Girls comparing themselves to their favorite stars makes them feel lacking in beauty standards and makes them feel weak in self-confidence (Pixels)
In an age dominated by digital images, girls grow up in a world where perceptions of beauty are often shaped by meticulously manipulated and digitally edited images. The spread of these images in the media and advertisements poses a unique challenge to mothers, fathers and teachers, who seek to develop self-confidence in young minds.
To counter the superficial standards of beauty conveyed by digitally manipulated images, attention must be shifted from external appearances to internal qualities and personalities, by instilling in our daughters the understanding that their worth does not depend on conforming to the ideals set in the digital world. This is confirmed by the educational psychological consultant, Dr. Rula Abu Bakr.
Dr. says: Roula, speaking to Al Jazeera Net, said, “Talking to our daughters in a way that highlights the uniqueness of each one of them, and supporting their qualities of intelligence, empathy, and attention to their inclinations and talents, reinforces the idea that true beauty stems from originality, rather than adherence to an externally imposed template; the focus is on intrinsic value.” "It enables our girls to navigate with ease in a world saturated with visual distortions, while maintaining a stable sense of self."
She adds, teaching them how to critically analyze and understand the prevalence of photo editing, and to distinguish between reality and manipulated images, enhances a sense of power, and armed with this awareness, our daughters can make informed choices to conform to unrealistic beauty standards.
Rula Abu Bakr: Encouraging girls to embrace their unique qualities and advantages enhances positive self-image (Al Jazeera)
Discuss concerns
Rula Abu Bakr says that communication is the cornerstone of building a positive self-image among girls. Therefore, parents should create an environment in which their daughters feel comfortable discussing appearance-related concerns without fear of judgment.
She believes that encouraging open dialogue about beauty standards, societal expectations, and the impact of media portrayals helps girls develop a critical perspective. By actively listening to their thoughts and feelings, parents can address misconceptions and instill a sense of self-worth that transcends outward appearances.
“This communication not only strengthens the bond between parents and their daughters, but also provides them with the tools necessary to overcome societal pressures with confidence,” she says.
Guiding girls towards self-confidence includes presenting realistic views on beauty and affirming individuality. Parents can actively participate in discussions about the diversity of beauty, highlighting that it goes beyond superficial aspects. Explaining that encouraging girls to embrace their unique qualities and advantages enhances positive self-image.
Guiding girls towards self-confidence, presenting realistic views on beauty, and affirming individuality is a duty of parents (Pixels)
Comparison and frustration syndrome
For her part, an expert in information technology and a consultant in the field of awareness of the culture of Internet use, Hanaa Al-Ramli, says that when girls compare themselves with their favorite stars, they usually feel that they lack beauty standards and suffer from a lack of self-confidence and lack of self-esteem. Some of them have a lack of appetite and feel depressed.
They follow the abuser more when they do not find interaction from their followers, and they find a great demand for the posts of the most beautiful girls, which causes them feelings of frustration that may reach the point of depression, and in addition to all of this, poor academic achievement, and this is included within the phenomenon of electronic bullying, or electronic “bullying.”
Hanaa Al-Ramli: Care must be taken to form beauty standards for girls, as the influence of the family is much more important than the influence of the media (Al-Jazeera)
Al-Ramli suggests family tips to protect girls from falling into the trap of beauty obsession and comparison syndrome and frustration:
Look at how your daughter spends her time, and make sure she has experiences that boost her self-esteem.
Monitoring your daughter’s accounts on social networking sites to understand her beliefs and interest in her appearance. Is this normal or may it amount to obsession?
Noticing her interest in using filters and photo editing applications, in order to appear slimmer, brighter, and more beautiful.
Follow up on the comments written under her posts, are there sarcastic comments, and the extent to which this affects her feelings.
Care must be taken to shape her standards of beauty, as the influence of the family and its concepts is much more important than the influence of the media and social networking sites.
Encouraging your daughter to exercise and achieve physical fitness through fun activities that add to her self-confidence, as well as enhancing her awareness of taking care of body health. Focus on talking to her about the importance of physical health and physical performance, and that it is more important than body beauty.
Communication is the cornerstone of building a positive self-image among girls (Shutterstock)
Hanaa Al-Ramli says, "It is not only girls who are subject to the obsession with beauty. Boys - also - this happens to them, although in lesser proportions. Stars, celebrities, and superheroes portray unrealistic body types, and they begin to send wrong messages to boys at an early age. Boys may seek "Teenagers seek to achieve the ideal body through dieting or compulsive exercise. They may also develop eating disorders or health problems resulting from this ideal body image."
Self-confidence
The Child Mind website published advice for mothers on how to help girls build self-confidence based on what they can do, not on their appearance:
Make your daughter media literate:
You can watch TV together and talk about what you see. You can help her develop a critical eye through which she can decode and filter media messages.
“Don't raise her as a person to please.”
Encourage her to stand up for what she needs and wants, by creating opportunities to use her voice. “Ask her: What do you want?” Let her choose, then you must respect that choice.
Play team sports early:
Research shows that girls who play on teams have higher self-esteem.
Stay away from complimenting appearance:
A very conscious effort must be made to balance our compliments about a girl's appearance, with compliments about her personality and what she does in the world.
Praise your daughter for her efforts, not her performance:
You should focus less on results, and more on efforts and developing new skills. Mastery is what builds confidence, and learning to tolerate failure enhances resilience.
Source: Al Jazeera + websites