The Real Beauty self-esteem workshop this past weekend was a great success! With the diligent help of five wonderful family members and friends, the session ran beautifully. Twenty girls—ages eight through twelve—participated in the two hours of discussions and activities.

The goal of the workshop was to heighten awareness about the unrealistic portrayals of beauty in the media, encourage girls to understand and accept a wider definition of beauty, and to promote self-esteem and positive self-image. Over the two hours, the girls participated in a fun “quiz” that pointed out which messages propagated by the media are “fact,” and what ones are “fiction.” They also did several workbook exercises designed to highlight the value of having unique talents or attributes, as well as stimulate thought about self-esteem. In our discussion of the way the media manipulates images, the girls watched a film called “Evolution” (which can be viewed at: http://dove.msn.com/#/features/videos/default.aspx[cp-documentid=8354359]/). Then after analyzing magazine advertisements, each girl was able to create her own “advertisement,” which sent whatever kind of message she felt girls ought to receive… Most of the girls’ messages were to the tone of, “Be happy being you,” or “Every girl is beautiful in her own way.” It was great to see the girl’s creative sides! The workshop concluded with discussions about how to help other girls feel good about themselves, how to maintain self-esteem, as well as instruction on goal setting.

I have to say, I was truly blown away by the intelligence and maturity of the girls who attended. Their comments and insight was both refreshing and fun. While the disparity in ages proved to be challenging, but the young ones hung in there for the entire two hours and kept up with surprising acuity. I think that the girls went home with a powerful message and I think they will remember it for some time. It is so encouraging to know that our world is graced with such strong, smart young girls!

I am glad that I got my first workshop under my belt, and I do look forward to holding more in the future… I learned a lot of things this time around that I’d like to do differently, and gained some insight into how I can reach the girls better. Since I am going to be at Dartmouth for Fall and Spring quarters, the next time I will be holding a workshop in the Seattle area will be either in the Winter or next Summer. While I want to put on more of the standard “real beauty” sessions for girls, I am also interested in working more exclusively with young female athletes to talk about both the benefits and challenges of being a female athlete today. It would be cool to do workshops with girl’s sports Teams too… Of course there are lots of possibilities! There will definitely be more fun stuff in the future.

If parents have comments, requests, or suggestions about my last workshop or future workshops, I encourage you to email me at libby@libbyludlow.com.