Yesterday morning, many students noticed changes made to the mirrors in the bathrooms of the school. They were warned by a sign on the door saying “Mirrorless Monday”, but the true meaning of Mirrorless Monday did not hit them until they noticed the colored paper taped across the mirrors with uplifting messages written on posters taped to the colored paper.
The group responsible for Mirrorless Monday was REbel, a club at BV West intended to raise self esteem and promote positive body image. Mirrors in bathrooms across the school, including staff bathrooms, were covered in paper. The purpose of this act was to get students to stop looking at themselves so often.
“It was basically just to show girls, as well as guys, that they don’t need to look at themselves every second of the day and that they should be proud of themselves all the time,” Rebel member senior Michaela Olthoff said.
The idea came from the REbel chapter at BV Northwest. Mirrorless Monday was also introduced to Prairie Star Middle School last year. Although they are a little different at every school, the message is the same.
“Everybody knows that somebody could look very good but their attitude and personality could not be,” REbel sponsor LaWanna Whitcomb said. “So we want people to realize that beauty is only skin deep and that beauty is in all sizes. It doesn’t matter; beauty is from the heart. That’s what we want people to see.”
With the student body, REbel’s message generally got a positive response, although a few students tore the paper from the mirror.
“I think that it’s really sweet,” sophomore Rachel Hills said. “Somebody ripped off half of he paper this morning. I think that it is funny but rude.”
However, not all agreed with REbel’s message and the way it was carried out yesterday morning.
“I’m upset because I wanted to fix my hair and I am already aware that I’m beautiful,” senior Sonia Kumar. “I don’t need some cheesy reminder. I’d rather have something genuine, like somebody saying it to me. It is important for me to look nice, and Mirrorless Monday contributes to my success. The most important thing is to feel comfortable about yourself and I don’t know if Mirrorless Monday will help you do that.”
Many found it significant that REbel decided to also cover the boys’ bathrooms as well because the chapter is made up entirely of girls, save two young men.
“I think that it is a cool concept but I like to look at myself in the mirror,” senior Will Hershberger said. “I think that it is definitely geared more toward girls.”
Although it appears to be aimed toward women, the message is intended for boys as well.
“We found out that young men have the same emphasis on the way they look as women do but their just not as vocal as we are,” Whitcomb said. “They do care about body mass and how they look too.”
Whether students agreed with the message or not, REbel caused many to reexamine their values and what role beauty plays in their lives.
“The most important part of your day is enjoying your day and enjoying the company of the people around you but not how you look,” Whitcomb said. “There are some people that really focus on the way they look. We all want to look good, but is that the most important thing?”