Dove's New Dish on Beauty

Today I had the privilege of attending the Dove's New Dish on Beauty event. A panel of accomplished and outstanding women gathered to discuss Dove's new global research on beauty and to provide their own thoughts on the media industry and how we can change beauty perception today. The panel included:

Jeanne Beker-host-Segment Producer Fashion Television
Shelley-Anne Brown-Two-Woman Bobsled Silver Medalist-2010 Olympics
Genevieve Borne-Television Host and Model
Sarah Taylor-MuchMusic VJ
Lisa Naylor-Counselor and Self-Esteem Expert

One of the findings of Dove's research (women ages 10-65) was that by 14 years old 55% of Canadian girls already feel pressure to be beautiful.

Each of the panelists shared their experiences with beauty, their idols and what advice they have for young women today. Many young women today feel that they have to look like women in magazines. Jeanne Beker's experience with this growing up was that she "wanted to feel beautiful, but realized they were characters, roles and not reality." This is one of the things that Dove has tried to bring to light with their campaigns in the past. Most of what you see in ads, commercials and in all media, is edited. She says that advertisements want to make women feel like "your whole life can change with a shade of lipstick." We need to remember not to take these ads and images too seriously and enjoy the theatricality. We need to encourage young women to be strong, be leaders and be the best that they can be. Take a look at Dove's campaign here or visit Dove.ca for more information.