easier if I had some different role models available to me at the time.

Question for the class

Why does the idea of obtaining perfection do more harm then good?