I recently read (but didn't confirm) that physical trainer Jillian Michaels is reported to have said that she would never ever have a baby because it would ruin her body. Now, don't get me wrong. I am all in favor of someone choosing not to have a baby and I totally get that everyone has different reasons for making such decisions. I respect anyone who knows themselves well enough to make life decisions like these. I also believe that famous people have always made decisions like this for their craft, but they rarely came out and said they were doing so. Ms. Michaels obviously wasn't worried about the reception such a stand would receive. We are a society that is so vain, so shallow, so concerned about appearance that we make our childbearing decisions based on looks and we have no qualms about admitting such.
Huh?
How did we become a society where physical appearance became the be all and end all of our existence? How did we become a people for whom physical appearance is the measure of success and worthiness? How did caring about our appearance evolve into obsession with every little aspect of our bodies?
What does this mean for our society? What does this mean for our children? Looks are more important than children? What else are they more important than? Last year, I read and reviewed Too Sexy, Too Soon . It was as fascinating and disturbing look at the overwhelming pressure our children feel to be attractive and sexual at younger and younger ages. This book made me aware of how we are sacrificing our children on the alter of physical beauty; Jillian Michaels' comment made me aware that we're going even farther back.
Looks have replaced substance. We are how we look, not what we do. Looks fade. Even the advent of plastic surgery and various other cosmetic interventions, our youth fades. Even Jillian Michaels will eventually sag, wrinkle, and slow down. How will she cope with the inevitable? With nothing more important than looks, I have to wonder: As our looks go, do we cease to exist?
4 comments:
my favorite line from your post:
"As our looks go, do we cease to exist? "
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Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. 1 Peter 3:3-5 (NIV)
Sad thing is, she's not that pretty.
I'd rather have my three children than all the gold, silver and good looks in the world. Wouldn't trade them or my wonderful husband for anything. Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Psalm 127:3
I am enjoying my rewards from Heaven more and more each day and greatly looking forward to the day when God rewards them with their heritage.
I saw this post a couple of days ago and it has been at the back of my brain scratching a way. I am really glad that you brought this up as a blog post because I think that it is an important topic. Every since I read the article I was trying to really get my brain around what she said and what it really meant. To me, the article has put Jillian in a new, unflattering light. I, unfortunately, now see her as a self consumed and very shallow person. She is all about what she sees in the mirror and what other people see. How can she really appreciate and understand the people that she is trying to help? For a woman, getting pregnant and giving birth is the culmination of everything her body was designed to do. By despising the changes that pregnancy and child birth bring, she is despising herself as a woman. I am only a little surprised that there has not been more comment in the media. I, for one, appreciate all of the changes that pregnancy and childbirth brought to my wife. Just my two cents....
Here is my take. She isn't married, is probably in her late 30's and is prepping herself for not being able to have children by making statements that are ridiculous but will serve to protect her emotions should she never be able to have children. I've heard other "regular" people make comments like this too but once married they have children... Either that or she's a narcissist.
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