I don't think I could ever live in L.A.

So, I was watching some mindless television this evening, and a new show on the E! channel came on. Being too lazy to change it, I began to watch Sunset Tan. The first thing I see is some woman bringing in her elementary-school aged daughter to get a tan for her school picture. The mother seriously told the cashier that last year her daughter was pretty pale in the picture, so this year she was going to make sure she looked prettier. So, the cashier tells them that the little girl should get the same tanning treatment that Lindsay Lohan gets. After spending $1,200 on tanning stuff, the little girl is ready to be tanned. She is ready to go in to get spray tanned, but she looks at her mom, and says she doesn't want to do this. Her mom asked her if she wanted to be pretty, and then said that she didn't have a choice she needed to be tan or she wouldn't be pretty. Come on people. First off, a young girl should not be looking up to Lindsay Lohan. She is in rehab for a second time, and she does not act the way anyone should want his or her daughter to act. Then, to tell your daughter she has to be pretty in her pictures and that entails tanning? How can we expect women to get further along if we constantly put such a high price on beauty and tanning and being like celebrities who aren't independent, intelligent, strong women? How can you honestly shove your daughter into a tanning bed then a stall to get sprayed even though she asked you not to? Since when should an elementary-aged child be worried about being tan enough for her school picture? Elementary pictures were always the fun ones - you blink, you squint, you have food in your teeth, you sneeze, your hair isn't combed - that's the beauty of those pictures. They aren't supposed to be glamour shots. I don't remember ever being judged by my elementary school pictures, and I sure don't remember a competition for the prettiest girl. Beauty standards are completely off in this situation. The mother is wrong, and she is setting her daughter up for a mindset of completely low self-esteem. We should be moving forward. We shouldn't be putting each other down. Everything starts with how you raise your children. Why should we have more Lindsay Lohans running around town with their spray tans and party girl antics?

"I'm not going to deny the fact that I've tried pot. I hated it." -Lindsay Lohan