Many of us have puzzled over, and perhaps even snickered at, the Fundamentalist LDS women of West Texas, with their plain faces; long, swept-up hair; and 19th-century farm dresses. In our popular culture, their pioneer-era modesty is, well, kind of freaky.
And then you hear about something like My Beautiful Mommy, a children's book set for Mother's Day publication, and you may wonder who the real freaks are.
Written by a Florida cosmetic surgeon, My Beautiful Mommy is a picture book explaining to nervous small children why their mothers need to have plastic surgery to feel better about themselves. The book's mommy got a tummy tuck and a nose job to be, as she tells her daughter, "not just different, my dear -- prettier."
Does it occur to those oh-so-concerned about children's anxiety to consider how this kind of thing shapes their character? It teaches girls to think that if their bodies fail to conform to a particular cultural ideal, they should turn to the medical profession to fix the "problem" with expensive surgery. And it teaches boys to expect females to embody an unrealistic ideal of physical beauty, whatever the cost.
It's disturbing to consider the self-doubt and self-loathing this sort of toxic thinking sets girls up for -- and, frankly, the misogyny it stands to inspire in the minds of men against women who don't look like Barbie dolls and porn stars.
We'd all like to believe that we care about children, but we sure do have a knack for exploiting them and their innocence when there's a buck to be made. British retailer Tesco is under fire for selling padded bras to, no kidding, seven- and eight-year-olds. And this week, tween superstar Miley Cyrus is under fire for a semi-nude magazine spread that may help change her public image from good girl to Lolita. Hey Ma and Pa Cyrus, why don't you ask Britney Spears' parents how well that worked out for their daughter?
The justice system may well find members of the FLDS sect guilty of criminal behaviour. But, for their part, we should at least grant that the women's withdrawal from the modern world and its mores is not entirely crazy.
-- McClatchy News Services
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