pic: mhnunsaThis was the slogan I spotted on a placard this morning while driving past Cavendish (of all places). The placard was held by a senior primary school girl, probably aged 11 or 12. And she was not alone - there must have been around seventy kids (perhaps more) and their teachers on an outing related to Arbour Week. It made me smile and gave me encouragement for our future. Way to go.

This was in contrast to the banter I heard on Heart fm this morning. Some hapless caller phoned in wanting advice on what to buy his girlfriend of three years, whose birthday it is tomorrow. He was first encouraged to propose to her, but he had a different date planned for that (his birthday, bizarrely, although it was retorted that at least choosing this date he wouldn't forget his engagement anniversary). Then he was encouraged to buy her a handbag - not any one would do- one that cost R 800. Preferrably a brand name that could be shown off to her friends and would be substantial evidence of his love for her, that he is taking the relationship seriously. He could clearly not afford that (as one of those in the studio commented, maybe he earns R 2000 a month) and sounded at quite a loss. I know it was all in good jest, but get real!

A much better idea, dude, is to plant a tree (R 300 will get you a mini forest), write a poem, treat her to a wonderful meal, use some imagination - hang a banner declaring your love from a bridge if you have to.

Anyway, I digress, back to the fashion magazines. How many pages of ads do you even have to leaf through before you find the contents page. And then there's the content: deep stuff, oh yeah. The entire purpose of the magazine is to make you feel less than, for you to oogle over the possessions, cosmetics and clothing, and figures of alien lifeform supermodels who have been airbrushed to look impossibly perfect. And then to aspire to be that model, and of course you can come a step closer by wearing their clothes and using their brands...

If only I had that bigger bust, those plumper lips, the latest fashion accessory, then I too will have value in the world. The psycology of advertising is well understood by the fashion superbrands that prey on the vulnerabilities of our ego's. Especially teenagers and young adults who are still finding what gives their life meaning, working out their values and place in the world (not that I've got this figured out yet ;-). They have hijacked 'cool' and made it into something that can be purchased, something that is exclusive. Something to strive for, get in debt for. Well real cool can't be purchased, what is real is just being the you you were meant to be.

A twelve year old school girl brandishing a poster condemning fashion magazines, now that's cool.

Don't pursue an illusion by seeking through things that which they cannot give - an identity, a sense of permanency and fulfillment. This, in the words of Eckhart Tolle, is a recipe for frustration and suffering: "The whole advertising industry and consumer society would collapse if people became enlightened and no longer sought to find their identity through things."

This is a shift that needs to happen - and when it does I wouldn't want to be the owner of a fashion magazine. Or a supermodel.