Set-Apart Femininity

We obey the tyranny of pop culture under the guise that we

As women, the desire to be beautiful is innate. We long to be seen as attractive, appealing, and desirable. We dream of capturing the heart of a noble prince with our stunning beauty, like the princesses in our childhood fairy tales. But our longing to be loved and wooed by a heroic groom didn’t originate with Cinderella—it’s actually a Biblical concept. The entire Bible is a beautiful love story between Christ and His bride—drawing us, wooing us, and loving us the way we have always dreamed. Song of Solomon, for example, is just one of many beautiful portrayals of our heavenly Bridegroom tenderly pursuing His bride. Jesus is the only One who can truly satisfy the deepest desires of our hearts. And yet, most of us turn to everything but Him in a desperate attempt to find the approval we crave. And pop culture preys upon our longings for love like a relentless vulture. They keep dangling the carrot temptingly in front of us, urging us to spend our time, money, and energy pursuing the “next great thing” that will bring us one step closer to the dream.
And all too often we fall for it. We buy the clothes. We read the magazines. We watch the commercials. We let the moviemakers and the fashion industry and the advertising executives define who we become as young women.
Of course, many young women are a bit more subtle in their pursuit of beauty than I was at 14. Most of us don’t want to admit—even to ourselves—just how consumed we are with making ourselves appealing. We come up with clever excuses and disguises for our obsessions.
Modern feminism has done its job well, reminding us that we shouldn’t seek the approval of the opposite sex, convincing us that everything we do should be only for ourselves and no one else. So, presumably, we wear slinky thongs and super-push-up bras not because they make us attractive to men, but because they make us feel good about ourselves. We spend hours at the mall snatching up the latest sexy trends because we are “comfortable” enough with our bodies to carelessly showcase them to the world. Our role-models are anorexic actresses who confidently declare that they are happy and fulfilled and not concerned about what anyone thinks of them.