When I was in my pimple years, most people had several reactions to noticing a blemish.
- We might pop it. Though we knew that opening the skin was a sure-fire way to look worse the next day, the satisfaction of watching the gunk exit our faces was irresistible.
- We might brush our bangs down or walk around with a hand in front of our faces. While trying to hide may have been ineffective and silly, that was still a choice we made.
- We might buy "flesh-colored" makeup to try to conceal the blemish. For me, at least, the skin-tone match was very rarely seamless, so I'd sport a peachy amoeba-blob on pasty skin. And sad to report, I think most companies hadn't even figured out the need/market for other shades.
All this to say, I never would have imagined anyone's accepting that pimples were part of adolescence (and later, though they don't tell you that in the magazines).
Now, things are totally different. Kids buy little stars that have pimple medicine in them. [If you want to buy some, feel free to click on the photo above.] Rather than hide that they have a pimple, they bring attention to it and fix it at the same time.
I'm pretty sure there's a metaphor in here for how today's kids deal with their issues. Are they better at acknowledging what's wrong? Are they more willing to face issues head-on? Do they highlight their flaws to take away their power?
What do you think? Please share your responses in the comments.