Honoring My Daughter

Today there are so many ways girls are "honored" in our society and media that have nothing to do with who they truly are (physical beauty or physique being the ones most often discussed).  I'm appalled by the number of females being "honored" in our society for their apparent (or actual, it's often impossible to tell which) lack of intelligence, common sense, compassion and civility.  


When I watch TV, I get so upset seeing girls portrayed as either beautiful, stupid and mean or average (to downright ugly), sweet and intelligent.  In no way does this truly reflect the feminine in our world.  As HUMANS (no matter our gender) we come in all shapes, sizes, colors, intelligence levels, etc.  


Personally, I feel we need to expand the argument that portraying girls as stick-thin waifs is damaging (which it, for sure, is) to arguing that stereotyping in any way is dangerous.  It degrades who we all are.

That's my girl in the blue & green tie-dyed shirt!

This came up for me because Janan was honored at school today for making the "90's Club" - an honor roll recognizing those students who had over a 90% overall cumulative GPA.  Obviously, I'm beyond proud of her for this accomplishment.   But just as much as she enjoys basking in the public recognition she received today (not to mention the flowers from Nana & Poppy, the new book & Silly Bandz from Mama and the special dinner out in honor of this accomplishment), I want her to internalize the pride she feels and recognize this is something SHE did through hard work, lots of studying and a belief that education is important.  Her intelligence is just one aspect of the amazing person she is.  It's, by all means, not all she brings to the proverbial "table".  Additionally, I want her to recognize that those students who didn't make the honor roll have their own talents and abilities that make them equally worthy beings.  


I understand it's human nature to seek out similarities to create bonds.  I just hope we can eventually evolve to honoring the individuality of each person and the beauty that brings to our lives and the world in ALL forms.