April Showers Bring May Flowers, “Glow up” Culture", Tweens

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   "April showers bring May flowers." The omnipresent reminder to persist through unpleasant times to reap the rewards of enjoyable times has seen itself in multiple situations, including puberty. 

   Tweenhood is arguably the most confusing time for a girl. On the cusp of childhood and adolescence, the sixth-grade classroom is oftentimes filled with girls at different stages of development, compelling many to begin observing physical appearance more closely and comparing their own bodies to that of their peers-- and what they see online.  

   As the presence of social media continues to grow, users are thrust into the world of before-and-after puberty transformations, and in them, a beauty standard is silently reinforced. The “before” pictures show a pitiful girl. She slouches and smiles awkwardly in braces; her glasses are lopsided, her hair is parted to the side in a frizz, and to top it all off, a zit claims a spot in the middle of her forehead. But in the next picture she rids herself of all these undesirable traits, of all the qualities that made her the “before picture”. In their place is conventional beauty, of slimness, glowing skin, and flowy hair. And though these “glow ups” may have underlying messages, like a boost in confidence or mental health, on the surface, they are the same. An ugly girl becomes a pretty girl. And this ugly girl is more often than not, a prepubescent girl-- a tween. 

    What the glow-up rhetoric tells tweens is that they are “uncool,” and the many likes on such videos and pictures further prove to them that they need to advance quickly into puberty in order to align themselves closer to the coveted “after picture”.  

   According to Rosalind Gill, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis at City University of London, "Girls are still taught to believe that being pretty is more important than anything else-- however clever, however, sporty , however empathetic and thoughtful and visionary they are.” With the advent of social media, girls now more than ever are caught up in this message, and turn to trendy brands. This is reflected in an annual 25% growth for Brandy Melvill, 14% of Lululemon’s market being teenage girls, and Justice, a traditional tween brand, going bankrupt in 2020.  

   Ultimately, what one wears is their own decision. And, social media is not always full of negativity-- in fact, it has the scope to spread more information about fashion and open young users’ eyes to new styles. However, there must be a line drawn when there is a pressure to conform to these styles and traditional ideas of beauty, and just let kids be kids.