Media Creates Monsters
My 13-year-old little sister wrote a great poem about media and the monster it creates. It speaks to young girls about a very important message: remember be YOU and not the person media wants you to be.
Can you see that picture?
Yes, that one right there.
With the skinny yet curvy, pretty girl.
Be like the picture, that's your one and only thought.
Be that fake.
Be that phony.
Skinnier! You're too big to be the phony, to be the fake, to be the lie!
You don't eat for awhile…
You purge what you do.
Is being too skinny real? 'Cause I can see your bones.
Curvier! It brings in all the guys.
It makes you beautiful. It makes you pretty.
Get that perfect hourglass figure that's only possible with photoshop.
Get that seemingly flawless body!
Prettier! Make yourself beautiful.
Erase that tear-stained face, replace it with one that is presentable!
Layer it in makeup, layer it in lies, and make sure to have the perfect smile.
They all want you to be beautiful.
You want to be beautiful.
Kinder! Quieter! Your opinion means nothing, your personality means everything.
Don't speak up.
The picture didn't speak. Why should you?
Just listen.
Obey everything…
Everything.
SexualizeYourself! It makes them all pay attention, it makes them all love you!
They want you! They want to be you!
It makes you beautiful.
But don't over do it, oh no…
Too revealing means a slut, you must be just the right amount!
Straight! You must be straight, pay attention to the opposite gender!
Be normal.
No one will like you if you aren't.
They'll stray away.
They'll all leave.
Everyone loves the picture… What about you?!
Taunts get worse! Why won't it all stop!
Nothing is working.
No amount of makeup or starvation or lies can get them to like you!
Guys avoid you!
Girls despise you!
They all taunt and tease.
Punch and kick.
Yell and scream.
WHY?! Why don't you fit in?
Why can you not be normal or pretty?!
Why don't they like you?!
Can they not see how much you've changed?
Can they not see the sacrifices made?
Can they not see the pain you mask beneath the lies?!
Are those tears worth it?
Was the blood you spill down your own arms worth it?
Was degrading yourself worth it?!
Were those horrid thoughts worth it?
WERE ANY OF THESE THINGS YOU DID WORTH ANYTHING AT ALL?!
That rope won't help around your neck.
Those pills don't look very appetizing.
That gun is bitterly cold against your skin.
The blade of a knife sends uncomfortable chills throughout you.
You feel broken.
Everyone has left,
Abandoning you.
Leaving you to die.
They don't care…
You suffered.
You cried.
You never slept.
You never spoke up.
You never were yourself.
STOP the starving! Eat!
Your bones are visible!
Your health is low!
And you can barely make it out of bed without worrying you'll break something!
Take the makeup off! Wipe off every last bit of it!
The natural beauty beneath those tears deserve to be seen!
The tears deserve to be seen!
Show your natural blush, not some powder!
Your eyes were perfect, no color needed!
Your lips were fine without that gloss!
Speak up! Don't be afraid.
Voice your opinion!
It matters. It always mattered!
Defend yourself from those taunts, don't take it like it isn't breaking you apart!
Every last word that comes from your mouth is worth everything!
Erase that fake personality!
Be YOU!
Don't reveal yourself! You are being foolish!
Disrespecting your body!
Is it worth those names?
Slut?
Whore?
No!
Love who you want!
Normal doesn't matter.
Normal isn't real!
Normal is just standards set by others!
Love that girl!
Love that boy!
Don't love anyone at all!
It is your choice, your nature!
That picture! Burn it!
Delete it!
Don't look at it again!
That image isn't what you should be!
People like YOU!
Not that phony.
Not that fake.
Not that lie!
The media created a monster.
You fed it.
Now you starve it.
You kill it.
And now it will destroy you no more.
Don't feed the monster.
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