Disturbing

This past weekend I went into Victoria Secret to redeem a coupon I had for a free pair of underwear. While there, I decided to try some stuff on (while my fiance patiently waited in the store for me*).

Anyway, while in the dressing room, I heard a pair of teenaged girls talking. In addition to talking about whether their bras were "cute,"** one of the girls decided to declare, "God, I wish I were anorexic! I tried not to eat today, but my mom made me eat because I was grumpy." To the other girl's credit, she had no reply to this.

I, on the other hand, was very, very disturbed.*** Obviously, the pressure to be thin has not waned since I was in junior high or high school. But it's going a bit far to wish you were anorexic.****

I realize that generations are always lamenting the awful morals of subsequent generations. However, my experience in Victoria Secret, coupled with Slag's excellent analysis of the "morals" of Bratz dolls over on Total Drek, brings out the same reaction in me. I'm more than a little frightened about what my children will face in middle and high school.

*He hates doing this, mind you. I believe his exact words were, "I either look like I'm waiting for somebody, or I look like a random pervert." Ah, impression management...
**I swear, I must have been quite backward in my teenage years. What my bra looked like made very little difference to me, but then I was the only one seeing it.
***My fiance was also quite distressed when I told him this story. My parents, on the other hand, laughed. I still don't get their reaction.
****I could go into long sociological analysis here, but I'm going to stop my analysis here, and just let this anecdote speak for itself.