Teens and Zines
By Teresa Brouwer
Pretty much every teenage girl has opened up a teen magazine at least once, and some of us, too many times to count. But what keeps us flipping through the glossy pages of articles, photos and advertisements time and time again?
Some say it's the visual appeal of the ads. Some say it's the straight-forward attitude presented in the articles regarding sex, relationships, and healt. But what I'm getting is a distorted vision of what I SHOULD be.
Most teen magazines display stick thin models on every page, and seem to give us the impression that we should look like twigs, spend hours on our hair, mask our face behind tons of cosmetics, and snag the guys like no other.
Personally, I think too many teenagers turn to these magazines as an example for how to live their lives, how to dress -- everything to how they should flirt with the opposite sex -- when they should be turning to themselves and THEIR own thoughts without being convinced by peer pressure or glossy print. Magazines shouldn't tell us who we are. We should be our own person, be individualistic with our OWN interests, ideas, and attitudes, without trying to become what is viewed as your "typical teenager."
Flipping through a teen magazine can sometimes bring on a sense of low self-esteem for teenage girls, because they look at themselves and then look at the teenagers in the magazine and realize that they don't meet the standards of what is considered pretty and beautiful.
I don't have long, bouncy blonde hair. I don't have the perfect nose. I don't have large, sky-blue eyes. I don't have the perfect tan or the long, toned legs. But I do have self-confidence knowing that I am me, and there is not a single person out there that's exactly like me -- I'm an individual, and proud to be who I am.
How do you feel about the influence magazines have on you? Do you feel your self-confidence drop as you turn the pages of a teen magazine?
About the Author:
Teresa Brouwer self-published her first book, Rainbow Wishes and Colorful Dreams: A Self-Discovery Journal for Mothers and Daughters Celebrating Life with Xlibris. She is currently writing her second book called, Teardrops on Roses: Violence Awareness and Survival Techniques for Young Women, and is researching her third book. For more information about Teresa's first book, please go to her website at www.alwaysthinkingofyou.com.
Article courtesy of www.Suite101.com.
