Confessions of a Materialistic Society

As far as I can remember, I spent my early teens in malls and movie theatres. To kids like me who once aspired to be as cool as Lindsay Lohan in the Parent Trap (yes, I know), a trip to the mall was the closest thing to being just as glamorous. As we grew older, we became fascinated with the lifestyle of a young urban professional (or Yuppies as we’d call them). As a result of all that, we're now stuck with a generation who make career decisions according to the perks that come with a job and not the job itself.

During my first trip to a Canadian mall since post-communist Europe, I cannot help but poke fun at everything sale that I saw.

Joke #1: Let's put it in a smaller bottle and call it something else...

Bath and Body Works is a new bath and beauty shop that produces everything from neon-coloured loofas to cartoon-character night-lights. This store makes European body care brands such as The Body Shop look old fashioned and dull. In different containers and packaging, you can find, body cream, body lotion and body butter. If you’d asked me during my college years, I’d tell you that each of them served a different purpose and it is necessary to have the entire collection.

Joke #2: Lancome says women have been doing it wrong for the past 10,000 years...

Isn’t it ridiculous how much women spend on skincare? Everyday, young girls are bombarded with commercials about different skin conditions. Can you imagine girls in Shakespeare’s time going through an intensive 3-step treatment every night before they go to bed? I don’t remember my history textbook saying ‘during the 16^th century, girls were a sight for sore eyes due to uncontrollable acne issues’.  

Capitalist societies have been very successful at creating demand out of nothing, which probably drives the backbone of our economy. However, I believe this has taken a toll on women’s (specifically young girls’) confidence. We’re brought up to believe a credit card can provide more comfort than anything else. If I ever have daughters, I’m going to make sure they know they’re beautiful despite whatever society tells them.