Last month, TV giant Shonda Rhimes (best known for producing Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal), teamed with the Dove Self Esteem fund, to launch a new campaign: the Girl Collective. Focused on body positivity and confidence, the initiative aims to address the drastic numbers about negative self image, that are the reality for many young women.
8 in 10 girls refrain from participating in important activities because of low self-esteem.
Statistics like this should simply not have to exist. By using platforms such as The Girl Collective, there is an opportunity to change that. Teaching girls to support girls, regardless of race, age or sex at birth is the foundation of that change. Recognizing, and understanding that the traditional gender stereotypes presented to young women in the media are inaccurate, therefore becomes more achievable. No body is perfect, no body is the same, and no body should ever stop someone from pursuing their true potential. Yet still, young women feel bounded by their external features and in doing so, de value everything else about themselves.
This is precisely why something like the Girl Collective is needed. In featuring the honest, and sometimes difficult, success stories of strong women, such as Shonda Rhimes, overcoming these battles seems attainable. In the video below, Rhimes describes her experience being bullied as a young girl for being different, as well as her personal experience being such an accomplished woman.
https://youtu.be/7V1PHZLwiz0
Shonda Rhimes does an incredible job at working to share her wisdom with the next generation of young girls. She is a reminder to all women of the role that they play in shaping possibilities for girls, and educating them on pushing society’s boundaries to the best of their abilities.
Through social media and television campaigns and commercials, Dove is working to spread their message to as many girls as possible. Other companies known for supporting the body positivity movement have also gotten involved with the project, such as intimates line Aerie, fairly well-known for their use of diverse models. Additionally, celebrities such as SZA and Jazz Jennings have joined on with the project.
In taking the right steps to a more empowered future, girls can only hope a campaign such as this will continue to strengthen a movement for greater change.
Photo: Getty Images
