When looking hot and sexy hurts

It’s 11.00pm on a Friday night. A bevy of gorgeous young girls pass me wearing the accoutrements of our popular culture. Tight jeans on long slim legs, high heels with teeny tiny mini skirts and tight tops revealing cleavage. Looking sexy, looking hot. Absolutely.  Wanting to be seen, desired, to belong, to be loved. Understandable! Oh but my heart tightens in my chest. I feel concerned the lads they’re primping for, good lads no doubt, but groomed by the culture that is ours to shape, will not value them in the way they hope (secretly in their hearts) to be valued. And I fear that little by little they will pull their hearts and authentic vulnerable selves deep into the shell of that primped and perfectly moulded body to “fit” the images and expectations that prevail, and we will all lose… the wonder of intimacy…of authentic selves in vulnerable, imperfect but beautiful relationships. Older women (and men), let’s arise and support this younger generation to see beyond the deluge of messages that suggest that their chief value is in their outward appearance, their physical attractiveness and their sexual prowess. It’s a lie that hurts us all. [email protected] @mp_sparkes