Young girls need role models exactly like Zoella!

I'm 33 years old and I love Zoella (aka Zoe Sugg), so I can only imagine how insanely I would have adored her as a 16 year old girl. I get emotional every time I see Zoe's YouTube advert come on the television, I want her to succeed in life as badly as I want my little sister to. I first became aware of Zoe when I started watching YouTube videos by sprinkle of glitter and my interest in her peaked when I learnt she was a fellow anxiety sufferer, five months later and I'm hooked on her vlogs and blog posts and well basically everything about her! With all the great things I feel about Zoe, it was disappointing to wake up to an article by the independent claiming that Zoe is the worst kind of role model for the young women of today. In a media world that is saturated with young people falling out of cocktail bars and being paid for photos of the marriages they rush into or children they create in a hurry all to remain famous, there is something refreshing and comforting about somebody who would rather go late night shopping at Waitrose than to the pub, goes for beach walks in a rabbit onesie and gets excited about a Wispa hot chocolate or Nutella pancakes. I am not Zoe's target audience, but does it matter? Beauty isn't my first love but I appreciate what she is creating from her own passion for it, there is an innocence and friendliness about Zoe that is truly infectious and I look forward to her daily vlogs where everything is so familiar that it almost feels like I am checking in with family. The article in the independent implied that Zoe is a bad role model to girls because she encourages young women to be obsessed with beauty and sends the message out to them that looks are the only thing that matter in life. As I read the article I thought, what about 'chummy chatter' where Zoe teams up with sprinkle of glitter to advise on issues such as 'setting boundaries in personal relationships' and 'allowing yourself to feel sad'?, what about the blog posts where Zoe advises young people to get the most out of school and to embrace their studies?, what about the countless times that I have seen Zoe stand up to twitter bullies to defend her followers? And what about the number of times Zoe has spoken out about her ongoing battle with anxiety? How do all those factors constitute a bad role model? The way I see it is that the beauty videos are just a very small part of Zoe's brand, she encourages girls to try new looks and styles and to get excited about products but she also tells them not to hide behind make up and frequently appears make up free in her own vlogs, while helping them negotiate the trickier issues of growing up. I wish there were more young women like Zoe, encouraging young girls to live up to their full potential and to feel good about themselves inside and out, and sharing their vulnerabilities as well as their successes to help inspire young people.