If you have a daughter age 10 or higher, I hope you'll take the time to read this post. The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty was developed after the brand commissioned a global study that found only two percent of women around the world describe themselves as beautiful. A program was developed to challenge beauty stereotypes and invite women worldwide to join in a discussion about beauty.
Real Girls, Real Pressure: A National Report on the State of Self-Esteem was conducted nationally online among 1,029 girls 8 – 17, and is representative of the U.S. based on census indicators (region, ethnicity and parental education.) An additional 3,344 girls 8 – 17 were surveyed in a targeted study that was conducted in 20 major U.S. cities representative of each DMA based on ethnicity and parental education. As a result of this report, the Dove Self Esteem Fund was founded.
Key findings:
Seven in ten girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way, including
their looks, performance in school and relationships with friends and family members.
their looks, performance in school and relationships with friends and family members.
A girl’s self-esteem is more strongly related to how she views her own body shape and body
weight, than how much she actually weighs.
weight, than how much she actually weighs.
The self-esteem tipping point happens when the transition to teenage years results in loss of trust and communication with adults.
Parents’ words and actions play a pivotal role fostering positive self-esteem in girls.
Read the full, detailed report here.
Also, you can point your girls to this website (part of the campaign) that is targeted especially for them.
Low self-esteem among young ladies has reached crisis proportions and can have critical consequences. We need to do our part to make sure our girls grow up with a healthy self-esteem and healthy, realistic expectations for themselves. Here's a start: A tee-shirt Dove sent me for my 12 year old says it all:
Please pass this post on to someone you know with an adolescent girl in the family. Thank you.
I so struggle with the pressure of helping my daughter develop a strong sense of self and beauty.
ReplyDeleteYou know I am with you on this bandwagon. Thanks for the post! Now, I need that shirt for my daughter too!
ReplyDeleteI know all too well how it is to feel "not good enough" - I have struggled with it all my life. One of the biggest things I want for my daughter is for her to have a postive self-image and strong self-esteem. I'd love to have that shirt for her, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link, I saved it for my dd. Middle school is ****. I didn't believe my mom when she told me I was beautiful, peer pressure won out. I don't want that to happen to my dd. I think we all need to wear that shirt.
ReplyDelete