Baylor freshman’s movement goes viral online

Eklund

Baylor University freshman Alex Eklund never imagined the Facebook status he posted after the Victoria’s Secret fashion show on Nov. 29 would attract the attention of people around the country.

The status read, “I’d rather have a Proverbs 31 women than a Victoria’s secret model.”

He posted the status after seeing female reactions to the fashion show on Facebook.

“I kept seeing all these statuses pop up on my Facebook like ‘have to hit the gym, or ‘gonna starve myself for a week,’” he said.

Although he knew those people were joking, he said he perceived an underlying sense of insecurity behind the posts, so he posted his status.

He said several of his friends “liked” it and shared it, so he decided to start a page for the movement, which quickly took off.

On Dec. 6, Eklund and friends involved in the new movement posted a video describing and defining Proverbs 31.

The video has received more than 100,000 views and more than 900 comments on YouTube. The Facebook page has more than 10,000 “likes,” and the subject is trending on Twitter.

“I’ve never seen anything like this, never been a part of anything like this and have had no experience with anything like this,” he said. “I really think it’s something that God wanted to use and it exploded.”

Word of Eklund’s movement has traveled to several different Universities, including Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma Baptist University, Arkansas State University, Virginia State University, North Carolina State University Chapel Hill, North Dakota State University, Auburn University and many of the majors schools in Texas, he said.

Because of the platform they now have, Eklund said he and his friends are discussing expansion and plan to release merchandise in the future.

All the money earned will go to charity to support domestic abuse, suicide prevention and eating disorder support.
“Things that people struggle with directly as a result of a poor self image,” he said.

Baylor freshman Jake Cockerill, Eklund’s friend, made the suggestion of a video explaining the original status after the Facebook page received about 500 “likes.”

“This whole movement has grown so much more than both Alex and I thought it would, he said. “It’s great to see how social networking like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have not only started this movement but also continued to let it grow.”

Cockerill said he believes the movement gained popularity so fast because society has created a model of beauty that is purely physical and unrealistic.

“Our society stresses, especially the younger generation, the physical qualities and the physical attractions of the opposite sex, rather than pursuing Godly relationships,” he said. “Going into college, it is a time where we all start figuring out who we want to be and what we believe and I believe it is crucial that society’s perception of beauty needs to change.”

Eklund said the most specific summary of the movement is Proverbs 31:30, which reads: “Beauty is fleeting and charm is deceptive, but a women who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

Eklund described what the passage means to him.

“The core of what we’re saying is, for us its we want to find a woman who loves God more than she loves her self image, more than she loves her beauty, more than she loves anything else,” Eklund said. “For someone who isn’t necessarily religious it’s really just focusing on what’s in the inside rather than what’s on the outside.”

Although he said he believes the religious element is very important, the passage can apply to non-religious people also.
“Proverbs in particular, if you read the literary notion of the book, it’s just fantastic. The literary structure of the book is some of the most beautiful poetry ever written,” he said.

Cockerill said the point of the movement is not to convert people to Christianity.

“As Christians we are called to seek a woman of this nature and we are not saying that every man or woman is looking for this type of person, he said. “As a Christian though, we are sharing what the bible says about seeking women and what qualities we are looking for.”

Despite Eklund’s seemingly positive message, critics have raised questions and devalued the developing movement.
He believes the criticism comes from misunderstanding the description of the group, but he encourages any type of questions or comments.

“We never slam Victoria’s Secret models, we never slammed people who were good looking and I never said that I want to marry a girl who is ugly and not a girl who is pretty,” he said. “The negativity helps us get better, helps us examine ourselves, it helps us really think about what we’re talking about, but I think that people just have to understand that the movement isn’t based on slighting anyone, it’s not based on being condescending.”

Cockerill said there is nothing wrong with a woman desiring to be attractive.

“We are simply saying as men of Christ the level of beauty that society has pressured for women to reach is not what we see as the most important quality,” he said.

Although Eklund is not currently in a relationship, he believes the Proverbs 31 movement will help hold him accountable.

“It holds me and all my friends who are working on this to a higher standard which is what we should be held to,” he said. “I think it’s fantastic as far as accountability goes for me, and I think that’s really important in my relationships and even in just my day-to-day interaction with women that I’m even more intentional about being after the Proverbs 31 woman.”

University student Austin Norville, marketing major, said the movement is a great wake-up call for men and women who are consumed with their looks, and he hopes it will change people’s hearts.

“The fact that it got so popular just goes to show you how much it is a relevant topic in today’s culture,” he said. “(It shows) everyone is so obsessed with their looks and I think it goes to show you that people just want to be beautiful inside and out to those they love.”

He said he believes the fact that the Proverbs 31 movement is biblical may turn some people off.

“For those who believe in God, I see it as something that will make them think twice about their decisions in choosing a lifestyle of what’s important to them: their looks or being a woman or man of God.”

Ainslee Dean, junior psychology major, said she already has heard of the Proverbs 31 movement.

“All it took was one guy standing up for what he knows women are suppose to strive to become,” she said. “It encourages me, and in a way let’s me know that I don’t have to diet and work out to the point of starvation just to get a man’s attention.”

She said the kind of man she wants to impress is someone who honors a Proverbs 31 woman.

Although Dean said Eklund’s perspective helps her focus less on her looks, she does not believe it is wrong to cultivate outward beauty.

“If a woman is working out and dieting just to be sexy and attract more guys, then that is not the right motive to have,” she said. “If you are eating right and exercising to be healthy then that is great.”

Dean said she would hope that the movement would affect college students. However, she doesn’t think it will have a big impact.

“I do think that it will catch the eye of Christian college students and it may strike curiosity in those students who aren’t Christians,” she said.

Eklund said he would encourage guys not to settle.

“There are thousands of girls at your college campuses and in those thousands of girls, there may be one,” he said. “You never know where you are going to meet your wife, but don’t settle for anything less than what God has for you.”

Ukland’s message to girls is to affirm their beauty.

“You’re beautiful,” he said. “Follow after Christ and he will lead you to the man you are supposed to be with.”

For more information, go to www.facebook.com/live31movement, or find Eklund’s video on YouTube, titled “Proverbs 31 Movement.”