Raven-Symone has been a successful child model, a movie star, a recording star, and conquered television, including her Emmy-nominated Disney show “That’s So Raven” – Disney Channel’s highest-rated and longest-running series.
It spawned Disney’s most successful franchise, including soundtracks, dolls, episode DVDs, and video games. Raven-Symone has built an empire.
However, in all the triumphs and honor, it might surprise fans that the young star has also had to face off in self-esteem battles. That is in part why she has teamed with Dove for the Dove Self-Esteem Workshop Tour.
“We go around the country and talk to girls from the ages of 11-12 about self-esteem,” she explained.
Raven told EUR’s Lee Bailey that 7 out of 10 girls believe that they’re not good enough or don’t measure up in some way.
“When that happens, they turn to eating disorders and cutting and bullying and smoking and drinking to curb that,” she continued. “Hopefully by 2010 we will be able to reach 5 million girls to open their definition of beauty and give them the correct language to speak about their bodies.”
Raven said that she got involved because she loves doing things that help grow the confidence level of young females, and that she has always promoted that sense of confidence in her work as an actress and singer.
“I liked Dove because for a long time they’ve been doing the ‘Real Beauty’ campaign with no air brushing and no pulleys and strings,” she said. “I wanted to work with them for that reason and then they told me about this. It’s right up my alley, especially with my website, ‘Raven-Symone Presents.’ It has all kinds of tie-ins with understanding and loving yourself and enjoying your confidence level.”
The 90-minute workshops sits down groups of pre-teen girls with Raven and author Jess Weiner and go through worksheets, exercises, role playing and other tools to talk to girls about inner beauty.
“We identify problems around you and in your life that are either bringing your self-esteem down or helping your self-esteem grow. We also show [attendees] pictures [showing] the difference between air brushing and not air brushing all the way up to role playing and putting them in situations so that when we’re not there helping them they know how to handle the situation of low self-esteem areas.”
The initiative hopes to reinforce in girls that beauty is not skin deep after all, but that it is in fact deeper than that.
“They have to look within themselves and they’re beautiful,” she said of women who may not be considered physically attractive. “It’s not always about what’s on the outside that says they’re beautiful. Who says that they’re not? It’s just that the small definition of beauty that’s circulating in our world right now doesn’t leave a window wide open for those that might not look like the supermodel type. That’s what we need to get clear. There are so many girls out there that are so many shapes, sizes, and colors that we need to open that window and widen it. Hopefully that’s what we can do today and that’s what Dove is trying to do. We’re trying to get the girls to question the beauty stereotypes. And get them to truly open up their minds.”
According to Raven, 41% of the African American teens feel that they’re not good enough or that they don’t measure up. Appalled by the statistic, she said it’s just “not fair.”
“We’re going to tell them that they’re beautiful no matter what they look like; no matter if their hair doesn’t grow. You don’t need a weave all the time,” she said, noting that she sometimes wears a weave herself.
Raven also said that she’s connected to the cause because it’s something that she has to deal with on a daily basis. Whether it’s bloggers complaining about her weight or industry-ites suggesting she drop some pounds, she said that just like every day women, she is confronted with self-esteem discouragement.
“Just being who I am in the industry and what I look like, I’ve definitely had negative language bombarded toward me that I do not fit that specific mold that they think beauty is,” she said. “But I look within myself and I take that and I say, ‘Let me hear what my friends are telling me, let me hear what my soul is telling, let me hear what my doctor is telling me’ and fix what I need to fix then and fix it in a healthy manner.”
“I don’t think there is a difference,” she said of her self-esteem issues and those of non celebs. “I think whether you’re 11 or you’re 55, there is always something that is going to try to bring you down and your self-esteem. Being in the public eye I can say, ‘You know what? I have it too and I’m changing it and I’m going to go and talk to other people about it. I think that we’re all in a similar boat. We’re all human beings whether we’re on TV, or a school teacher, or a taxi cab driver. This is something that we’re all affected by.”
Quite aware of what “they” are saying, Raven-Symone called herself a “thick and fabulous being,” but added that she does exercise everyday and is always looking to remain happy and healthy.
“Gotta love Dove,” she said. “Dove has established this amazing campaign for real beauty. To widen the definition of beauty and that everyone can be encompassed in it and not just the ones that are size 0 with long hair and the hottest clothes. Everyone is beautiful in their own way.”
For more on the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty workshops and the Dove Self-Esteem Fund, check out www.campaignforrealbeauty.com.
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