Oh, It Works, Alright

Attention Women!

 If it hasn't already happened, then I feel it's my womanly duty to let you know that in the very near future, your butt is going to become enormous and your breasts are going to sag. It's an inevitable happenstance in which very few are able to escape the wraths of, and I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news for those of you who aren't aware that our bodies suck. If you're one of those, as many of us are, who still hate this anyway, then fear not.

 You aren't alone.

 I mean, why shouldn't you be angry? It's no secret that women in magazines are artificially perfect, and we all have been told time and time again that they're photoshopped, that they aren't real, women don't look like that in real life. So why is it, then, that of the top five health concerns in women, three of them stll have to do with our self image? Shouldn't we know better than to compare ourselves to one another and to hate our bodies just because somebody decided there was a perfect way to look?

 The top three of the five women's health concerns include self consciousness, depression, and eating disorders such as anorexia and bulemia. So what's the problem, right? Why do we, as women, keep getting suckered into believing we don't look beautiful enough even when we're told time and time again that there is no such thing as a perfect woman or a perfect body?

 I can't pretend the solution is a simple fix. There are many contributing factors, and, most of the time, it's because our own friends and our own family are telling us, "Why yes, you look great, but you know what would make you look better?" Sometimes they do this subtly, telling us we look especially pretty one day. I don't know about anyone else, but don't you prefer to be told you look great every day? Notsofunny enough, the times I'm most complimented is when I wear makeup differently, or when I curl my hair, wear a dress, so on, so on. I'm not the only one, I know this. I don't hate compliments either, but I do hate anti-compliments, which is what leads us to the biggest anti-compliment of all:

 Consultant products geared toward making you 'more beautiful.' I'm looking at you, Mary Kay and It Works skinny wraps.

 I wasn't going to post this, I wasn't ever going to say anything, I was just going to silently loathe them all by myself and never let the world know. Mostly this is because I have a lot of family in the skinny wrap industry, and friends with Mary Kay, and I didn't feel it was right to go against them because you should be supportive of family, right?

 Right. Which is why I've decided to post this after all. So that they never have to feel belittled, not good enough, not pretty enough because someone else tells them they need one of these products to be better.

 Why bother saying anything? Won't going against the product inevitably lead to not supporting their work? Won't that sever the family bond, big or small, so that I can selfishly declare that I hate beauty consultation products so deeply, so passionately that I'm convinced that I would rather drink a pint of blood from someone with AIDS before purchasing their product?

 That's not my intention, and if that is what they get out of this then I hope to be understood. My goal is not to sever anything, but to repair what's being damaged. They don't mean to, and I don't even think they realize they are doing it. And that's what this is about: being aware of not just what you are selling, but who you are selling to, and why I have no doubt in my mind that it has damaged more than one person you care about, even if they don't know they were hurt.

 I can't speak on behalf of anyone else, but I wish to shed some light upon what these products has done to me. Funny how something I've never tried can be so damaging, but I assure you, I doubt I'm the only one.

 Scenario A: About a year and a half ago I posted a picture of Facebook to show that I had poked my own hole into my belt because I had lost enough weight from eating healthy and exercising that the holes in the belt were all too big for me. The picture showed the slight smidge of my stomach. Pale, I admit. Some hairs around my belly button that are blond, probably. The first comment on my success of getting to a healthy weight was thus:

Great! Now all you need to do is wrap it to tighten that stomach!

 Um... what?

 Great, your friends say. You look fantastic, they say. But do you know how you can look better?

 Because even when I was 5'9, sans stretch marks, size 6 human being, there was still someone telling me how I can be better. Now, I don't think the remark was poor intentioned, because the point of networking is to look for oportunities to sell your product, right? Right.

Scenario B: Upon attending a Mary Kay party, my sister relayed to the consultant that her "problem areas" were wanting to hide the circles under her eyes and that she wanted a face lotion with SPF in it. The consultant touched on neither of these. Why not? Could have been an easy sale to find the exact solution to a beauty problem but... wait... selling those products is easy, since you want those, but don't you know these are the things you really need to be beautiful?

 Ntworking means inviting all your friends, making sure everyone knows about what you do and finding those small moments to make a sale, because that's how networkers make their living. I know. I get it. But if you take nothing else from this, take this sentence:

 You are not a typical networking associate. You are marketing a product that sells because women are already vulnerable to the effects. I mentioned it: top causes of women's health concerns have to deal with body image. A typical networking business does not victimize, it targets. Typical networking companies are ACN networkers who sell internet to people who want better prices: that is their target. CutCo sells to individuals who habìtually use knives and could really use a good set. Scentsy sells candle wax, Simply Fun sells board games to encourage family bonding. So at what point does a networking company become a victimizer instead of just a targeter?

 When it can keep breaking what's already broken. Yeah, It Works really does work. Of course it works: because every woman hates something about her body already, because self image issues already plague an entire gender, so how can a product not work when it promises that they won't have to deal with their bodily disease of being an average sized woman if only they try this one thing? Because it's really great, Hannah, that you can be proud of your body, but because you are woman, you should know that your body can always, always get better? Try this Mary Kay cream: it will make you look like you didn't age a single day, because aging is bad.

 I'm not saying that's the intent of the companies. I'm not even saying that it hasn't changed anyone for the better or that it hasn't helped anyone make their body or face look better. By goodness, I'm sure some lucky woman out there looks phenomenal because chemicals reacted with fat cells just perfectly, "And it was only $25 to get started... but, oh yeah, it takes an average of 6 wraps to see best results," or, "You canwork your own hours and make as much money and..." ding ding ding, winner!

 When the creator of beauty companies created their company, did they say to themself, "I want to give women the opportunity to feel better about themself out of the kindness of my heart." No. They wanted money, so they picked something they could sell and made it happen, and nicely enough the target of their companies was obvious.

 Here's an irony of the fashion industry: they're telling us that we have to look a certain way only when it's convenient. But isn't it always convenient, you ask? Sure, when Abercrombie declares it markets towards skinny girls and Hot Topic sells the perfect dresses for getting that gothic look. The point is, ladies, the fashion industry is such a hypocrite. They get away with it, you see, because of that convenience factor.

 Let's all turn to the front page of our Wedding Catalogue. The front page because this is the page that tells you how to pick your wedding dress based on your body shape. Fear not, ye women who have been blessed with the hourglass shape: you look great in the big poofy ballgowns and essentially anything that isn't skin tight. Save those mermaid dresses for the girls shaped like an ironing board, because your butt is way too big for that dress. Okay, fashion industry, so you were right about the fact that I didn't look so sexy in the halter top dres but... hey wait a second... you're recognizing that women have different body shapes now? And, in fact, you'll even tell me how I can best dress to look hot on my wedding day, no matter what I do look like, even if I'm not that perfect model shape?

 Here's the thing. Fashion companies, beauty consultants, skinny wrap distributors, they all know that certain things aren't for everyone. I will not vouch for one more than the other, but since I hold this close to me, know this: It Works because they tell you it will work. Mary Kay wants you to buy their product because they get commisions, not because they want you to get the foundation so they don't have to continue looking at the zit on your face. They leave out how much it might work for your case because it's not convenient in their case to recognize our differences in body shape. Instead, it's more convenient to make you feel bad when 12 wraps later, $30 of eyeliner and $60 of face cream later, you look no better, so here: have this wedding dress catalogue and find a dress and hairstyle that matches your shape and face because you simply can't be perfected by these standards. It Worked, see? You'll look great in any of these dresses.

 Like I said, I know makeup consultation products and skinny wraps weren't allegedly born to make women feel bad. In fact, I'll agree they were made to make people feel better about the way they look. It's toned stretch marks and this foundation stopped oil-y skin, and that's great. I believe in women feeling good about themselves, and if Mary Kay is what makes them feel better, go for it! Be bold! Feel beautiful! But do not be suckered into the comments where you are told you need something in order to tone your stretch marks or make your hair longer. Know the difference between what is being sold and who it's being sold to.