THE GIRL IN THE MIRROR
from Anne Montgomery
Apreoccupation with beauty, fueled by 24/7 internet postings, has manyyoung women obsessed with their looks.
I’ve been working out in some form or another all my life.Though I used to be more of a gym rat, today I primarily swim laps, a habitthat leaves me with goggle-eye indentations, smudged make-up, and wet hairspiking in all directions. Often, due to the insanely short life span of someof my Speedos, my suits tend to lack the elasticity required to hold my68-year-old physique in place. I know what you’re thinking. Not a prettypicture.
But for the brief, big hair, sparkly spandex, workout era of the80s, the health club has mostly been a place where pretty wasn’t important.Perhaps that’s why she had me so nonplussed.
The attractive young woman, probably in her early twenties,stared into her phone. Tight black shorts and a crop top encased her frame. Shepursed her lips and lifted her chin. Then, looking over her shoulder at themirror behind her, she snapped a series of selfies, shots aimed to highlighther, um, posterior.
I tried not to stare, but as I dried off after my shower anddressed, I couldn’t help but sneak a peek, now and then. The camera clickedaway. She turned her hips a fraction of an inch and the snapping resumed.
Barbie’s perfect proportions created a generationof women with body-image issues.
I grew up in the world of Barbie, a perfectly proportioned pieceof plastic that, no doubt, led to a generation of women with body-image issues.And while there were also magazine and TV beauties to contend with, ourexperience was relatively benign compared to the image assault young women mustdeal with today: a 24-hour stream of internet images highlighting impossiblybeautiful, often photoshopped, people. Sadly, approximately 91% of women in theU.S. are unhappy with their bodies.
I’m a high school teacher and I worryabout the pressure that’s being placed on our young people. Those unhappy withtheir looks can suffer from low self-esteem, which can lead to eatingdisorders, early sexual activity, substance use, and suicidal thoughts.
I was approached by one of myjournalism students recently. She was writing a story about body-image issues.“Ms. Montgomery, when do women finally become happy with their bodies?”
“Never,” I said, without thinking. Herface fell. “I mean, when you get older, other things become more important.” Iscrambled to put a positive spin on my answer but could see the damage wasalready done.
A week after I first saw her, the girlat the health club reappeared. This time, she faced a different mirror and,after lifting the edge of her shirt to reveal solid abs, she began takingpictures again. After myriad photos, she slumped onto a bench and scrolledthrough the images, all the while frowning into her phone.
As I gathered my things to leave, shewalked in front of another large mirror and paused, staring at the floor,wanting, perhaps, to just pass it by. But something compelled her to stop andlean in close, turning her face one way then the other, as she batted longfalse eyelashes and tossed her hair.
Pretty can certainly be nice. In fact,studies have shown that, fair or not, attractive people are more likely to gethired, receive promotions, and have larger paychecks than those who might belacking in the pulchritude department. However, as those pretty folks willeventually learn, physical beauty does not last.
“Ms. Montgomery, when do women finallybecome happy with their bodies?”
“It all depends,” I should have saidto my student reporter. “Perhaps, when we focus on all the fabulousopportunities life throws at us, face our aspirations head on, and surroundourselves with people who love us and make us laugh, maybe then we stop worryingabout things that are really not important.”
As I watched the girl wrench away fromthe mirror, I hoped she might have goals to dream about, hobbies she enjoyed,and people in her life who would love and cherish her, even on those bad-hairdays. I wanted to tell her, but I did not. I think there are some things wejust need to learn on our own.
Please allow me to give you a brief intro to my latest women's fiction novel for your reading pleasure.
The past and present collide when a tenacious reporter seeks information on an eleventh century magician…and uncovers more than she bargained for.
In 1939, archeologists uncovered a tomb at the Northern Arizona site called Ridge Ruin. The man, bedecked in fine turquoise jewelry and intricate bead work, was surrounded by wooden swords with handles carved into animal hooves and human hands. The Hopi workers stepped back from the grave, knowing what the Moochiwimi sticks meant. This man, buried nine hundred years earlier, was a magician.
Former television journalist Kate Butler hangs on to her investigative reporting career by writing freelance magazine articles. Her research on The Magician shows he bore some European facial characteristics and physical qualities that made him different from the people who buried him. Her quest to discover The Magician’s origin carries her back to a time when the high desert world was shattered by the birth of a volcano and into the present-day dangers of archeological looting where black market sales of antiquities can lead to murder.
Former television journalist Kate Butler hangs on to her investigative reporting career by writing freelance magazine articles. Her research on The Magician shows he bore some European facial characteristics and physical qualities that made him different from the people who buried him. Her quest to discover The Magician’s origin carries her back to a time when the high desert world was shattered by the birth of a volcano and into the present-day dangers of archaeological looting where black market sales of antiquities can lead to murder.
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Anne Montgomery has worked as a television sportscaster, newspaper and magazine writer, teacher, amateur baseball umpire, and high school football referee. She worked at WRBL‐TV in Columbus, Georgia, WROC‐TV in Rochester, New York, KTSP‐TV in Phoenix, Arizona, ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, where she anchored the Emmy and ACE award‐winning SportsCenter, and ASPN-TV as the studio host for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Montgomery has been a freelance and staff writer for six publications, writing sports, features, movie reviews, and archeological pieces. When she can, Anne indulges in her passions: rock collecting, scuba diving, football refereeing, and playing her guitar.
Learn more about Anne Montgomery on her website and Wikipedia . Stay connected on Facebook , Linkedin , and Twitter .
