False Advertising

The past four months have been the first in years where I have been in a house with cable. Occasionally, I'll sit and watch TV (Boy Meet's World for the win!), and I have been thinking a lot lately about advertising.

While books could, and have been, written about advertising and their effects on self-worth, one particular aspect has stuck out to me, and that's acne. I never realized how many skin care commercials there are. According to advertising, a zit or two is the absolute worst thing in the entire world. If you have any type of blemish or discoloration on your face, you better hightail it to the nearest Wallgreens, buy some face wash, and scrub the heck out of those monsters before you are shunned by everyone you know.

One ad shows women hiding behind various objects, so no one can see their faces. The ad claims "stop hiding!" behind hoods, hair, and apparently balloons (?) and treat their acne so they can confidently rejoin the world. Come on! Another ad shows kids in high school talking about the popular kids, and how they are popular because they have clear skin. Really?

I hate breaking out as much as the next person. I wish I had known that I would, in fact, break out more in my twenties than I would as a teenager. But seriously, after about an hour of watching TV, the sixth acne commercial came on and I wanted to yell "ENOUGH ALREADY!" Our self-worth should not be based on the clearness of our skin. This same principle can be applied to wrinkles. There are countless products advertised to minimize wrinkles, get rid of wrinkles, make you appear smoother, younger, softer, etc. And don't get me started on all the companies trying to sell you things to make you lose weight.

This is not to dismiss anyone who has had challenges dealing with acne, or anything else that made you feel insecure or less confident.There is nothing wrong with taking care of ourselves however we see fit, and I'm glad there are products out there that work. But don't buy into the messages that play on your insecurities to sell you products. No company should make you feel less worthwhile as a human being because you have acne, wrinkles, stretch marks, gray hair, or anything else the media says we should feel bad about or change.

It is so pervasive in our culture to base self-worth on appearance, especially for women. This is wrong. Never forget that you have worth, potential, and power, more than you can even know or imagine, and none of that has anything to with what you look like. Don't buy into the false advertising. You are worth more than that.