“Our world is telling our girls that it’s ‘cheating’ if they eat something that’s not 100% fat-free and perfectly healthy. In turn, that tells them that self-control and denying herself is to be valued above all. And that if she dares to step outside of the foods that will keep her perfectly slim and trim, then she is by default “cheating” and needs to feel some sense of remorse.
Look, I’m not saying a diet of strictly sugar and chips is right either; but by God, why would a company ever pile onto our girls’ already-fragile senses of self by making her feel as though she’s ‘cheating’ by eating something that’s–gasp–not made of vegetables and air?”
Some might say Sonni is overreacting with her post about this lunchbox, to which she says: “No. We are not overreacting when we ask more of the world when it comes to how they treat our girls.”
Amen sister.
She even made the point that many often forget when it comes to raising daughters, and that is: would we raise our boys this way?
Is there a blue lunch box that says “cheat day” on the front of it? We don’t make our boys feel bad about what they eat. In fact more often than not, we boast about how they’re eating us out of house at home.
So why, WHY, of all the things we could be teaching our daughters, would we be teaching them to place self-image above all, and INDULGE on purpose as a means for superficial satisfaction.
“So here’s what I want to say, and what I will tell my girls,” Sonni continues. “Girls–you are not ‘cheating’ when you enjoy good food. You are not “cheating” when you eat pizza. You are not ‘cheating’ when you have a cookie, or two, on occasion. You are not ‘cheating’ when you live in moderation and allow yourself things that make you happy.
Girls–you are MORE than your bodies. More than your faces. More than your complexions. More than the clothes you wear and the things you buys and the other girls you hang out with.
You are beautiful, worthy, intelligent, and whole beings–whole beings who are worthy of so much love and respect, no matter what anyone, or anyTHING, says.”
Several Facebook users commented on Sonni’s post arguing that the lunch box may not have been intended for girls, but rather, for women.
I’m sorry, is that supposed to justify this? Are we really okay with saying that we expect more from the market for our girls, but it’s okay to encourage women to place their body image above everything else? Women, girls, boys, men, I don’t care who is buying this pink lunch box, it shouldn’t be plastered with a degrading encouragement. Can we not do better than this?
Imagine how many of those lunch boxes would sell if we were ACTUALLY encouraging girls to become STRONG, healthy women. Men. Boys. People.
Our daughters deserve better, and I for one am glad this bold mama took a stand!
