You Is...

From My Perspective

By Toni Walker

As I was preparing my clothes for work one day, I noticed something rather peculiar about my slacks. The fabric inside the pants that lined the pockets was imprinted with various phrases, such as “You are valued,” and others. This got me to thinking about how important words of encouragement are, especially to women and young girls in a society that stresses so many other things.

Young children, especially girls today, are hit from all directions about their weight, their looks, or having the right looks or clothes. Please, can someone please explain to me why a seven year old would ever think they are fat? They think this because of all the things that are thrown at them by society. How much of a difference would it make for that seven year old if, every time she put on her jeans, she saw words of encouragement like ”You are special,” or “You have value”?

It is not only young children. Teenagers and young adults have always dealt with peer pressure and self-esteem issues. Since the rise of the internet and social media, it has become more and more common for people to take and post photos of individuals, obviously without their permission, for “fat-shaming,” “slut-shaming,” and even “pregnancy- shaming.” The use of social media has grown to the point that it is not uncommon for these photos or memes to get back to the circle of the person they are about. Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to society to use social media to point out the good in society, instead of the negative?

Unfortunately, even adults can be victims of negativity, and at times are even the perpetrators of negativity in our society. Let me ask you this: have you ever told someone they looked funny, or made fun of someone who was different? If the answer is yes, then you, my friend, are guilty of perpetrating the negativity. You want to know the great news? You can also be a vehicle for change.

Lee brand jeans have, at least in some cases, worked to become a vehicle for change. They have demonstrated this by the phrases that are printed on the lining fabric of their pockets. How much better of a world would we live in if we all took the lead of this big corporation, and made an effort to build someone up each day? From my perspective, I do not believe it would get any worse.

So, what can we do? First of all, believe in yourself and your worth. You are worth it, you are valuable. The world would be a much duller place if it weren’t for each of us with our quirks and unique traits and abilities. Embrace your uniqueness, and remove those who try to change your uniqueness into normalcy.

We can also make an effort to lift up the younger generation, especially our young girls. They need as many positive messages as we can send them, to combat all the negative media messages they hear on a daily basis.

So, I leave you with this line from the extremely popular movie The Help from a few years back to help lift you up: “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.”