Wait, I am… but not when it comes to perceived pressure to conform to a weird and distressing socio-economic norm:

UK families face consumer pressure, says report
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14898614

I also saw it called ‘brand bullying’, which really… the whole concept is incredibly droll. But it pleases me to see other people and agencies saying what I’ve been saying for years – people are hung up on buying things, they’re oftimes doing it of guilt, and that it’s ridiculously rampant here. I’m not sure that banning adverts to under-16s will make a dent in the problem (it’s certainly no silver bullet), it might be enough of a sop to give people breathing room to think up how to attack the problem. Because no, parents aren’t ‘being lazy’ when they ask society to do their part to help make the world a safe place to be children.

By that same token, I don’t think it funny to tell girls that they’re stupid, and that it’s cute:

Forever 21 Shirts Tell Girls They’re Too Cool for School
http://bit.ly/n7vDwl

Much like within the previous situation/article, there are those who shrug and say, ‘If you don’t like them, don’t buy them.’ That completely misses the point – the people who are upset aren’t going to buy them obviously, but don’t want their child to feel pressured into being stupid and objectified. Beauty fades no matter how much plastic and/or poisons you pump yourself full of, while the mind continues to sharpen and be our primary asset as we age. Others would argue that companies wouldn’t make things if there wasn’t a market, which is… well.. naive; it is their job to make the market, and then convince us that we cannot live without it. I mean, hi… anti-aging cream? Cracked heel repair cream?! Yeah, right…

Oh yes, there is a petition on the Forever 21 thing, if you’re interested in signing it:
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/sexist_shirts/index2.html?rc=fb_share2

Anyways, it’s all food for thought, and as said –  makes me feel a bit vindicated to hear my opinions validated. Even if I wasn’t a parent, I’d still want to slap marketers from trying to make people feel miserable, stupid, and objectified – I don’t think anyone deserves to be paid for making me feel ugly and worthless (which they don’t manage to do, nyah nyah!). Being a mother just makes me a little more ferocious in wanting this sort of bullcrap to go by the wayside. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be pretty, but come on – it comes from within, not from a tube or a tube top. 😉

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