Hey guys. First of all, happy fourth of July! This week I am at the beach, so this post and Wednesday's post have been written in advance. Today I want to share a post I wrote a few months ago, and posted originally as a Facebook status, as I didn't have a blog to put it on. Now I have one, and I figured I'd add it to my stuff.
I'm writing this as a blog post, but am unable to post it to my actual blog, so I figured at least posting it here will do for now.
I'm writing this mostly so I'll be able to get some sleep tonight. I kept feeling bugged after I had the idea for this post, so I figured I'd jump in and give it ago. To sum it all up before I begin: DO NOT JUDGE PEOPLE. EVER. Specifically I'm talking in this post about women/girls, and fashion/'hygiene' issues. I put that in quoted for a reason.
Earlier today a post popped up on my feed, by a woman for women, about preparing for flip flop weather. This a was a sort of harsh toned/bitingly sarcastic advice piece on what the writer deemed appropriate when wearing flip flops. All of these things were primarily appearance based, save two things one about noise and one jelly shoes and safety or lack thereof. I was kind of shocked after reading it, and looked in the comments to see if, surely, someone else felt a little tug of hey-maybe-this-isn't-right, but all the comments seemed to be positive. Everyone was applauding this woman for comprising this list of essentially ways she was going to be judging others this flip flop season.
This is ridiculous. We have better things to do in our lives than worry about what someone else's feet look like. I'm sorry if you have to hurt your delicate little eyes because someone's feet aren't perfect, but why do you get to say they are wrong for not hiding away their feet in big, hot tennis shoes while you parade your 'perfect' feet around? Not cool.
The thing is, there is a big difference between hygiene and appearance. Hygiene is related to health, while appearance is merely how a person is viewed. Hygiene is objective, but appearance is subjective. People like to say that if it doesn't look appealing, it can't be hygienic, but this just isn't true. Thinking like this only perpetuates judging.
And it isn't just footwear. Another reason I felt so strongly about posting this, is I have felt this kind of judging a little more personally before. I had a cheer coach who sat us all down at the beginning of the season and told us how important it was for us to shave our legs and wear at least a little makeup. She told us that not shaving our legs was disgusting and made the whole team look bad if we didn't look good. I immediately felt self conscious because this was my second year cheering, and the year before I had been totally make up free. It also made me hyper aware of and constantly comparing my legs to everyone else's, in effort to meet her approval.
Here's the deal: make up isn't hygiene related. Even shaving your legs isn't hygiene related. I realize I was on her team, and therefore I needed to submit to her standards, and I did. She was fully in the right to set those standards, as it was her team. I just don't think they should have been a thing.
One things that is talked a lot about is how teen girls, and beginning younger and younger, have severe self esteem issues. These begin by watching adults they look up saying things like what I talked about above. To help combat this, when teaching grooming skills, etc. focus on what is truly hygiene related, and let them control their appearance.
In conclusion: please don't judge other people. It's not cool. It can have lasting impacts, even when you don't realize it.
Side note: This is not an article against the lady who originally wrote that post. I Facebook stalked her a teeny bit, and she seems like a very nice lady. Nor should you think anything bad of the cheer coach I talked about. I can say with certainty that she is a wonderful person. She was awesome to work with, and I hold nothing but good feelings, truly. The examples are against the way of thinking that equates hygiene and appearance, and assumes some appearances are lesser than others. This thinking is not a new thing, but in time, perhaps it can become an extinct thing.
I hope you liked that, and learned a thing or two. I have a really great post for you on Wednesday, so check back then. Xoxo
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