I’ve never really enjoyed shopping malls.
You’re bombarded with posters, ads, mannequins, music, flashing lights and manipulative sales people vying for your attention. Let alone the crowds and noise.
I’m more of a mom-&-pop shop, local farmers market gal. I also tend to keep clothes and household items till they fall apart. And this is why I’m still wearing tops more than 15 years old from high school.
But, we needed a few things today, so we ventured out to brave the mall madness on a Saturday.
The ‘people watching’ on a busy weekend is boundless.
A man and a woman walking together caught my attention. They were holding hands, and as they passed the windows of a lingerie shop, the woman literally shuddered looking up at the gigantic display images of very thin, oiled-up women in their lacy lingerie. She inadvertently pulled her partner in the direction away from the window, but then glanced up a second time, with a look of disgust on her face.
It got me wondering, what was she feeling?
Was she disgusted just by the fact these were images were of practically naked women? Or was it something more? Did it evoke insecurities? Did it make her feel inadequate, pressured? Maybe that she needed to try harder, do better, change something about herself?
How often we are fed images of ‘ideals’ that aren’t natural or healthy, that we know deep down isn’t desirable (if what we want is the wellbeing of ourselves and others) and yet, us women still hold ourselves to these unattainable high-standards, mentally and physically beating ourselves up. Are we our own worst enemy?
I would love to hear your thoughts below. Have you ever felt like this? How do you feel about the constant pressures coming from tv, social media and advertisements?
