As a young woman seeking to make my mark on this world, I am a self-professed feminist. ( I know that for whatever reason this word has developed a bit of an uncomfortable taste in many a person’s mouth. Sorry I’m not sorry.) I believe women are strong, capable, intelligent, and yes, fashion industry, beautiful.It is no secret that the fashion industry has long dismissed the latter. With thirteen year old, emaciated models who are caked in makeup and then air brushed and Photoshopped enough to make even Barbie feel uncomfortable, it’s pretty clear the fashion world sees no beauty in the real woman.

But we know this. These models make up the itsy bitsy 1% that I’d speculate deep down most women envy more than those Wall Street fat cats. The problem is that now even this fractal of women is not perfect enough for the fashion industry.

Enter H&M.

H&M is a clothing retailer that targets a younger demographic through providing in-style clothes at affordable prices. (Blah blah blah…they’re a trendy chain that even the barista and I can afford.) What have put this relatively nondescript retailer in the public eye recently are the company’s new “models.”

H&M has taken Photoshop in fashion to a whole new and despicable low by chopping off the heads of their models and superimposing them on dolls wearing the store’s merchandise. That is to say, the images of the women used on the website are actually chop suey Frankensteins of part-doll, part-human portions.

Awesome.

As if little girls everywhere didn’t have low enough self-esteem. As if seeing the images of beautiful women with hips as high as your (slight) double-chin wasn’t already enough to make women kick their body image deep down into the pits of awful, somewhere near pleated pants, “From Justin to Kelly” and raisins.

Now the championed ideal of beauty is no longer something that very few of us are, but rather, something that none of us are. According to H&M, there are no women perfect enough to wear their clothing. Which is sort of an odd implication for a clothing retailer to make.

I thought clothing was made for us pear-shaped, puckered, imperfect women. More to the point, I thought we were the ones who bought them.

Show us a real woman whose clothes celebrate her curves; clothes that highlight the body that can carry a baby and climb the corporate ladder. Show our children and our society the real women that take your clothes off their hangers and make them fashion.

Or, you know, don’t. Maybe your freaky, Photoshopped fusions will whip out their credit cards to buy your clothes this holiday season.

Every holiday season it’s the same kind of deal on the Interwebs: “Get the 12 Hottest Gifts!” “The Best Gifts Under 20 Bucks!” “Gifts Your Girlfriend Won’t Hate!” “What to Give a Borderline Acquaintance Who Bought You Something and Now You Have an Annoying Obligation!” …The list goes on. (And on and on and on.)

Maybe I’m missing something, but frankly, I just don’t get it.

And maybe that’s my deal. Maybe I just love Christmas too much to understand. I love decking the halls; hanging my stocking with care (I’m going to say the cut-off age for that is 30 so I’m good;) gawking at Christmas lights; and getting just a tad too competitive at the office holiday party gingerbread-house-building contest. But mostly, I love gift giving.

Sure, there are the financial constraints (but who needs food, really?); the 150 degree stores at the malls; the fact that there is never enough tape to finish wrapping that last gift. But these are par for the course, people!

The look of joy on your loved ones faces when they open that something special is well worth the Ramen dinners, heat rash, and frantic drawer-scrounging! If there is any time to give, this is it! Not because we have to but because we want to. Six days later when New Year’s rolls around, we make resolutions for ourselves. In fact, we spend the whole year focus on ourselves: our goals; our problems. The holidays are about showing a little appreciation to those who make the year something more than a run on a gerbil wheel.

So, yeah, I don’t understand why to show this appreciation we flock to the web to ask some stranger to figure out what our loved ones would love the most.

Is it laziness? Stress? Or is it because we want to please them so badly, we are searching for some definite way to do so? In the spirit of the season, I will go with the latter. But I want to assert that the answer is not on these sites. At the risk of being super corny (though tis the season!) I will state that the meaningfulness of the gift is in the consideration that went into it.

How would some site know that your sister needs a new coat after she left her old one at a fraternity? How would it it know that your mom needs another crystal cat miniature to add to her 42 piece collection? How would it know that your best friend needs a Spanish dictionary to impress his new foreign neighbor?

It wouldn’t.

Only you would. Understanding the desires and needs of your loved ones is the entire point of gift giving. Scanning blogs and web pages for “what’s hot this holiday season” doesn’t do that. So take a moment to actually think about the people you’re giving to this season, then be it something you buy (or make), give and be merry!

As a poor college student, I love a good deal. I’ll hunt to find the best prices for the things I want, I’m on a first name basis with the customer service employee at my local Marshall’s and I’ve been known to hold up a line at Target to break out a couple coupons for a buck off my detergent.

But battle it out on Black Friday? Heck no.

Firstly, there’s the waking up at the crack o’ dawn. No way has the taste of turkey even left your tongue by 4 am. And can someone please explain the midnight store openings this year? You’ve just spent hours battling it out with your sanity at family dinner and then you’re going to have to claw down a lady for a waffle maker at 12 am? Ick! (Then again, maybe the repressed rage from your Aunt Clara asking you why you aren’t going to medical school like your cousin doubles as fuel for department store fights.)

Which brings me to my main reason for not attending: the store showdowns. Even if I could drag myself to the mall at that unearthly hour (presumably with a large dose of Red Bull and regret) my 100 pound body and spaghetti arms could not handle the fight.You have to shove and push and claw and grab and be willing to strike down your grandma to snag that last Barbie cellphone. People get trampled and killed every year and one memorable gal this particular Black Friday pepper sprayed her fellow shoppers to get an on-sale  Xbox 360. These people are serious!

“Heading off to Black Friday sales, honey!…Oh, silly me! Almost forgot my pepper spray!”

Sheesh! Considering the fact that the most aggressive I get is trying to shove my size 6 feet into an on-sale size 5, Black Friday is not for me. So what does a girl with more Skittles than cash do for Christmas shopping?

Hello, Cyber Monday.

Cyber Monday refers to the Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend when Americans take to their computers on office time (76 million shop from work!) to scour the web for deals. And as online shopping increases annually, so too has sales on Cyber Monday. Online providers like Amazon and eBay benefit enormously from those taking a break from solitaire to shop and sales this year are expected to exceed $1 billion.

Sites have become increasingly focused on providing great deals on Cyber Monday and some expect the sales made online will exceed those in-store. Shoppers young and old are increasing their online purchases and the convenience can not be beat. Plus, online shoppers have the bonus of no extra hospital bills at the end of their purchasing-a benefit not all Black Friday shoppers enjoy.

Overall, it’s safe to say that I will be doing a great deal of online shopping this holiday season. And hey, with the money I save, maybe I’ll even buy something for old Aunt Clara and her doctor son. Like a vacation to a far off land for next Thanksgiving.

What can I say? I’m a giver.