The Girl
Kelly Parks Snider 2006
Ink drawing
Panel measurements: 8"x 11"

Be you, your true self with no explanation.

We are all betrayed by the beauty industry. The beauty industry perpetuates negative illusions. False images and fantasies fill magazine pages featuring virtual models that don’t exist and products that don’t work. I have a deep suspicion of the beauty industry and its deceptions. The tactics it uses pierce the self esteem of women and encourages them to mask their true selves. Brand Brainwashing tells the story of a young girl’s search for her identity. She attempts to solve her personal problems by striving to conform to the ideal beauty mold created by commercial marketers and relentlessly promoted through the media. This artificial beauty mold is built upon many false claims and promises. As it does for many of us, this process of striving to fit the mold leaves the young girl feeling that she isn’t worthy enough...not to mention her pockets are emptied.

Our culture seems blinded by false truths. If we learn what false marketing claims sound and look like and understand the motives behind them, they will have no control over us. We must look a little closer and recognize that our true self, the one hidden beneath the mask is a unique self, complete with hidden beauty, talents, skills and power...a power to make our own decisions and control our own lives.

Be the hero of your own story. More art at www.kellyparkssnider.com.