A Rant...and a Rave: Rowan Blanchard

I was raised in a family that promoted loving yourself no matter what. My dad was always extremely respectful towards women and my mother always encouraged me to love my body and to not be afraid to show it off, within reason of course, however I think I am more modest than my mother. I also never, ever started a diet until I was in my late 20's. Yes, I was blessed with good genes and luckily I never struggled with my weight. That paired with smart food selections made it easy - I also blame my parents, they are European and eat a diet of mainly fish, lean meats, and lots of veggies...and wine, we love wine!

OK I am getting way off topic for where I want this post to go. My point is, that children and teenagers should not have to worry about their weight. I believe as parents, we should demonstrate healthy eating habits for HEALTH not for looks. I also believe that even if your child has a little extra weight on him/her, they shouldn't be worrying about dieting. They should, if anything, be trying to make healthier choices with your direction as a parent. 

What kills me is that my step daughters know more about some of these fad diets than I do. There is way to much sexism going on teaching our young daughters that they need to conform to some bullsh*t media 'standard'. I cannot control what they are exposed to as they do not live with us full time, and let's face it, they are on social media - THE END. 

The rant is that people need to STOP pushing our baby girls to be something they are not. You got a big ol' booty, work it. You got thick thighs, strut em. You have bigger arms, lift heavy baby! Enough is enough and boy was I happy to hear about Rowan Blanchard's response to some DBag asking if she has any tips for teens who are dieting. Her response was far classier that I would have chosen but she most graciously responded with: “Try and reverse that,” she said. “‘Do you have any dieting tips 
for other teenage boys?’ I mean, come on.”

YES Rowan, YES! Being a teenager is already stressful enough in this day and age. That question is wrong, invasive, and CRAP - for anyone, especially teenage girls. They already have to worry about their ever changing bodies, emotions, family drama, friend drama, and most importantly - school!

Blanchard continues on by saying:

It’s inappropriate on so many levels. That makes other girls hate themselves or have eating disorders. We have to change all this. Girls tweeted me after [the] Christopher Kane [fashion show] being like, “Rowan, I liked the clothes, but all the models were this one way.” And I have to be like, “You don’t have to be that one way! You be you.” And again, I’m 13. The designer, the fashion industry — you’re the adults, the ones who can be telling girls, “You don’t have to be one way.” Magazines are starting to address it, which is smart. But we can all do more. I thought we’d see more plus-size models on the runway this season. We didn’t. That was a disappointment.

"The designer, the fashion industry — you’re the adults, the ones who can be telling girls, “You don’t have to be one way.” YES...This. Is. Everything!

We (society) have to be better about promoting beauty from within - we are all beautiful no matter the size. I hope to one day live in a world where NYFW models are every shape and size during their walk down a Balmain runway...one day! And we need more Rowan Blanchards in this world - well more people like her. She has her whole life ahead of her and something tells me that she is going to be setting the pace for change just fine. I can't wait to watch!

You can read the full article here: http://hellogiggles.com/rowan-blanchard-teens-dieting/