βI am not enoughβ
β¦ those are the words of a teenage girl after being asked what message she feels she is getting from high street girlsβ magazines. βIβm not thin enoughβ wrote another. βIβm not rich enoughβ was a third answer.
Sadly our media and our culture have together created a climate of impossible expectation on young people and especially on young women many of whom can become vulnerable to issues of low self-esteem. There are signs that western nations might be waking up to the problem, for example with France recently banning dangerously thin models from the catwalk, but we are only just beginning to see the sadness that has impacted so many young lives just when they needed our encouragement.
Claire Rush β a leader with Girls Brigade UK β wrote this short article on the lies that young girls are told through everyday media, and explains how GB Ministries is encouraging the Church to think how we can communicate a hope-filled narrative to young women.
Read: 3 lies that girls are told be celebrity fashion magazines
Thank you Chris for highlighting this important social issue. There needs to be an ongoing public discussion and challenge to the media to take more responsibility for the messages it sends out.
Thanks, yes βin the end unfortunately I think we need to change what we demand from our media I think voices like Girls Brigade are trying to change that working with teenage girls