Dove Self-Esteem Project encourages women to create a positive beauty legacy for the next generation
Is the way you feel about your looks something constructed over time or something you are born with? Dove believes beauty is a construct, and Dove research indicates the way women feel about their own beauty is having a profound effect on the self-esteem of girls around them.
Global research from Dove shows nearly three quarters of girls (71%) feel pressure to be beautiful,1 but are less likely to let anxiety about looks hold them back if they feel they have a positive role model2. With a troubling 8 out of 10 women saying they dislike at least one aspect of their physical appearance3, Dove is asking all women to make a difference to the lives of the next generation by ensuring their own beauty legacy is a positive one. A film from the global brand, Dove: Legacy, [http://youtu.be/JiZduqXCdjE] illustrates how important it is for women to see the beauty in themselves, so that they can pass those positive feelings on to the girls in their lives.
Dove believes all women have a role to play in setting a confident example for the next generation by feeling good about their own beauty and acting with positivity towards the way they look. Expert members of the Dove Self-Esteem Project’s Global Advisory Board, Jess Weiner and Sharon Haywood, have offered some top tips for all women for how to be a strong role model, including rejecting perfectionism, cutting out self-criticism and openly supporting other women. And on 9 October 2015 in London, the Dove Self-Esteem Project will host the first-ever Women in the World: Generation Girl Summit as part of Tina Brown’s Women in the World Summit series. Through this exclusive partnership, Dove will connect real role models with real girls to inspire and encourage young women to recognize their potential and pursue excellence.
The research shows girls can name an average of three women in their lives they look up to, with mums identified as the number one role model for more than half of them4. The Dove: Legacy film focuses on this influence of mums and shows the direct effect their feelings about beauty, both positive and negative, have on their daughters. The mums and daughters (7-10 years old) in the film were invited to write two lists each: what they like and do not like about the way they look. The film reveals that daughters’ lists are remarkably similar to their mums’ lists, emphasising how in-tune girls are with even the subconscious cues their role models give them and how feelings about beauty can be passed on to the next generation.
“Whether she is a mother, aunt, coach, teacher, or sister, every woman has the opportunity to make a difference to a girl’s self-esteem,” said Kate Swan, marketing manager at Dove South Africa. “By ensuring their own beauty legacy is positive, all women can help the next generation of girls grow up to be happy and content, free from the pressure of beauty stereotypes and the burden of self-doubt.”
Dove Self-Esteem Project
As part of its commitment to helping the next generation of women raise their self-esteem and realise their full potential, the Dove Self-Esteem Project delivers self-esteem education to young people (primarily girls) aged 7-17 years through lessons in schools, activities for mentors, online resources for parents and partnerships with youth organizations.
The Dove South Africa Self-Esteem Project is making an impact in schools across Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, addressing issues around body confidence and self-esteem. This is presented in an interactive and dynamic way, with engaging presenters who inspire their young audience to view their own beauty in a different light. The Dove South Africa Self-Esteem Project is currently in its second year and has already reached over 72 000 young girls to date.
Dove Self-Esteem Project resources have been developed in collaboration with parents, teachers, youth leaders and self-esteem experts as well as endorsed by an independent global advisory board and academically validated to prove their positive impact. The education programmes and fun interactive activities, downloadable at http://selfesteem.dove.co.za , are designed to help girls overcome beauty-related anxieties that stop them from being happy and confident. The Dove Self-Esteem Project has reached over 16 million young people globally to date with self-esteem education and with your help we can reach even more.
Visit the Dove South Africa website, the Dove Facebook page here or follow @Dove_ZA on Twitter for more information.