Beauty: "There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly"

I don't know about you, but I am obsessed with the MTV show Teen Mom. I have been watching these four girls for almost 3 years now & feel like we are besties! So when I was in the check out line the other day and saw Maci & Bentley on the front cover of Us Magazine I just HAD to buy it! But Teen Mom is not what this post is about... (I'm just defending the reason I bought the magazine in the first place, because after reading this issue I have decided to NEVER purchase one of their magazines ever again!!)

I came to the HOT PICS! section if you would like to check it out for yourself (September 13, 2010 issue page 46). There was a picture of Kelly Ripa in a cute little pink bikini. The quote next to her said "I try to do a variety of exercises," a cut Kelly Ripa tells Us. Sounds harmless right? Just another beautiful celebrity strutting down the beach in a bikini. WRONG! Cut my butt!! You can visibly see this poor woman's bones. I read & re-read & re-re- read the quote "a cut" Kelly Ripa. I just swore it was a joke. Now, I am 100% positive that whoever wrote that was being totally serious. 

What in the heck is wrong with our society?! And people wonder why young girls have such low self-esteems. I am a wife and mother now and still have some of the same self-esteem issues going on inside my head that I did when I was 15 years old. The difference with me though is that I have finally realized being a certain size or having a certain hair color does not make you beautiful. But try telling a young girl that and it's like talking to a brick wall. And notice, I said I still have some of those insecurities even though I know what inner beauty means.

Something has to change! Dove has been doing a campaign for the past couple years "Campaign for Real Beauty", if you have not heard of it, please! please! look into it. They are really the first to make this change seem reachable. Ever since I heard about it, I have been purchasing all Dove products (shampoo, body wash, deodorant, body spray). Not only are you supporting the campaign, you are getting a great product in return!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knEIM16NuPg

Whether or not you decide to boycott these ludicrous  magazines yourself or whether or not you decided to start purchasing Dove products, please just promise me one thing? Make sure you tell the women in your life they are beautiful inside & out. I know it's a cliche, but it's true. And being a woman myself, whether I believe that person or not, being called beautiful by anyone makes you feel good. Who knows, maybe if you tell someone that enough, they might actually start believing it themselves. And then BAM! you just made the world a little better place by building one woman's self-esteem.

I promise to you now, when/if I ever have a daughter you better believe I will do everything in my power to make her feel beautiful inside and out. I truly believe, women are our future. We ladies, are what make the world go around. If we do not protect and respect one another, than who will?

Like my girl Maya Angelou says, "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."