lifestyle

The list no mother would want her daughter to read.

 

By ELISSA RATLIFF

Seventy-one per cent of young girls feel a pressure to be beautiful. Eight out of 10 women say they dislike at least one aspect of their body.

That’s a lot of negative issues surrounding a woman’s body image. Where does it come from?

Role models. And not the celebrity kind.

Mothers, grandmothers, carers, close family friends – it all impacts.

That’s why this video – from Dove, the creators of many a beautiful viral video about women’s body image and body confidence – have another question for you.

What’s your beauty legacy?

The mums in this video write a list of what they don’t like about their bodies.

They talk about how they don’t like their legs, their arms, their eyes, hips, bums… the list goes on.


But that sometimes, just sometimes, the daughters love things about themselves because they’re just like mum’s.

Watch it:

Self worth and beauty is an echo. And your voice echoes louder in your daughter’s head than any other.

The Butterfly Foundation’s CEO, Christine Morgan, says that mothers should remember these things when they’re talking about their bodies:

– Be kind to themselves. Be kind to their bodies. Walk the talk.

– Do their best to always speak kindly about their own body, shape, size and appearance and also the shape, size and appearance of others.

– Avoid criticising their appearance in front of their children (this includes photographs).

– Challenge beauty ideals and stereotypes and encourage your daughter to do the same

– Be media savvy.  Remind yourself of, and talk to your children about the tricks and strategies that are used to create the images we see in media

What beauty legacy are you passing down?


The Dove Self-Esteem Project has reached over 14 million young people with self-esteem building programmes and is committed to reaching 15 million by the end of 2015.  Dove is committed to creating a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety, and 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 around the world.