Wonderbra - Gag Me

You'd probably expect something like this from two highly educated psychologists/professors. Oh, let me add, they are also, published authors. Well....thank God!

Sharon Lamb and Lyn Mikel Brown are those individuals who bring to our attention this Wonderbra ad (at right, click to view enlarged version) in a blog article, January 2007, entitled 'Packaging Girlhood'. We are to assume from the Wonderbra ad that the CEO's of today are smart and don't read 'The Economist' to get to the top but rather by their offering up a full-busted look (in a Wonderbra).

Oh ~ Come on, world! Not only is that ad a slap in the face to those relatively few women CEO's who struggled their way up the corporate ladder with smarts and business savvy but it's a frightful example of society's messages to young girls.

Our culture needs repair. The attention that is being given to developing girls' (courage, spirit, hardiness) must shift from the individual to their environment: families, schools and community organizations are the key agents of change in girls' lives

An organization called Hardy Girls/Healthy Women reflects these ideals. I love it. I always knew I was a hardy girl and I became a hardy healthy woman. My strength and capabilities grew from having two older brothers and through sports. Developing skills brings confidence, toughness and tenacity. When you believe you can race and beat your brothers and their friends, when you actively compete in sports, when you learn to face healthy opposition ... you develop an unflagging spirit.

My mother never sent me out the door dressed to impress but rather she encouraged my inner spirit and growth assisting me greatly in social environments. I would have gagged at this Wonderbra ad growing up a hardy girl in the the 60's. My mother used common sense and everyday boring confidence-building experiences. Today's mothers are battling the media's imaging of girls requiring even moms to consciously have to re-shuffle healthy images in their minds. Their daughters are consumed by the slick media marketing and consequently the girls of today obsess over their looks, finding intellectual and healthy physical development so not cool.
CHEERS to the hardy ladies helping to raise hardy girls.
Patricia

Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters from Marketers' Schemes By Sharon Lamb, a licensed psychologist, college professor, mom, and author of several books including, Packaging Girlhood, and by Lyn Mikel Brown a developmental psychologist, professor, mom, and author of several books including this shared book.