High school flashback - the dangers of being "skinny" and "pretty". My response to A&F

Dove's beauty campaign

I was far from being the "cool kid" in High School. Which was a change from Jr. High where I was a cheerleader, on the volleyball team, basketball team, honor roll, yearbook, dated jocks, and was invited to all the parties.

For some reason, when High School hit, I wasn't any of those. I kept myself on the honor roll for a couple of years and was on the drag racing team, but gone were the popular crowds and "popular" parties. I went for guys that weren't good for me (show me a girl who hasn't), went to the parties that were for serious contenders only, and hung out with anyone I wanted to, regardless of their popularity caste. I didn't try to be popular, but I didn't try to be unpopular, either. I think it was just the natural progression of things.

I wasn't gorgeous, but I wasn't ugly, either. I am what I am today. Normal. Beautiful in my own way. As everyone is. I wasn't a size 0, but I wasn't a size 10. I was normal and healthy. But that makes things harder in High School.

I remember one time in particular, after school, I was walking down some stairs and in front of me was a super popular girl (we'll call her Jane) and her friend. Jane was what young girls would typically classify as gorgeous: Professionally highlighted, long hair, expensive make-up, a bleached, brace-straightened smile, size 0 (or 00) name-brand clothes. The whole package. It was known that her mom married rich men, went through their money, and moved on to the next. Well, she almost fell down the stairs. Caught herself on her friend and and looked back to see who had seen her.

Making eye contact with me, she said, to her friend while laughing, "I'm glad nobody cool saw me do that."

Things like that stick with a person, especially a girl, for a long time.

The point is this, that kind of stuff disgusts me, and should be repulsive to normal people. Yes, there are "cool" and "uncool" people out there. As well as fat, skinny, pretty, ugly, successful, failures, gay, straight....you get the idea. But to think that those "labels" define a person and offer value, to use it to classify and judge them just to make yourself feel more significant is wrong. Being pretty, skinny, successful, straight, and cool doesn't make you one iota better than someone who is ugly, fat, a failure, gay, and uncool. Or any other combination.

So, for Abercrombie & Fitch to make life harder for young people in an already difficult time who "don't have it all", who aren't popular or pretty, is disgusting. And this is why I don't shop at their stores or any of their affiliate's stores.

Listen up, girls:

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. 

YOU ARE IMPORTANT. 

YOU HAVE EXPONENTIAL VALUE. 

YOU ARE LOVED BY SO MANY PEOPLE AROUND YOU. 

IMO, and by his standards, he shouldn't even be wearing
his own clothes 

Don't let some jerk-off running a company with motives only to make a profit without giving any good back
to the community, tell you what your value is.

Don't let him tell you that just because you have wide hips or are the average size of a woman that you aren't good enough to wear his clothes or good enough period.

He's wrong. Plain and simple.

Now go out there and continue being amazing and gorgeous, inside and out.


--Me

(Source of my wrath)