Event Post: Dove Speaker (Stacey Nadeau)

On Monday I went to the Dove speaker, Stacey Nadeau. She was a spokesperson for the Dove Real Beauty campaign. I found her message and talk to me so incredible. I have recently been doubting my body, and regretting all that beer and all those Salsaritas nachos I have been eating, but this all changed after her speech. She told us that we are real women, and we can't compare ourselves to the models we see. I have always knows there was photoshop and that it is used extensively on the covers of magazines, however it seemed to really just hit home in the midst of her speech. I have definitely gained some weight since attending college, but I am still not fat by any means. She taught us that real women have curves and have things, and we won't look l like those women on the cover of magazines. She shared with us a story about the dove evolution video where the woman is shown first with no makeup and then she is shown getting all made up and then she is shown on a computer through all the editing. A doctor commented on this add and said that the final image of the model that made it to the billboard is genetically impossible. If someone had that long and skinny of a neck they wouldn't be able to hold their own head up even, and this really got me to thinking. I came to the realization that I can never look like these models no matter how hard I try because they alter them so much to the point where it isn't humanly possible. I have been shopping for bikinis lately for summer, and I was on the victorias secret website looking at some and I was like oh my gosh there is no way I am going to be able to wear this bikini this summer, I am not skinny enough and people will judge me. But after this talk I have the confidence that I can wear a bikini and be just fine. I was comparing myself to the victorias secret models who are picked because they are incredibly skinny and have great bodies but they are 12 of like 4 billion women in the world. The reality is not everyone can look like that and the fact that advertising tries to get to us and make us not feel beautiful by showing us these select few geneticly blessed women isn't fair to us. Stacey also shared one very powerful story that really changed my view of things. She told about how she was meeting people after an interview on the Today Show, i think that's what show it was, and this mother came up to her crying her eyes out and said thank you. Stacey just said you are welcome it is no problem. The mother looked at her and said you don't get it do you? My daughter is alive because of you. Her daughter was struggling from extreme anorexia and was hospitalized, after seeing this add however she changed her mind and decided she was going to get healthy. She gained 13 pounds in three months and was able to return home. This made me decide that I am going to wear a bikini this summer even though I am not in the best of shape. I am going to wear one and if by me being confident in my body it helps someone then great. Maybe by wearing a bikini I can show some girl out there on the same beach as me that real women don't look like victorias secret model in their bikinis, they look like me. If I at least help one girl feel better then that is enough for me, even if I don't help anyone I am helping myself which is great too. Self confidence is a huge thing women in this society need to have especially since everyone is just trying to tear us down.