Linda Christensen’s Unpacking the Myths that Bind us was a story I could relate too. As soon as I started reading it and she was describing herself as having big hips and not being a perfect size two I felt like I was reading a description about myself. I have always been a curvy woman and when I was younger it made me feel a little bad about myself. Especially when I looked at the women on the television and in the cartoons. Christensen talks about cartoons and Disney movies and how every woman portrayed is basically light skin, long hair, and very petite. I always wondered why I never saw a woman who looked like me in the television shows and especially as a Disney princess.
Christensen talks about “the messages or secret education, linked with the security of their homes, underscore the power of these texts deliver”. When I read this quote I could understand what Christensen was talking about because cartoons and movies send subliminal messages to children about how they are supposed to be when they grow up. Disney movies and many cartoons make young girls feel like they have to be petite, and can only can be somebody important if they have a man standing in front of them. And it teaches young boys that they have to be strong, have muscles, great hair, and be a hero. The way cartoons get into young children’s minds and make them believe they have to grow up to be this “perfect adult” that does not exist is just harming children’s self-esteem. It creates self-hatred at a very young age. I fortunately grew up to appreciate my curves and darker skin tone but not every child can be that strong and may succumb to the vicious circle of self-hatred.
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