Building Confidence in Young Girls Through Dove’s #StopTheNameCalling Campaign

As exciting as the beauty industry is, it is also an industry where the media perpetuates stereotypes and biased beauty ideals that affect women’s self-esteem, and their perception of what beauty really is. These ideal standards of beauty are deeply rooted in Filipino culture; instilled even as young as childhood. Filipinas are heavily influenced by their family as beauty ideals are passed on from one generation to the next.

In the Philippines, 1 in 2 girls are name-called by their families for their looks. These families tend to call children names for what they think are imperfections.

“Taba”, “Piglet”, “Pusit”, “Kulot-salot” – these are just some of the nicknames that young girls are called by their families. This culture of name-calling exists, and young Filipina girls end up internalizing these messages and insecurities and pass it on to the next generation.

On the surface, these nicknames that are a form of playful teasing or terms of endearment might seem harmless, but in fact, can have a deep impact on a child, damaging their confidence in the long run. Beauty ideals taught to young girls by their family and friends tend to stick until they are older, reinforced by what they see on social media. They are key sources of beauty insecurities for girls as these nicknames capture the weight of a hundred insults, distilled into one word, cementing their own self-image, and remembering it for life.

According to Professor Phillippa Diedrichs, a Dove Partner and Research Psychologist & Body Image Expert, “Children who experience criticism or teasing about their appearance from family members are more obsessed over their looks, be dissatisfied with their body, compare themselves with friends, control weight in an unhealthy weight, and have lower self-esteem and experience depression compared to children who aren’t teased.”

Stemming from the societal issue of limiting stereotypes, pressures, and definitions of beauty resulting to lowered self-esteem and confidence in girls, Dove’s purpose is to make a positive experience of beauty, universally accessible to all women.

“Unilever is committed to promoting beauty, self-love and empowerment through our brands and campaigns. With this new campaign from Dove, we want to challenge limiting definitions of beauty standards and educate people on the impact name calling has on children. We ask everyone to #StopTheNameCalling and allow children to be their most confident selves,” said Dorothy Dee-Ching, Unilever Philippines’ Beauty & Personal Care Vice-President.

The #StopTheNameCalling campaign is intended to put a stop to name-calling by educating the next generation on self-esteem and body confidence through the Dove Self Esteem Project. The campaign aims to empower young girls to define their own standard of beauty without labels and judgements and encourages necessary conversations between parents and young girls so that they take a stance in actively stopping name-calling and help their children develop their self-esteem and body confidence.

For more resources to help parents and their children, the Dove Self Esteem Project has crafted the Confidence Kit, a tool written by experts who understand the importance of body confidence in young people.

Join us in our mission to educate the next generation on self-esteem and body confidence. Download the Dove Confidence Kit here: https://www.dove.com/ph/dove-self-esteem-project/help-for-parents/confidence-kit-a-tool-to-help-build-positive-body-confidence.html

This is a paid press release from Dove.