Magic Mirror on the Wall.....

In Grimm's well known fairy tale, the new Queen - Snow White's step mother - has a magic mirror which is an animate object. Being beautiful and vain, the Queen often asks her Mirror: " Magic Mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" The Magic Mirror would always answer:"You are the fairest of them all." But when Snow White turned 18, the Mirror said: "Snow White is much fairer than you."

In the year 2012 and the era of advanced technologies, very young girls no longer trust their mirror or what their friends and family tell them. They'd rather upload themselves on You Tube and ask their viewers exactly the same question Snow White's stepmother asked her magic mirror in Grimm's fairy tale. "Am I pretty or ugly?" followd by "Please comment" The wording is different, the meaning is exactly the same. The anonymous commenters are just like the "magic mirror on the wall". They feel free to say anything ranging from flattering comments to nasty and hurting remarks. The girl in the video below received more than 6,000 comments. Naturally, I didn't read them all but I did browse through and came across some really nasty comments which I wouldn't like to quote here.

 

What really saddens me is that these young girls - aged 11-13 - crave for comments, negative or positive. Surely, they lack self-esteem and self-confidence and they rely on total strangers to know whether they're pretty or ugly. But this is not what it boils down to. These kids seek to attract the  attention they lack in their own home.

Comments

[Faith]

How sad a commentary on how we do not allow our children to be children. To validate everything about them. I am saddened when I go to work and my 5th grade girls, especially, are more interested in their hair, make up, jewelry, types of clothing (though we have uniforms), than in excelling at their God-given gifts and talents. My grandmother used to say, beauty is only skin deep....but I do not agree. I believe the beginning of outward beauty begins with inward beauty. What is your heart like? Do you criticize or do you build up others? I have several nieces who are all beautiful in my eyes. They are beautiful in their own ways on the outside, but what I see is their inner beauty; their love for others; their compassion. It is not the types of clothing they wear or how well their hair and make up are fixed (and yes, they do take time to look good on the outside) but if you asked me to describe each one...I would begin with their hearts. Their love for God; their love for their families and their treatment of others.

Today's world has made us so body conscious that all we do is diet, exercise, and have plastic surgery to give us the beauty, which we obviously lack on the inside. Our self esteem does not come from our inner beauty but by how others look at our outer finery. I have "friends" I have known since 1984. They no longer do things with me (except on special occasions) because 1) I don't wear expensive clothes 2) I rarely wear make up 3)I don't go out and drink to excess 4) I am heavier than ALL my friends and 5) I do not need their acceptance to build me up. They are all very dependent upon each other and go out drinking and partying all the time. I am never invited. That is not me. Not how I have ever lived, nor do I want to be this type of person. I have fun; I enjoy life; I enjoy my kids I teach and I love my husband and my family. BUT my beauty comes from God's love living through me. I want people to see Him, not me. I am not pretty; I am not beautiful...but Mesut and God both make me feel totally loved and totally beautiful...and that is all that I care about.

[Lakis Ioannou]

I fully agree with Faith. Modern society has created "beauty models" or "beauty idols" which young girls desperately try to adopt or immitate by becoming body conscious. They wrongly believe that physical beauty is all that matters in order to be accepted in society. To me the kids are not to blame. Parents are to blame. As you say Anastasia, the main issue is lack of attention and lack of communication between children and parents.

[Christina]

The little girl on the video would be really pretty if she took off all that make-up! To me beauty is the mirror of your soul. Beautiful people have beautiful souls. Great post!!

[Laura]

A teen’s desire for approval is nothing new. Teens often look to be accepted by their peers and have other people like them. Posting a video online asking people to comment on their attractiveness, however, opens these girls up to the scrutiny of thousands of people. The constant criticism and negative comments can have a very damaging impact on a young girl’s self-esteem.

[Andy]

These girls should be playing with dolls....Where are the parents?

[Haruko N]

I am shocked! I think You Tube should review their Terms for posting videos of little girls and underaged people in general without the parents' approval. I refuse to believe that there are parents who would actually allow this to their girls. It's so sad and dangerous for children.