I want to be the kind girl

My husband and I passed this advertisement on the tube in London the other day and he said, “why should I be jealous of her?” I said honey this is a message for women telling us we should be jealous of her. I’m saddened we still live in a world of propaganda and advertisements telling women to be jealous of each other, compare our outsides to other women, and be threatened. The messages tell us we are not enough just the way we are. Digital Marketing experts estimate that most Americans are exposed to around 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements each day, and while I will take some responsibility for my thoughts and getting caught up in the “I’m not enough syndrome” we need to do a better job as a society to empower women, and create messages of unity and strength vs instilling fear and body hatred.

Females need to support other females. I remember my first job out of college I had a female boss. She was very harsh and negative towards me. I was performing well, but for some reason she didn’t care to much for me. One day she came into my office, sat down, and said, “sweetie I think you would do better behind the make-up counter at Macy’s.” I was so hurt and shocked. The company decided to send me to San Diego so I would no longer be managed by her. A year later she was let go. Come to find out, she was so threatened by me and afraid I would take her job. The reality was, if she was an amazing mentor and leader I would have performed even better, making her look good, and both of us getting promoted.

I know some girls will be smarter than me, some will have cooler clothes than me, some are better at sales and marketing. It doesn’t matter. I have my things to. I want to be the girl who can get along, who is generous, who is happy for others, who does the right thing. I want to be the kind girl