Why I Can Relate with Princess Mia...

Some of you may have noticed I haven't posted a blog in a several weeks.  The problem isn't lack of inspiration but quite the contrary.  Our society is seeing shifts in so many different realms and patterns of thinking from political ideologies to love to body image that it is almost over-stimulating.  There are so many different #hashtag movements happening that it's hard to focus on one because I am interested and passionate about several.*  But today, as I sat in the Mid-County Public Library, I felt compelled to write about something that I personally struggled during my adolescent years. 

EYEBROWS

I think my favorite example is from the ever-popular movie The Princess Diaries.

 

Paolo: "If Brooke Shields married Groucho Marx, their child would have your eyebrows! "

 

Thick, bushy, and full are solid adjectives to describe my own eyebrows.  I grew up more on the tom-boy side of things so many make-up products and definitely the concept of waxing my eyebrows was so foreign it was laughable.  In fact, to this day I choose not to wax my eyebrows.  But that doesn't mean I haven't considered it. 

 

When I took the time to research more on this topic, I  ran across an interesting Today News article that asked nearly 700 parents "When is appropriate to let your child..." style questions.  One of those questions asked about the age girls could start waxing or tweezing.  According to the article, of the parents questioned "32 percent said it was OK for 16-year-olds to wax or tweeze, 30 percent said age 14 and 19 percent said age 12."  I loved the author's final note on this topic; she made it personal and related it to her own experiences with her 12 year old daughter who's brow is full due to heritage, ethnicity,  and genetics.  She made a valid point: who is anyone to judge?  Bushy or thin or anywhere in between, it's you who gets to decide.

 

I can't say one way or the other if there's a right age for waxing or tweezing, but I do want to combat is this idea that it's a necessity.  Children are not aware of the term uni-brow until we teach them; they don't know that bushy eyebrows are less desirable than well-groomed ones unless we inform them of that truth.  Beauty standards set by media infiltrate even the most miniscule of concepts and we have the power to pass them along to future generations of women. 

 

I'm not here to tell you to stop waxing your brows or #tossthetweezers (hah, what a hashtag that fad that would be).  I want to encourage you to do you.  If you like a well-maintained brow line, then by all means call your waxer up.  If you prefer to be more free then be sparse in your tweezing.  Even more important, let young women decide for themselves.  There are so many awkward conversations that a growing girl has to deal with, but eyebrows shouldn't be one of them.  Discuss the pressure and the influences, and most importantly listen to what she's feeling.  Come to mutual ground.

 

Remember that our bodies are ours and no one else's.  We may face judgment, but we do not have to subscribe to it! We ourselves get to recognize our own beauty however we see fit.  Media holds little stake in the perception I have of myself - especially in regards to my eyebrows.

 

Until next time, friends. :)

-R

 

*Some movements that have captured my attention and ones that I'm still trying to decide my own opinions include: #rockthecroptop  #fatkini  #losehatenotweight  #bodypositive  #droptheplus #bellybuttonchallenge  <-- There is a massive movement occurring on social media which involves a lot of body-shaming and body-positive components.  In the future I want to examine some of  these and more and their effects on me a woman.  Just one thing: It's not a competition!