Starved | Page 23

STARVED says, "Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene" (2 Timothy 2: 16-17). Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue has the power of life and death." Chat rooms provide plenty of room for Satan to do his prowling. Know what is out there so that you can be proactive in your fight for freedom. The Fashion Industry The fashion industry is filled with girls who are engaged in a dangerous competition over who can be the thinnest, prettiest, sexiest, and most successful. But it is almost impossible to be content with yourself when you are no longer able to appreciate the beauty in others and only see their beauty as a threat. Ashleigh describes her experience with this aspect of modeling: "1found a job for 'fit modeling.' That's where clothing designers fit a specific size of clothing to your body. They make alterations for that size according to your figure. I went downstairs to the corporate room where they displayed their top model. She was who I had to look like. I remember going in there and thinking that I was fatter than her. The CEO of the company was there and told me, 'You can't gain weight for this job.' So in my mind it clicked that I would just have to not eat. I would go online with my photographs next to those of someone famous, comparing them to see what was not measuring up and what was. I would think that I was still fat and how I wanted to get thinner. I wanted to get prettier, and to me, thinner was prettier." In her college studies, Ashleigh had an interesting opportunity to explore the lies behind the fashion and modeling industry. Realizing the truth about the pictures and distorted images presented by the media relieves the pressure of having 26