Madly In Love Monday - A Momma Bear Rant

(*Please be warned that this is a little intense. Proceed with caution.)

I am a Momma on a mission. Normally I present a cute story about Engineer or Diva on MILM but not today. I have been silent long enough and I feel a rant is in order. My spidey senses are tingling and I cannot help but to publicly air my grievances.

Engineer and I are fiercely protective of Diva's childhood. She will only be a child with all of the freedom and wonderment that entails for such a short period of time. So it infuriates me when outside sources chip away at her innocence or plant potentially destructive seeds in her mind or worse, to try to force me as a parent to have to address issues for which neither her nor me are ready.

I long for the days of magazines just promoting unhealthy self-images by touting unrealistically stick thin women as the pinnacle of beauty. That, I can deal with. However, sticking scantily clad stick thin airbrushed women on every cover of every women's magazine next to headline after headline that uses the words s*x or b*tch or org*sm or v*-j-j (who thought that term was ladylike in the least; it's not even a word!) then placing them at eye level for a child; that, I cannot abide.

Magazines with pregnant ladies wearing nothing but a smile seem to be fine as well because they are showcasing the beauty of a pregnant body. I fully believe that a pregnant body is about as beautiful of God's creations as there ever was, but that gift is for your husband not my husband nor my daughter. I can't put blinders on my daughter every time we are in the checkout lane. I don't want to see those words or those pictures so what makes these magazines think that I want my little girl to see them?!

Then there's the dancing show that she and I like to watch together that has had to be nixed in this household this season. I guess the show was too tame and they wanted controversy to boost ratings. Here's the thing, I don't need a network trying to force my hand as a parent!  Keep all your extra curriculars to yourself and just dance. Sheesh!


Oh, and I should not have to explain what a so and so ring is or how it works to my 10 year old daughter because it comes up in a commercial while we are watching a cooking channel! Why on earth would you find it acceptable to air such a personal commercial during a family viewing hour?! Oh, but don't think that is the worst one by far...

For years women have lamented being objectified, so does anyone else find it ironic that a commercial for a feminine wash has objectified the most personal areas of a woman's body and tried to spin it is as empowerment.

So...it's okay for women to objectify women? Uh. No. Not in my book.

I find it deplorable that it makes it sound like women have always ruled the world because of their anatomy. I refuse to debase my child and stunt her growth as a lady by letting her think that her worth is tied up in what parts she was born with. Diva is our most precious gift and I will not let society dictate what I should be teaching her or how she should be seeing herself or how her worth is defined.

So back-off companies! Do your advertising for personal products after family viewing hours, clean up your language and photos on your magazines, and for the love of Pete, keep the controversy to yourself during family shows.

Maybe if enough Mommas out there feel the same way, we could make some changes.

Our prayer has always been and will continue to be to raise our daughter with the Lord's help and to the best of our abilities. We want her to have high standards for herself and for others. We want her to make and reach goals. We want her to strive for excellence. We want her to serve others with humility, to have a kind heart, to treat others with respect, and to be a blessing to her community. We want her to know how rewarding hard work can be. Most importantly, we want her to know that even though her Daddy and I love her more than she can even fathom, God loves her even more than we do and our love is unconditional.

1-4-3 DM!

This is part of Heavenly Homemakers GratiTuesday believe it or not.  Because I am grateful for a husband that shares my values and who is in agreement how we raise our daughter and for a free country where I can openly discuss my grievances and contact the companies directly to let them know my views.