Monday, March 1, 2010
Oh my, you look pretty, dear
So I thought this article was particularly relevant to our class discussions on Thursday. http://cinderellastl.homestead.com/index.html As per usual, the girls in class were bitching about how guys do nothing to get ready for prom whereas they spend hours of the life prepping and primping to look like princesses. This article is about a charity devoted to an extremely worthwhile cause, providing prom dresses to the underprivileged. The motivation behind such a praiseworthy cause is according to Diane Wolferding,"because every girl is that Cinderella and we're just helping that happen." Why escape the cycles of poverty or put money towards additional education when you can have a prom dress? Plus, there is the possibility that you could meet the man of your dreams who while not rescuing you from any ogres or dragons can provide for you for the rest of your life. Prom is such a formative occasion in every girl's life. A chance to spend day all day at the salon, get their hair and nails done, do makeup, take pictures, maybe even indulge in a little alcohol, go to the dance, go the after party, and well, we who have seen American Pie know how the story ends. Among its many goals, the Cinderella Project seeks to "promote confidence and self esteem in junior and senior high school women." Clearly, the best way to accomplish that goal is through making a girl feel pretty because looks are all that matters in the end. For those that aren't literate, feel free to watch this video as it, much like Clarissa, explains it all. http://www.ksdk.com/video/default.aspx?aid=121499&storyid=196918#/News/Prom+Fashions/48541678001/48355648001/69248360001 But I digress. Why should we place an emphasis on things like personality, intelligence, and wit when we can make someone look pretty? One can even have the comprehensive shopping experience. What more could a girl want? After all, "every girl has a ball they need to attend." As the woman at the end of the video so nicely says the girls are so happy because "they got to go home with something they really loved." She was talking about a dress. But what she really meant was a man. As the wise Ron Burgundy says, "I'm a man who discovered the wheel and built the Eiffel Tower out of metal and brawn. That's what kind of man I am. You're just a woman with a small brain. With a brain a third the size of us. It's science."
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Not touching the last little bit there, but I agree with the rest of your post. This is what's wrong with half the charities and service organizations in America. They solve nothing, they do nothing worthwhile, and in many ways perpetuate the states these people find themselves in. Buy a girl a dress, or help her find a job, or maybe give her money towards a college education. But no, of course she needs that gorgeous prom dress. Teen pregnancy numbers have been going down lately, so I guess we are doing everything we can to get those numbers back to normal.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this post, except for your sweeping judgment about girls who spent hours of their life prepping and priming to look like princesses and your Ron Burgundy quote. The Cinderella Project sounds like a tremendous waste of time and money -- like Justin said, there are a lot of frivolous charitable organizations out there that intend to help but have no grasp on the real issues at hand or their causes.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm also interested in what both of you guys think are possible solutions to poverty and helping those in poverty (that is, if you think they need help). Maybe the only thing people like Diane Wolferding can do is give dresses to underprivileged girls and give them one night of fantasy. One person can't stop the whole cycle of poverty, but one person may be able to provide a happy night to an underprivileged girl.