BEAUTIFUL LIFE TEEN

 
These are the beliefs and principles upon which this project was founded. Our goal is to inspire, challenge and encourage young women from all walks of life to aim for the following: Issues relating to self esteem. This is the ‘biggie’. Self hatred and low self esteem can manifest in all kinds of damaging ways. Self mutilation, eating disorders, experimenting with alcohol & drugs, sexual promiscuity and bullying are just a few of the symptoms of self hatred or low self esteem. These things can be further exacerbated by other factors, ie: turmoil at home, difficulty fitting in, rejection - or a perception of rejection from family / friends / school peers / boys...etc. It is our goal to encourage girls to nurture self-love and self-respect! Most young girls are not at risk of turning in to self-obsessed little princesses. Rare is the occasion when I meet a woman who struggles with ‘too much self love’. Most women - even the most gorgeous of supermodels and celebrities - are annoyingly self-critical and depreciative. We pick ourselves to bits - we stare in the mirror and criticize every inch of our bodies... examining every perceived flaw... wishing we could look a bit more like Angelina Jolie or Jessica Alba or Naomi Campbell. Younger women are even more susceptible to this intense self-criticism - and we’d like to spend a fair amount of time addressing these issues and suggesting practical ways that girls can learn to love, respect and appreciate themselves - exactly as they are right now. Some of these include: Focus on their individuality & uniqueness... that they have talents, gifts, strengths and abilities that nobody else has. We help them to figure out the qualities which make them unique - and then to embrace that uniqueness and celebrate their diversity. To remind them that they’re precious, priceless beings - that no amount of money could equal their worth and that each one is special, beautiful and unique in her own way. To question society’s expectations that they may feel encumbered by, ie: Who made it law that a size 2 or even a size 0 is the size to be? And who decided that tanned blondes were ‘prettier’ than pale redheads? And who ever made the law that decided that it was unattractive for Africans or Indians to be ‘too dark’? We want to encourage them to throw off these ridiculous media / society induced ideas and expectations and to celebrate their individuality - no matter their weight / height / skin colour / hair colour - whatever! To encourage them to express themselves and their individuality in a way that is unique to them - whether it’s through art, fashion, music, poetry, dance - all of these can be used in positive ways (unlike the negative self-expression that we see today, including cutting & self-mutilation, etc) - we have a campaign called VENT! which addresses this important need. To empower them to stand up against any sexual pressure from boys. Also to help them understand that they don’t need ‘validation’ from a boy. They’re acceptable and beautiful exactly as they are - they don’t need to get themselves into dodgy situations with boys just because they need to feel acceptable and validated. Media Influence: Let’s tell it like it is! We live in an age where we’re bombarded at every turn by unrealistic images and impressions of what supposedly represents the average woman. From glossy magazines, to television, movies, internet, billboards, point-of-sale advertisements in shopping malls - everywhere we look, the message is drilled repeatedly in to our minds that we don’t match up to a certain set of expectations... that we’re failing somehow. If your average woman is deeply affected by all of this pressure - imagine how your average teenager feels? We would like to discuss this in depth with girls - and show them how the industry functions and operates, and how big business makes their money from our insecurities. We’d also like to educate them on the behind-the-scenes work required to make models and celebs so picture-perfect (in our more comprehensive workshops, this topic would include a mini-fashion shoot where we’d choose 3 girls and show them how make-up, camera angles and the oh-so-miraculous photoshop can completely change the way they look). We want girls to start questioning the influence that media (TV, movies, magazines, internet & advertising) has on their lives - and more specifically - on their self image! Are you a sheep? One of the lessons that I’ll never forget as a young girl, was my mother telling me not to be a “sheep”. A sheep, of course, is somebody who just goes with the flow of the crowd and who regularly succumbs to peer pressure. We’d like to motivate and encourage girls to make their own choices and decisions (wisely) - and not simply go along with an idea or trend “because everybody else is doing it” - or because it’s perceived to be ‘cool’. Making your own decisions and refusing to be manipulated by peer pressure is another step in the right direction for any young person. Don’t be afraid to follow your dreams or to do that which makes you feel alive! There’s a saying that goes like this: “Everybody dies. Not everybody lives”. Don’t just live your life according to the long list of ‘shoulds’ and ‘oughts’ and other expectations that don’t fit your unique design. So many people just “survive”... or “get by”... or plod along, dutifully following an unspoken set of laws and rules that slowly eats away at their dreams like an insidious cancer. Don’t let it happen to you! Don’t live a life filled with regrets! Love, help, inspire and encourage others along the way. There is an amazing spiritual principle - a law of reciprocity that has proved itself to be true again and again. When you freely and generously give of yourself (whether your time, your money, your service, your talents - or just your listening ear) - it benefits both the receiver AND the giver! We want to encourage girls to give generously of themselves... because we truly believe that it’s incredibly beneficial not just for the “getter” - but for the GIVER. WOODO (Women who DO!) is our project that’s about giving & DOing... http://www.ventproject.co.zaWOODO.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1

DID YOU KNOW?


  1. Bullet 92% of girls want to change their appearance.

  2. BulletThe body fat of models and actresses portrayed in the media is at least 50% less than that of healthy women.

  3. Bullet 6 out of 10 teenage girls think they’d ‘be happier if they were thinner’.

  4. Bullet 7 out of 10 girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way, including their looks, performance in school and relationships with friends and family members.

  5. Bullet 75% of girls with low self-esteem reported engaging in negative activities, such as disordered eating, cutting, bullying, smoking or drinking when feeling badly about themselves (compared with 25% of girls with high self-esteem).

  6. Bullet 57% of all girls have a mother who criticizes her own looks.

  7. Bullet Dissatisfaction with body image increases as girls progress to adolescence.  While 75% of girls 8-9 years old say they like the way they look, only 56% of girls 12-13 feel that way.

  8. Bullet While only 19% of teenage girls are overweight, 67% think they need to lose weight.

  9. Bullet 25% of girls would consider plastic surgery to change their appearance.

Sources:  British Medical Association, Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, UK Teen Body Image Survey, Girl Scout Research Institute

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