Me? Look cute? Nooooooooooo!

Over the last few months we've been talking about beauty--as defined by ourselves, most importantly, but also as defined by others here at school, in society and in the media. As girls and women, it's often easier to be self-critical than self-confident. Have you ever gotten a compliment and then immediately starting denying it, deflecting it, or even putting yourself down?

Why do we do that?

Why is it so much easier to acknowledge our flaws than our stregths?

Please leave a comment!!!!

Sisterhood Starts With You

This week, we talked more about the softball story (posted below), and how its message relates to our everyday lives. These players didn't spend a lot of time debating whether or not they should help, they just did it. I believe we all have the ability to ACT on the empathy inside us. It's hard to take steps toward it sometimes, though, even when we know it's the right thing to do. When you see an injustice, we encourage you to do something about it. Take action.

Empathy + Action= True Sisterhood

We talked about visualizing yourself in someone else's shoes. Think about someone you may not know well, someone in your classes, someone you see at lunch. Try to imagine what it might be like for her at school. Then, take the next step: open yourself up to the possibility of getting to know that person. It can be hard and intimidating to talk to someone you don't know, but what do you have to lose, really? A Sister talked about an experience where she did this. She knew a girl was having some big problems in her life and wanted to help. But she was nervous. It took her 3 days to work up the courage to write the girl a note and ask how she could help out. But she did it. The girl responded positively, the Sister helped her and now they're friends. That's Sisterhood. And it begins with you.

A True Act of Sisterhood

Someone brought up this amazing story at the B Lunch Sisterhood. Check it out, below. Ms. Kiemle thought it would be a great idea to write a letter to the players from Central Washington University to let them know that OUR Sisterhood was moved by their act of true sisterhood. Sooo, read the story and feel free to leave a comment that you would like included in the letter. We'll put all the comments together, have everyone sign it, and mail it to the softball team at CWU.



'Unbelievable' moment stuns crowd at softball game

By Associated Press
MONMOUTH, Ore. (AP) - A senior with a .153 career batting average hits her first home run, a three-run blast, to help Western Oregon move closer to a spot in the NCAA's Division II softball playoffs.

That was improbable.

To 70-year-old Central Washington coach Gary Frederick, what happened next was "unbelievable."

Sara Tucholsky, the 5-foot-2-inch right fielder, sprinted to first as the ball cleared the center field fence Saturday in Ellensburg, Wash. Given that she had never hit a ball out of the park, even in practice, she was excited. So excited she missed first base.

A couple yards past the bag, she stopped to go back and touch it. But she collapsed with a knee injury.

"I was in a lot of pain," she told The Oregonian newspaper on Tuesday. "Our first-base coach was telling me I had to crawl back to first base. 'I can't touch you,' she said, 'or you'll be out. I can't help you."'

Despite the agony, Tucholsky crawled back to first.

Western Oregon coach Pam Knox ran onto the field and talked to the umpires. The umpires said the coach could place a substitute runner at first. Tucholsky would be credited with a single.

"The umpires said a player cannot be assisted by their team around the bases," Knox said. "But it is her only home run in four years. She is going to kill me if we sub and take it away. But at same time I was concerned for her. I didn't know what to do."

An opponent did.

Central Washington first baseman Mallory Holtman, the all-time home run leader in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, asked the umpire if she and her teammates could carry Tucholsky around the bases.

The umpires said nothing in the rule book precluded help from the opposition.

Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace lifted Tucholsky and resumed the home-run walk, stopping to let Tucholsky touch the bases with her good leg.

"We started laughing when we touched second base," Holtman said. "I said, 'I wonder what this must look like to other people."'

Holtman got her answer when they arrived at home plate. Many people were in tears.

The second-inning homer sent Western Oregon on its way to a 4-2 victory, ending Central Washington's chances of winning the conference and advancing to the playoffs.

"In the end, it is not about winning and losing so much," Holtman said. "It was about this girl. She hit it over the fence and was in pain and she deserved a home run."

Frederick, the Central Washington coach, said he later got a clarification from an umpiring supervisor, who said NCAA rules allow a substitute to run for a player who is injured after a home run.

The clarification doesn't matter to those who witnessed the act of sportsmanship.

"Those girls did something awesome to help me get my first home run," Tucholsky said. "It makes you look at athletes in a different way. It is not always all about winning but rather helping someone in a situation like that."

Online Sisterhood

Since we won't be able to meet for Sisterhood until WASL is over (sigh...), I thought we could have some online Sisterhood dialogue to hold us over. Here's what I want to know: What's been on your mind? What would YOU like to discuss at the Sisterhood? What are you noticing 'out there?' Leave a comment, yo!

It's Beautiful Women Month!

Welcome, Sisters!

Did you know that it's Beautiful Women Month? We have been having some great discussions lately about body image. Like how the media try to hold girls/women to a standard of "beauty" that is not even realistic for a human. Think Barbie. Think Bratz. Think fierce-looking models (human hangers). Think plastic surgery. Think magazine ads. Think retail displays. Think about people criticizing Oprah for her weight!! Her weight!! Please, people.

Even at Pine Lake, some Sisters have felt the judgement, have felt objectified (being treated/judged as if you're an object instead of a person) by guys (probably as a direct result of the media's omnipresent message about what's beautiful). One Sister shared how a guy made a comment about her chest size and it made her feel not good enough, EVEN THOUGH she knew it was ridiculous. These types of comments are so hurtful, so damaging. Another Sister shared how last year, when she was an 11 year old 6th grader, a boy told her she was fat. She started counting calories and starving herself. 11 years old. All because of what a boy said. Words hurt. After sharing this, another Sister pointed out that she is not fat and is, in fact, so beautiful! These are the kind of words we all need to hear. Reach out to your Sisters and give them this true, positive message about what real beauty is. We are all beautiful.

Here is a poem by Audrey Hepburn that she wrote when asked to share her 'beauty tips.' It was read at her funeral years later.

For attractive lips,

speak words of kindness...

For lovely eyes,

seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure,

share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair,

let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.

For poise,

walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone...

People, even more than things, have to be restored,

renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed;

never throw out anyone.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand,

you will find one at the end of each of your arms.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands;

one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.

Print Media's Big, Dirty Secret

This week we talked about print media's big, dirty secret: photo-shopping and airbrushing photos in magazines and ads to make the models look 'perfect' We watched a very short video to illustrate this point. Check it out--it's scary:

http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/flat4.asp?id=6909

The Sisters found this trend very disturbing, since many girls/women compare themselves to these images which don't even represent reality. Seeing these images can negatively impact how girls/women see themselves. An airbrushed model with perfect skin (no pores, even!)and skinny, 'perfect' bodies can make girls/women feel inadequate and can even influence eating disorders.

A teacher Sister commented that now that she knows this secret, she is reassured and can flip through a magazine and just think to herself, 'fake, fake, fake.'

Have you ever compared yourself to photos of models in magazines? How do you feel after looking at one 'perfect' image after another? Is it any wonder why our society's perception of beauty is so distorted?

Pssst...pass this SECRET on to your friends! It's time for REAL beauty to be celebrated--the beauty that comes from being comfortable and happy with yourself on the inside and out.

The Disney Princess Debate

Today we talked about Disney princesses. Is the media machine influencing our little girls, indoctrinating them with the notion of a happily ever after (as long as there's a prince available to provide it, after he rescues you, of course), or are they just a form of harmless entertainment that allows you to be a fancy princess surrounded by fairy dust, talking sealife and bibbity bobbity boo? A bit of both maybe? What do you think?

Even if little girls aren't seeing the big picture of helplessness that many of these princesses project, is it affecting them later on a subliminal level?

Are Disney princesses a gateway drug (haha) to Barbie, and then to Bratz, and then to teen magazines and then to women's magazines filled with airbrushed images of women--perfect women who don't even exist?

What are the good qualities of these princesses? What are the negative ones? Does one overshadow the other? What do you think, Sisters?