Have you seen Dove’s revolutionary video about beauty and its implications for women and girls? It shows what can be done with makeup, hair, and today’s photo and video technology to transform women from real to unrealistic.

Dove goes on to say, “All this talk about fashion models and extreme dieting. How did our view of beauty get so distorted?” The findings speak for themselves…

• 90% of all women 15-64 worldwide want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance (with body weight ranking the highest).
• 67% of all women 15 to 64 withdraw from life-engaging activities due to feeling badly about their looks (among them things like giving an opinion, going to school, going to the doctor).
  Where do you fit in the statistics? As the new year dawns, have you committed to some goal or resolution related to beauty? If so, you’re not alone.

So many women and girls are crippled by their inaccurate perception of themselves. I know this firsthand because I developed an eating disorder in junior high and wasn’t able to overcome it until halfway through college. It completely ruled my life and changed my outlook on nearly everything and everyone. Now girls as young as 8 and 9 are starting to binge and purge, wear makeup, and do whatever they can to fit the stereotype of the supermodel that is such a pervasive image in our society (i.e. Top Model, Fashion House, Seventeen).

My Master’s degree research project was on young girls (Girls Team Up: Successfully Maneuvering Adolescence Together). I found these same issues present in the 5th - 8th grade students that I taught and coached. What I discovered was that girls need a chance to get in the game. They need mentors and coaches, opportunities to achieve and team up, and a chance to take control of their lives and their futures.
Now that I’m a bit older and hopefully wiser, I’ve discovered that women need that same outlet and opportunity. We need to help each other get out of our daily routines and step into the game of life that all too often renders us voiceless and powerless to withstand the crippling storms of adulthood.

How can we reconnect with ourselves, change our perceptions, and offer acceptance and hope to those around us? This month as the vast majority of women make resolutions to enhance their beauty, we’re going to talk about how to enhance our beauty without losing a single pound, getting a facelift or buying into Botox. While these things can and may be what you want to do, let’s see what else we can do to make this year more beautiful: for ourselves and the girls who will follow in our footsteps.

Live with passion and purpose,
Tasra

This entry was posted by Tasra Dawson on January 2nd, 2007 under Beauty and Style, Passion with keywords .

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