Feline Warrior

A friend forwarded the image below to me. The text that accompanied it read:

Check out the new mirror I’m selling - taking orders now!

—– My Reply—-

We already have this mirror - only it works in reverse and is often called “anorexia.”

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Am I being oversensitive? See, here’s the thing: I “get it,” I do. But I can’t help focusing on the fact that females send stuff like this to their female friends. Sure, everyone laughs, BUT, does anyone stop to wonder why we’re supposed to want this mirror? Yes, I know it doesn’t really exist, yet to me it is symbolic of the messages we (females) receive that, under the guise of humor, deliver pretty strong messages about how we ought to look.

And going from a pudgy, soft-cheeked woman to one with a more socially acceptable body isn’t easy. It takes a hell lot more than a magic mirror; no doubt, if such mirrors existed, many American women would have bodies like this. Why? Because we’re supposed to. It’s in the overt and covert messages we receive from the time we are tiny girls throughout our lives. But really, such a change would require not just a change in diet (perhaps), not just a change in exercise (perhaps), but also a change of mindset - a new set of goals. And for what? What is the goal? To look like a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model? To feel less old, to fit in, so that males of all ages will find us attractive?

And why do we care what all those nameless, faceless men think of us, anyway?

Maybe we don’t. Maybe I just see images such as this and wonder why we do it to ourselves. Yes, funny, the mirror shows YOU (not an audience, just you!) a completely different body than the one you have. Why would we want a mirror that lies to us? Hell, why would we want to lie to ourselves? What this tells me is that it is better to have a magic mirror that lies to me about my body than it is for me to love myself - flaws and all.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Hmph.

pfft!

Senior Republican to Bush say “exactly what happened?”

Favorite quote: Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Fox News Sunday that “there’s been enough of a showing here with what’s been filed of record in court that the president of the United States owes a specific explanation to the American people.