Ads by Susan L.

There's a current ad on TV that has left me rather disturbed. It's for a men's razor/shaver/trimmer. Nothing new there but in the ad, they "interview" tall, slender, model type women about what they like in men regarding body hair. This Gillette product is supposed to, as the tag line goes, "Give the ladies what they want." Meaning the men who use this product will attract only the most physically beautiful women. It bothers me because the dark message is so blatant. I know all the marketing aimed at women contains the same message. It is more subtle. We are taught we need to shave, primp, curl, diet, dye, pluck, have surgery (!) in order to be attractive to men. This is not just a North American issue. Beauty pagent contestants in India have their faces measured to see if they fit the cultural criteria for beauty! We drink it in, spending billions of dollars on miracle products because we are taught not to be happy with the way we look from cradle to the grave. There are whole TV shows dedicated to "fixing" the human physical condition with millions of followers. (Dr. Oz, I'll pray for you.) How can we instill respect for things like kindness, honesty, chivalry, chastity, dignity, honour, faith and grace when the media reduces children, youth, adults and the aging into nothing more than slabs of sexual meat? We know the cost. Eating disorders (on the rise in men), bullying, mental illnesses like depression. Even, so very sadly, suicide. "You built your high places at the head of every road, and made your beauty to be abhorred." Ez 16:25