Before going to work this morning I saw a story on the Today Show about a Miss Universe contestant from Australia.  She was skin and bones.  A 5″11′ model who weighed a whopping 108 pounds.  I was watching this with my two very young daughters by my side.  Seeing this anorexic looking model almost made me throw up my cornflakes, but I didn’t, because I hate wasting food.

It just made me very sad.  Beauty of course is in the eye of the beholder, but this image of a skeleton looking young woman is extremely disturbing.  She is being paraded around as an example of worldly beauty.  Who decided being malnourished is beautiful?  It seems like the super skinny trend in media and advertising has been around forever.  It never seems to go away.

Whether this Australian model is a full fledged anorexic is debatable.  Anorexia Nervosa is really a horrible disease.  I remember working in a pediatric unit that had a large eating disorder program.  During one night shift, I  witnessed a  stick thin tween, race-walking around the halls of the unit at 3 am.  She was very, very sick, and it was frightening.

I just really want my daughters to grow up to be proud of themselves and their accomplishments.  I want them to be healthy and happy. I want them to live a life in a home surrounded by family, friends, music, wine and food (as quoted in my marriage vows).

Will the strong superficial forces of the media and pop culture overshadow these spiritual vows?  I pray not.

RR