As the New Year arrived many of you probably made a new year’s resolution or maybe several.  For many of us who are no longer in their twenties (and some who are) and who have given birth to a few children . . . thus retaining much “baby weight”, the resolve to lose weight is usually not far down the list. 

It is very easy though to let our perspective get out of sorts!  What body are we trying to acheive?  The latest trend or the one we need to be healthy?  So many of us are looking to fit into a certain size pants and have a certain size waist and hips instead of working toward a healthier body.  Eating right and exercising is good for the mind and body.  I encourage all of you to keep the perspective realistic and acheivable as we enter the new year. 

Along the same lines, there are often young girls, especially teenagers who are struggling with this issue whether they really need to lose even one pound or not.  If they don’t fit into their conceived notions of what is socially acceptable they won’t be satisfied with where they are at. 

If you know a young girl like that I encourage you to look into a new campaign that Dove® has begun . . . The Dove Self-Esteem Fund.

The Dove Self-Esteem Fund (DSEF) was established to raise the self-esteem of girls and young women to make them feel more beautiful and confident every day. The DSEF is part of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, a global effort designed to widen today’s stereotypical view of beauty.

One of the first steps they’ve taken toward their goal to reach 5 million young women by the end of 2010 is by creating www.CampaignForRealBeauty.com.  A site for and about girls, teens, their moms and mentors and anyone who is concerned about the negative body image influences girls are getting today. Here’s a short film that really gives us a vivid idea of what’s behind their new campaign as well as the realities of the media and it’s influence.

They have also created the Dove® Reality Diaries, a website that follows several young women on the road toward better self-esteem.   Getting other girls involved that can relate to one of these stories as well as offering expert advice and support.Anyone is welcome to check out these websites for more information.  I hope that you too can feel encouraged by a positive campaign for girls. I believe that we as adult women should also take note of what’s going on at these sites and with the young girls around us. Believe it or not, we are falling victim to these lies about “real beauty” just as much as teen girls!  As with so many other areas of adulthood and parenting we have to get ourselves squared away in this area before we can truly expect to see a difference in the girls in our lives.  If they hear us talking negatively about ourselves all the time that is what they are learning.  I know first hand that it is also disturbing to sons to see into their mother’s insecurities, so we really do need to be careful that our “realities” aren’t warped as well!

Links:
Campaign for Real Beauty Site
Dove Self Esteem Fund
Dove Reality Diaries
Share a Self Esteem Message

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 4th, 2008 at 4:20 am and is filed under Challenges, Online Resources, Raising Children. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.