As a mom of two girls who dabble in Instagram and Snapchat, I am constantly looking over their annoyed shoulders narrating their feeds like a crazed color commentator. “Photoshopped!” “Filtered!” “No one’s skin looks like that!”
My feed, as I imagine is yours, is chock full of perfect bodies, smiles, skin, hair and clothes. Everyone is always having “#TheBestTimeEver.” Even at 42, I have trouble remembering that none of the perfection is real.
The unrealistic perfection that girls see every time they check their phones … well, often that’s what they think they want to do or be or look like. They aspire to achieve something that isn’t even real. Perfect, hairless, poreless, smiling women selling tummy teas for flatter stomachs. The influencers are influencing.
I am on a mission to show girls an alternate view. To elevate strength instead of beauty. To show real girls doing real things in real ways. “In Her Shoes” does exactly this.
From expert climbers to high school wrestlers to soccer players, their shoes and stories are all so varied, but at their core — the same. Girls who are strong, proud and passionate about their sports. Girls who use their voices. Girls who are changing our views and the conversation.