rebelling against low expectations

The Distortion of Beauty

T

This popular ad from personal care company Dove and their new Campaign for Real Beauty does an excellent job of revealing how photos of models and celebrities are drastically modified — fueling unrealistic expectations in girls and guys.

Rate It / Blog It / Download

UPDATE: Some wise words from Carolyn Mahaney at GirlTalk:

To think that women are striving to look like someone who doesn’t even look like herself. It’s absurd!

The Dove Campaign got it partially right—the fashion industry has certainly contributed to a distorted perception of beauty. And yet, their solution—“every girl deserves to feel beautiful just the way she is”—is well-meaning and yet fundamentally unbiblical.

You see, women believe that physical beauty will make them happy, successful, popular among the women, desirable to the men – so they pursue it with a fury!

Physical beauty, however, does not deliver as advertised. Proverbs 31:30 reveals the falsehood and the futility of this quest for beauty: Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain.

Even if every girl did “feel beautiful just the way she is,” it wouldn’t bring her true joy or lasting happiness or solve even one of her problems.

Read the rest of the post »

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

About the author

Alex and Brett Harris

are the co-founders of TheRebelution.com and co-authors of Do Hard Things and Start Here. They have a passion for God and for their generation. Their personal interests include politics, filmmaking, music, and basketball. They are both graduates of Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia.

91 comments

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Wise words. I think, though, that there is a danger in going to far the other way. God created beauty. He wants us to look our best. That gets distorted (as in the ad). But on the other side you have people who purposely don’t do basic cosmetic things, and dress anti-fashionably, and they have the same goal as the person who is getting all sorts of “beauty enhancement”. They are focusing on getting approval from others.

    God accepts us as we are, and then gives us grace to gently push us toward becoming like Him. We should focus on being vessels for God, and pleasing Him, not others.

  • God created beauty and everyone is beautiful in their own way. Growing up with a former beautician (my mom). I have learned a lot about make-up, hair, the fashion industry etc. My mom has taught me that beauty first begins in the heart. You can be the most beautiful person on the outside, but if you are ugly on the inside, it makes you very unattractive. However, you can be no very attractive on the outside and have a beautiful and sweet spirit and everyone will think your the most beautiful person.

    Thanks guys for the video. I think it’s really cool. I have seen it before and thought it was a great example of the high expectations that are placed on women today.

  • You’re right, Will. Any attempt to derive our value from the approval of others is flawed. At the same time, it’s important to note that the balance is not between the distortion seen in the video and those who make no attempt to look and dress in a pleasant and attractive manner. The distorted perception of beauty seen on magazine covers, movies and the like is outside the realm of reality.

  • Wow, I saw the video on girltalk and have watched it several times, but it never ceases to amaze me. It’s awful how much we strive to be beautiful like people in ads and they don’t even look like themselves! I agree with Allie, it impresses and depresses me. Thanks for the article!

  • In some ways it is almost comical that they probably pay their models out the wazooos and then they still have to go and pay people to distort them. Wow.

  • I am a Girl Scout leader and this is one of things that I do not like about Girl Scouts. It is about the Dove company being partners with the Girl Scouts. I do not want an argument about Girl Scouts because there are some weird things about the program but as Christian who is a leader I can pick and choose what the girls learn and talk about in our troop.

  • The world is so fixated on what people look like on the ouside and not what the heart looks like. So many people judge each other by what they see when someone walks into a room not even bothering to get to know them. Were as God ,who knows us better than anyone else, loves us and cares for us!

  • Wow, how true that is. It just goes to show how many young people these days strive to stay in style with the latest rave. It is all about being “hip”. A great reminder for me to not have that as my goal, but to have Christ’s best for me as my goal. Thanks for the great post.

  • One thing I’ve noticed is that true “1 Peter 3:4 beauty” actually radiates outward; I’ve met some people who at first I didn’t think of as particularly attractive, but as I got to know them and their love for the Lord and all things good and right, those qualities really glowed all over. Now I consider those few girls some of the most strikingly beautiful people I know. The light in their eyes is really something special.

  • How funny that I would find this on your site… I just posted it on my own blog. This video truly shows how superficial our culture truly is. It’s sad that we’ve grown so accustomomed to “fake” that we can’t even enjoy what’s true anymore. And we’re missing out. So sad. So shocking. Thank you for posting this.

  • Wow wow! Definitely um… revealing, not to mention challenging! It’s so true, that “women are striving to look like someone who doesn’t even look like herself.” It’s something that I think we all know deep down, but popular culture etc. is yelling so loud that all other thoughts seem to somehow get crowded out. Thanks for sharing!

  • I use to where make-up but decided to stop when I got older. By putting on make-up you are telling God : ” I don’t like the way you made me, you didnt do it right so I’m going to change ( inhance) it . God made you the way he wants you.To try and “inhance”
    it is saying God made a mistake, and He dosnt do that!!!!!!!!

  • I don’t think that it is a sin to wear makeup, but it is wonderful if a young woman feels comfortable enough with herself to wear very little – or even none at all. Putting on too
    much makeup, in an effort to CREATE a pretty face, is a sign of insecurity; using certain
    techniques to ENHANCE God-given, natural attractiveness and unique, individual features
    (eyes, nose, smile, hair, etc.) is perfectly acceptable, in my opinion.
    I personally enjoy being able to really dress up once in a while; I love feeling feminine
    and pretty, when I can!

    Thank you for posting the video; I need to be reminded of the fact that the pictures of
    the nearly perfect women I see in most advertisements are not a reflection of reality.

  • Every Sunday morning, after he is ready for church and waiting on the rest of us, dad will watch Sunday news programs (Such as, “Meet the Press”, and “Sunday Today”) to get caught up on what’s going on in the world. Anyway, this past Sunday they were talking about this very video. It was really interesting. One thing that stood out was when they said, there is no surgery that can make your eyeballs bigger and your neck longer!

  • While I think the GirlTalk article has a point, I would like to point out that the Dove Campaign says it is “The Self-Esteem Fund.” I think they are trying to point out fact that girls shouldn’t feel inadequate just because they don’t look like supermodels. Beauty isn’t just about outward appearances. I believe they are trying to point out fact that everyone is beautiful in their own way, whether physically or not.

    The Dove Campaign, in my opinion, is trying to help others, especially girls, establish self-acceptance, which, in my experience, has been essential to my walk with Christ.

  • Wow! I’ve seen this video before, and it perfectly illustrated what I’ve been saying for years: we don’t look as good as the models in magazines because the models themselves don’t really look like that – no one does! Ever watch an old movie and really look at the actors and, especially, the actresses? They didn’t look nearly as perfect as people have to today. Beauty has become distorted in our media. Married women, regardless of how many (or few) kids they have, have to be slim, fit, and have a perfect complection in order to be attractive. Single women have to be all that and then dress like strange women on top of that. It’s shameful and disturbing. Emily (previous poster) is right: women need to realize that it doesn’t make us inadequate if we don’t look like supermodels. They are “gold covered garbage cans” – beautiful on the outside, full of junk on the inside. It is the character of a woman that makes her beautiful: her purity, gentleness, sweetness, faith, service…those are the things that make a woman beautiful. That said, though, there is nothing wrong with a lady fixing herself up to look pretty. The Bible doesn’t say not to – it says not to be focused on and obsessed with our outward appearance. But it’s a good testimony to look neat, clean, and modestly pretty.

  • Everytime I see this video, I remain amazed by how technology can make everything “better.” Growing up, my mother always told me that the models I saw in magazines and elsewhere were not realistic. I never believed her, so I always tried to be like every magazine model. I finally understood what beauty really was in the past year or so.

    Here at college, I see young women who are obsessed with image and being this kind of “perfection,” but have become the imperfect version of themselves. Hopefully, more campaigns for “real beauty” will emerge, encouraging what is true and wonderful.

    Every person deserves the right to know and accept the fact that they are beautiful when they are the healthy version of themself.

  • As compelling as the video is I don’t think any woman or girl doesn’t realize they cake on the makeup and hair products to make models look pretty. It’s been done since the beginning of time. I think as Christians we need to ask ourselves how much time and effort we are putting into the superficial and what’s our motivation. Being pretty isn’t a sin, but there’s a lot in scripture about immodesty.

  • As a mother, grandmother of females, thank-you. Great video. Great message from Ms. Mahaney.
    I was raised with putting my ‘best foot forward’ as in taking some time to appear ‘well put together’ for worshipping God i.e. church, and work. Coming from a military household looking well put together was a normal, routine part of life.
    As with all things in regard to how we live on earth as Christians, followers of Jesus Christ as our Saviour, it is how excessively we choose to prepare ourselves to leave our homes. How excessive our adornment whether it be hair, make-up, jewelry, dress.
    Mothers today have a big task ahead of them in raising the next generation. The world today is dictating more and more the NEED for making physical changes to our bodies and dressing more & more risque. Young women (young girls!) looking older than they really are.
    We always need to consider what would Jesus think of the way we choose to look when we leave our homes and whom are we trying to really please. Whose eye are we really trying to catch?
    Loretta

  • my bible class and i watched this video last week. i think it shows us that no one is perfect. the person at the end of the video does not exist but the person at the beggining does. God created us just the way we are and we are all perfect in his eyes.

  • I totally agree w/ all the comments here….the pressure on young women (including my daughter) is overwhelming and I believe comes MUCh too early these days…..what a shame….

    On another note…..being a portrait photographer, this program amazes me! This is one I have NEVER seen! The way they are developing technology is un-real! Used in the right situations it could be absolutely resourceful…..leading young women into a false role model I do not believe qualifies as resourceful…

  • I think that video, ina way, is really very sad because it shows how much emphasis our culture is putting on outside beauty. God made everyone unique, so no matter how pretty or ugly they may be on the outside, they are beautiful in HIS sight, which is what truly matters. God looks at the inside, not the outside!!

  • i can’t agree more with Olivia and Lane! it’s so true! i’ve met numerous people who i instantly thought were beautiful on the outside, and then when i got to know them they either became even more beautiful to me or less, depending on their personality, character, and inner beauty (or lack thereof). on the other hand, there are soooo many people i’ve met that i didn’t think were physically so remarkable upon first meeting them. then the more i got to know them, it was like something inside of them was visibly shining through and they became so beautiful in my eyes! i should be used to it by now, but it never fails to amaze me every time it happens. its funny cuz now i see these people who the world would probably consider average to be the most beautiful people ever (yes, physically too!) and i find myself so attracted to them because of the beauty that just radiates from within them.

  • WOW… I can’t do that, I want that software…. I think before long people will just give up on photoshopping images of models and make their own with the computers… If you type in ‘computer generated people’ (no quotation marks and nothing inappropriate comes up on the first results page as of 30 seconds ago) the first image that comes up in the results is one of a completely computer-generated girl wearing a yellow shirt. It’s amazing.

  • For a long time women have been in search of liberation, and yet today we are more in bondage than ever. We are slaves to the endless pursuit of physical perfection, we have bought into the lie that our value comes from our appearance. Its time women begin to stand up and be true women of beauty and refuse to bow under the pressure to be physically perfect. Its time to celebrate true beauty that comes from a godly heart, and a life submitted to Christ. If we don’t start taking a stand we are going to lose the next generation of women. I am priviledged to work with children and the effects of the photoshopped magazine covers on young girls is devastating, they don’t know its not real or attainable. I will never forget the morning when I found Hayley sobbing and refusing to go to school, the reason she said she didn’t look like the cover of a magazine. The real tragedy, she was only ten. Our daughters are losing their childhood, and being robbed of their innocence because we as women have allowed society to dictate what beauty is, I think its time we stand up and tell them the truth.

  • Amazing video. Very thought provoking.

    I agree that most of your listed reasons (“women believe that physical beauty will make them … successful, popular among the women, desirable to the men “) are dangerous, however, I think that many women fix up merely because they like to- much in the same way that they would decorate a cake or their living room. The process is fun and the end result is visually appealing.

    Is there anything wrong with that?

  • I watched the video again, and on second thought, that girl was extremely beautiful BEFORE she was photoshopped. She actually transformed less than many women I know when they fix their hair and makeup every day.

    I think you might want to discuss hairstyles and makeup next, in the interest of consistency…

  • There is a saying (but I don’t know who said it first) that goes: “Pretense becomes reality” , but I don’t think that’s the case when it comes to beauty. We can dress ourselves up and paint ourselves up with makeup to look pretty, but it is still just a facade; its not reality… the reality is we are who we are, and superficial beauty is just skin deep.

    ~ Elisabeth J. Gruber

  • I just wonder if a woman id feminine and pure, and all the things that you say is right for me…but if I am not physically attractive and FAT.

    Out of ALL the sites and blogs I have been on about the issue of female modesty and traditional feminity, I am very upset that everyone igmores the fat girls in this!

    We CAN’T show our midriffs, we are forever tryting to hide our bodies! FAT girls are by default “modest” because we we are covering up our FAT along with our assets.

    And guess what? i am 28 and still have never been approched by a nice guy. You know why? Because the good Christain guys are always chasing THIN MODEL TYPE girls no matter if they are modest or not.

    And I have been obese since I was 8 years old, a severe eating disorder. I just get so angry that no matter where I go in the Chirstian community, I will always be invisible. Either because I am FAT, or poor, or African American, or have no family.

    I want to get married and be a wife and mom! And although i don’t want to give up my modesty, I have to say this….. Where are the good Chirsatian guys that are not shallow? They TALK a good game to appear all Christain, but show me a young man who will profess his love and court a large, modest, feminine girl like me? Hmmmm……?

  • Dear Moderators,

    I came back today to see that my post was not posted yet. I would like to have a reason why you a Chirstian site have silnced the fat Christian girl. I had a feeling you would not put up my post. I would like to know why my post was rejected. It’s a shame what is happening to Chirsitanity even on line. I am truly dissapointed=(

  • How come no one talks about the cruelty put on fat girls even when they are modest? Doe s anyone know where i can get info on this subject?

  • Dear Dawn,

    Your comments are now up. They weren’t ever rejected. The problem was that because we receive literally hundreds of spam comments everyday, our spam filter will sometimes accidentally filter a legitimate comment. That’s what happened with yours. We manually go through all the spam comments every day so we don’t miss any real ones, but we can’t always get to it immediately. We’re very sorry for the delay.

    Regarding your comment, let me be the first to apologize for the shallowness of so many Christian guys who talk one way and act another. Let me encourage you, femininity and purity are not based on body type or physical attractiveness. The judge isn’t shallow Christian guys (or girls, for that matter). The person whose opinion of us matters is God. If you are seeking to walk in purity and biblical womanhood before Him, He will honor that, whether in this life or the glorious one to come.

    Remember that you have a God who is a Father to the fatherless, who doesn’t care about your weight or your ethnicity or whether you have a lot of money. He loves you. Jesus Christ is our bridegroom and you, as a member of His church, are His bride. Rest in His love, sister!

    The Lord bless you!

    In Christ,
    Alex Harris

  • Alex,

    Oh I am so sorry! When I hit the refresh button I thought my post was up then taken down because I saw it up. I just get so emotional when i leave comments on these blogs you know? god has shown me a a major revalation in this area of my life and I just wanted to put my truth out there. Please forgive me for being a bit upset. I have given my life to Chirst and I just want to bring attention to things i NEVER hear about in Church. i think it is really important that the common things we go thru on our walk with God should not be ignored. I belive that this is the ministry that God is leading me to and as you can see he still has a lot of work to do on me!!!lol

    But I do love this site and what you have done here especailly the Survey. I apprecite your warm reply.

    Humbly,
    Dawn Solomon

  • I have never seen this video before but the concept is definitely true. Every girl wants to feel beautiful in someones eyes and many times seek the wrong attention from the wrong eyes.It is truly amazing when you realize that no matter what you look like you are breahtakingly beautiful in the eyes of your Heavenly Father. Although this video gives a good message ; it only scratches the surface. Our hearts need to be beautiful. My thinking on this topic was completely changed when I read the book “Authentic Beauty” by: Leslie Ludy. I realize there are a lot of girls who blog on here, and I definitely recommend the book. It digs so deep into God’s love for us, and is a true eye-opener.

    Your Sister in Christ,
    Brianna

  • WOW!!! I know I am really late leaving a reply for this one, but that was really interesting! I also wanted to back up what Brianna M. said about Authentic Beauty. I also enjoyed this book written by a woman who is truly beautiful (inside and out).
    Tiffany

  • okay.. first of all god didn’t create beauty…you look how you do becaue of your parents. second to will…why should we only please “god” and not others? shouldn’t we want to make others happy as well? hard-core christians make me laugh.

  • Wow! I had never seen this before. I knew they put a ton of makeup on these models…but computer distortion! Amazing video. It’s a sick world. I’m going to share this with others. Thanks!

  • Wow! That is totally awesome! I love the part where Carolyn Mahaney says “To think that women are striving to look like someone who doesn’t even look like herself. It’s absurd!” It’s so true! Alot of girls I know are trying to be stick thin like the models or look as beautiful as them. So they dye their hair like every month and wear clothes that are way too small to be made for them. Its awesome that a mainstream company like Dove is at least getting part of the message across. That the models don’t even look like the pictures of themselves!
    Thanks for putting this up here!

  • I thought this ad was pretty nifty when I saw it, but I don’t entirely agree with its point. For me, physical insecurity has never come from looking at models or celebrities. It’s come from seeing my friends, co-workers, and classmates who just happen to be beautiful in real life.

    We could get rid of all the beauty discrepancies in the media, but every girl in America would still have to decide whether or not they would be defined by outer appearances, or by the heart.

  • Well that goes to show you that even the prettiest women aren’t pretty enough for the modeling industry and magazine covers!
    I guess these perfect women don’t exist.
    Though I must admit the lady was gorgeous already before they altered her image for the magazine cover.
    I used to think I was ugly because of some heartless jerks I dealt with in highschool.
    However my father reminded me that I am a lovely young lady.

    Also notice that young african american girls are told that they aren’t pretty because they don’t look like their caucasian counterparts.
    That is very mean and hurtful I’m glad to know that beauty isn’t limited to ethnicity because there are beautiful women from around the world.

  • It’s so amazing what they do to models for magazine covers… with the make up, lighting, and computer technologies. Isn’t it funny, actually? I wonder how many people have thought, “Oh, I wish I was as pretty as So-And-So the celebrity.” When in truth, if that celebrity were to remove all the fake changes done with computers, she’d probably be uglier than the person wishing to look like her!! I know that might be a bit extreme and is probably not always the case, but it is oh-so-sadly possible.

    So the moral of the story is: when you look through magazines, don’t start thinking you’re ugly because the fake images of non-existing models are so much prettier! Remember that word, ladies: FAKE! I have to remind myself sometimes that those images just aren’t real!

    And to comment on what Kim said: wow! The idea that race, social status, or nationality should have anything to do with beauty is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard. I know a black person who is very beautiful. Take that back. I know more than one. Skin color doesn’t change a thing.

  • WOW! I really needed to see that. Its so easy to look at a magazine cover and say, “Oh she’s so beautiful. I NEED to be like her.” I think thats a big problem in our society today. Too many girls (Including myself) are worried about what they look like and what others think. And in reality, if other girls knew how beautiful they are to God, then they wouldnt care at all what others think. God made us special just the way we are. I just heard a song by Superchick that I really like its called So Beautiful. But I dont think makeup is wrong; its not wrong to try to enhance the beauty that God gave you. Its wrong to try to cover up what God gave us.

    Lyrics to So Beautiful by Superchick on their new CD Rock What You Got:

    We are a thousand voices strong
    We are each girl who sings this song
    We are a beauty that is our own
    And we are
    And we are
    So beautiful

    We are light
    We were born beautiful
    We were meant to be more then these shadows of girls
    They cut us down to size
    Afraid we’ll change the world?
    But we’ll fight for your right to be beautiful girls
    If every girl could see her beauty,
    We would be an army

    We are a thousand voices strong
    We are each girl who sings this song
    We are a beauty that is our own
    And we are
    And we are
    So beautiful

    We have dreams we were born to fufill
    We were meant to be more than just fairy tale girls
    We are the colors so bright
    Each beautiful girl
    We are the stars in the night
    And we are changing the world
    When every girl can see her beauty we will be an army

  • This video really helped me! I have been struggling with seeing myself as a beautiful girl. The media certainly has not helped with these feelings. Big thanks to Dove for exposing the lies society throws at us. It is hard for teen girls to realize that they really are beautiful when every magazine they look at or every movie or tv show, just makes them feel like they aren’t good enough. The media certainly does not make anyone feel good about themselves… until all the lies are exposed. On photoshop you can change so many things you can even make someone look like a different person. You can put on makeup, remove things like acne or you could make someone thinner or bigger, you can also change eye, skin , and hair color. You can completely change someone and make them appear flawless! Real beauty doesn’t have anything to do with what you look like, it has to do with who you are as a person, your personality, your character and what makes you, you! Don’t let the world fool you into thinking people are perfect, because they aren’t.

  • It is absolutely crazy how much emphasis our culture puts on being beautiful. The only way to be in is to get all the right clothes and all the right make-up, but even then we are not truly satisfied. The world is constantly changing its standards. We get so burned out trying to keep up with the “in” crowd. Younger girls who are growing up in this culture are being called on at far to young an age to become an adult. To look beautiful and attractive. Every girl needs to know that she is beautiful no matter how she looks or what the world thinks of her. It is truly up to the younger generation to put a stop to this lie that you aren’t beautiful unless you fit in. The definition of beauty is not that you look good on the outside, but that you are following Christ and striving to be like Him. That your character and attitude reflect the light that burns from within. I have watched other girls chase after beauty and in the end they are left lost and forgotten. I see a need in other girls that wear a lot of make-up and dress provocatively. They are hurting inside and so they try to make up for it and cover it on the outside. We need to reach out to the girls around us and show them how beautiful they really are. I’m so glad I’m not the only girl who feels this way. It reminds me of a quote I once heard.

    Beauty is vain and filled with flaws,
    Appearances are deceiving and ever-changing,
    but a heart that loves God is more beautiful and precious than gold.

    How true this is!!!

  • Wow. This is amazing what they can do! I knew that they changed the pictures a little bit to make them look better, but I never thought that they did this much. I am going to show this to a friend of mine that is struggling with this issue. Again, wow.

    Sarah 🙂

  • WOW that was really amzing. I encourage everyone, when they are shopping and see innapropriate pictures of men and women to talk to the manager of the store and mabey they’ll not post the pictures up in the stores any more. I mean amagine what could happen if we all did that , there will be an amazing change.

  • WOW that was really amzing. I encourage everyone, when they are shopping and see innapropriate pictures of men and women to talk to the manager of the store and mabey they’ll not post the pictures up in the stores any more. I mean imagine what could happen if we all did that , there will be an amazing change.

  • Yeah, great clip!

    I agree with Mahaney’s statement about how absurd it is for girls to strive after photoshopped versions of models, but I fundamentally disagree about some of the other things she says about beauty:

    “What freedom and hope is found in Christ! We don’t need to feel beautiful about ourselves to find happiness! In fact, we’re better off not even thinking about ourselves. Rather, God has offered us in Jesus Christ forgiveness, hope, freedom from sin and a joy that never ends.”

    Granted, what the World often portrays as beauty is certainly worthless and fleeting, but what is so poisonous about this message is that it is partially true: women do desire to be beautiful; our beauty is one way in which we image God to the world.

    Mahaney seems to be saying (correct me if I’m wrong) that the desire to be beautiful is selfish and wrong. I disagree. At the core of our beings, we desire to be beautiful (not just outwardly; inwardly as well) because that is how we were created to be. What we offer to the world as Christian women is not just our service, but as importantly, our beauty – purely and truly. Even more than the beauty of a sunset or a tree, the beauty of a woman with Christ at her center draws us to God.

  • i agree with what Carolyn Mahaney said! girls have a need to feel beautiful, & when we watch tv or see people on the front of magazines we compare ourselves…then we think “i dont measure up, something must be wrong with me” As girls we need to realize that we are “fearfully & wonderfully made”! true beauty comes from the inside…our security should come from God…=) even when we have no makeup on, God still thinks we r beautiful (haha! don’t get me wrong, i think makeup is a great thing) “Because you are precious in my eyes and honored, and i love you…”(Isa. 43:4)(ESV)

  • Satan does it everytime and we all fall in his trap because he cleverly disguises his lies into things of beauty. Our world’s definition of beauty is a lie.

  • I don’t know if anyone brought this up, but Dove is owned by Unilever. Unilever also owns AXE, that evil men’s perfume company that makes horrible commercials that objectify women. Women are shown half-naked and chasing after the men who wear this perfume. It’s disgusting and it’s aired constantly, right in front of our children. So, um, I wouldn’t be promoting dove products if I were you.

  • this video makes me happy they showed a video similar in my health class in public school and am sure many of the girls appreciated it scince many of them left the classroom crying.

  • I heartily agree that TRUE beauty comes from within and that we shouldn’t worry so much about what’s on the outside and start thinking more about what’s inside. Yet I have a slight objection to the some of the comments I’ve seen. I believe that God created things to be beautiful. Just look around you, the world we live in is beautiful; so it’s pointless to say that God doesn’t want a girl to look beautiful on the outside as well as the inside. I find it sad that many christians girl have taken “inside” beauty way too far. They focus so much on being beautiful on the inside that they neglect the outside. God wants you to take care of both. To say that looking good on the outside is wrong, I think is completely absurd. You have to be carful how far you let the pendelum swing. On one hand the world had stressed outward beauty to the point that you don’t know what’s real and what isn’t; and yet I have found that the church has stressed inward beauty so much that girls form lazy habits, eat far too much, and dress sloppily. I do not think it is a sin to wear nice clothes, maybe a little make-up if you like it and to make sure your hair looks nice. I find it sad that many teen girls and women who are christians are often overweight, slovenly dressed and look as if they haven’t brushed their hair in weeks. I do not say this to be cruel, I feel sorry for those women because most of them don’t even know what their doing. They have been raised that way and many of them don’t know any better. You must find the balance, God has created you to please Him both with your inward and outward beauty. I still believe that you can take outward beauty too far but I also think that you can take inward beauty to far as well.

  • That is so cheating! They streched out her face with a computer!? It’s a shame that so many young girls strive to look like that when it’s not even real.
    Laurie

  • John Broadus Watson (January 9, 1878 – September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who established the psychological school of behaviorism. Watson was an acclaimed contributor to the advertising industry. Psychology invented advertising. Designers know how to target the population through desires. They were taught psychology.

  • great video!!!! it is sad to see how girls use so much make-up because they hope that they’ll be beautiful.We tend to compare ourselves with what we see on Tv, magazines, commercials and others.So, some of the girls,when they are 14 they want to look like they’re 20 and when they are in their 20s they want to look like they’re 15 or so.I believe it all goes down to self esteem and you have that when you are conscious of your identity in Christ.

  • A very sad, yet true video!! I can’t believe the difference in before and after!!! True beauty, thoughit appears to come from the exterior, really does come from within… I completely agree that good looks or a certain amount of make up will never give true happiness. I have to admit to worrying waay too much about looks though… Satan is soo evident in 2010!! The people that really care about you, won’t care if you are beautiful or ugly. And I think all girls feel a need to look pretty in order to feel accepted and liked, or whatnot. Yet, real satisfaction comes only through CHRIST! He is our hope, our joy, our love, and our true beauty. Thanks Alex and Brett for posting this! Makes me think- time spent in the bathroom in the morning vs. time spent with God……

  • That video would be so eye-opening to some friends of mine. Lol I must share it with them! It is so sad how many young women my age strive to be some girl on the cover of a magazine, when those magazine girls don’t even look like that! -sigh- I have come to the conclusion that if you are afraid for someone to see you without your face covered in makeup or spending hours in front of the mirror, then you need to work on some things. LOL 😛 I just think that if someone loves you with your makeup on and all dressed up, then they should love you with no makeup and sweats. When us women get married and have a few children, we won’t look like super models, so we should stop trying to be something we aren’t. God designed us how we are, we should accept ourselves and accept everyone else. Thank you so much for sharing this video! 😀
    ~Rose <3

  • In the Old Testament, a theme that occured frequently was the idea of beautifying the tabernacle, and later the temple. In Exodus 35-40, it paints a very lavish picture of how the tabernacle should look. Gold, silver, precious stones, and costly wood and material were all used to beautify the House of God. Later, in I Kings 7, it tells a similar story of the construction of the temple. In the New Testament however, it tells a different story. In 1 corinthians 6:19, there is a great shift. It says that “…your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you…”. This means that instead of residing in the temple as in the days of old, God resides in you. Now, there is no problem with appreciating beauty, or decorating the features that God has given you. After all, it is merely beautifying the new temple of God. Not that this can’t be over done. With moderation, there shouldn’t be a problem. As long as you don’t allow your image to become more important than God. The world is desperately trying to get people to pay more attention to yourselves than other people or even God. This video shows this. It is a great example of how marketing wishes girls to look. It is an attempt to make girls dissatisfied with how they look so that the companies can “come to the rescue” with products. I wear light make up and am careful about the way I look. I do not go overboard. As long as God is still the focus in my life, it does not matter. 🙂

  • This is exactly what inspired my friend Robyn and I to launch UNGLOSSED, an online magazine set around honest discussion about true beauty, what it means, and how to find it. It’s just a baby, a fledgling conversation, but if any of you wanted to join the discussion, we would love it. The more voices we have, the more strength we have to challenge a lost-minded culture. You can find us at unglossed.wordpress.com.

    I’ve struggled with the magazine faces, even to the point of losing myself to an eating disorder, but it’s just another ploy of Satan. The world promises that if you step into the other side, you will join the lovely glamorous women in all their glory. But there are no lovely glamorous women, just lost people stretched out by photoshop trying to step far enough, just like you.

    It’s disgusting because it’s marketing, just like Brooke Hathaway said.

  • I am not sure where you are getting your information, but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more. Thanks for magnificent info I was looking for this info for my mission.

  • An attention-grabbing dialogue is worth comment. I believe that you need to write extra on this matter, it might not be a taboo subject but typically people are not sufficient to talk on such topics. To the next. Cheers

  • I have been after your blogs and those of other experts. Even now viewing that I’m not utilizing black hat tacticts my site isn’t ranking. May you inform me if I possess duplicated pages on yet another site may that hurt me? I use calendars and descriptions of at the time of 140 tunes shows and reproduce which on one of my other domains. Coulkd that hurt my web page ranking?

  • This is so wrong! I can’t believe I wanted to look
    Like something that’s fake! I feel better after seeing this:)
    Regina Carver;)

  • This is a site which makes up crazy stories to post for laughs. They sometimes write about things like an alien and Bigfoot having a litter of babies and then selling them for top dollar to A-listers. I don’t think that exact article has ever been written, but I’ve seen things similar to that before.

  • I found you’re blog via Google and I have to say. A Enormous Thank you so much, I thought that your post was incredibly enlightening I’ll revisit to see what further great information I can recieve here.

  • Have you ever considered about adding a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is important and everything. But think of if you added some great images or videos to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with pics and videos, this site could certainly be one of the greatest in its niche. Awesome blog!

  • Winter is a good season for skiing.
    PMID 12097535.

    Please, can you PM me and tell me few more thinks about this, I am really fan of your blog…
    A formidable share, I just given this onto a colleague who was doing a bit evaluation on this. And he the truth is bought me breakfast as a result of I found it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the treat! But yeah Thnkx for spending the time to debate this, I feel strongly about it and love reading more on this topic. If doable, as you change into expertise, would you mind updating your blog with extra details? It’s extremely helpful for me. Huge thumb up for this blog put up!
    your site is great and i think its very use full for A/L students.can u send me the combined maths marking scheme year 2005

    ar0658

    Among the up-to-date tendencies is to transfer the waist slightly greater and also have an empire cut waist.
    Before the emergence of boutiques, people had no other possibility but to rely and count on community cloth shops for getting apparels.

    I just wanted to take a minute to say thanks for posting this. This area was on my mind recently, as a result I sincerely loved this article!
    miss america 2013 said on September 6th, 2011 at 8:27 am
    How to get CM7 on your Samsung Epic | androidfeens.com
    A great selection of such feedback on this submit turn up to get junk. Make sure you moderate them. how to rss wordpress
    You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation however I find this topic to be really one thing that I believe I might by no means understand. It kind of feels too complex and very wide for me. I’m having a look ahead for your subsequent put up, I’ll attempt to get the grasp of it!

  • It just goes to show you how messed up the world’s vision of beauty and your life is.

    A lot of the time we girls think we have to look exactly like that one model in People or something, when really, most of the models we see in magazines are computer generated or photoshopped so much that they look nothing like the beautiful person God created them to be.

    Please, please, please people. Don’t be deceived by the world’s vision of you and what you need to be and need to have. BE. YOURSELF. You don’t need makeup, you don’t need popularity, you just need a strong relationship with God.

    BE YOURSELF!!!!!!!

  • I really needed this right now. It’s fake, I know that, we all know that, but it’s super hard to not believe it. People on these magazines “have it all”. They’re thin, beautiful, tall, and everyone likes them, especially guys! But honestly, it not true. Doesn’t it bother these magazine editors that they’re causing girls to hate themselves…literally?

rebelling against low expectations

The Rebelution is a teenage rebellion against low expectations—a worldwide campaign to reject apathy, embrace responsibility, and do hard things. Learn More →