Beauty in Translation is a social initiative that supports adolescent girls from underserved communities to build healthier relationships with their bodies by looking closely at where beauty standards actually come from.
The initiative will begin by finding out what girls are actually dealing with. A study will be carried out with adolescent girls, asking about the pressures they feel around body shape, skin tone, hair, features and clothing, and where those pressures come from. From there, a multimedia resource will be built showing how ideas about female beauty differ across cultures and shift across generations, drawing on interviews with photography, illustrations and accessible explanations of social comparison, and the internalisation of beauty.
We will also develop an illustrated children's book series, following characters who run into a cultural and social expectation of how they see their bodies, and encourage readers to question certain beauty standards through the fictional characters. Copies will be distributed through our NGO partner. A reading circle will be held where the stories are read and discussed. Alongside this, an intergenerational programme will bring young girls together with the older women in their families to talk about what each generation was told to change or hide, and what they would rather not pass on.
Finally, a fundraiser will give girls sustained access to sports, dance, theatre and other creative programmes, to build their confidence, self-expression, and encourage participation.