As the mother of 2 multiracial daughters the film "Killing us Softly" was really interesting to me. As women we buy into the media s portrayal of who we are and what we are supposed to be almost more than men do.    If we believe it what do we expect from them? As women of color so much of what is represented in magazines and television as culturally beautiful does not apply to me or to my daughters. We do not resemble the tall very thin very blonde women in fashion magazines. So much of raising my daughters has been teaching them to really see themselves, to appreciate how beautiful and unique they are. In some ways I think starting farther from society s ideal makes it easier. When my girls were younger they envied their friends straight hair and light skin but as they get older they seem more comfortable in their own skin. I found it interesting that the text referenced that many minority youth show increased self esteem in adolescence. My girls are beautiful, with midnight eyes and curly hair and light bronze skin, but what makes them truly beautiful is that they are smart and confident and powerful. These are the things that I emphasize with them. I hope that the fact that they are able to see already that beauty is not accurately defined by the media will help them to see the other lies that advertisers tell about women. We are not fragile, we are not helpless or in need of rescuing. We are not passive or indecisive. We are strong and intelligent and capable. We do not need to starve away our curves to be taken seriously. We need to take ourselves seriously. We need to believe that our worth is not determined by the size of our thighs and that our intellect is more important than our cup size. We need to stop accepting other people s definitions and begin to define ourselves. If we stop believing the lie what power does it have over us? As women we need to embrace our beauty in all it s shades, in every shape and size. If we begin to celebrate what each of us contributes instead of judging and criticizing each other, the message that we give to our daughters would be that in accepting ourselves we accept and celebrate them too.