Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s New York City Girls Project aims to foster young girls’ self-esteem and encourage positive body image. According to the project’s website, New York is the first city to implement this type of program.
“The project aims to help girls believe their value comes from their character, skills and attributes, not appearance, while also expanding the definition of beauty behind an unhealthy, manufactured ideal,” said Samantha Levine, the director of the New York City Girls Project.
The $300,000 project will organize a curriculum for after-school programs, as well as posters for subways and buses. The project aims to capture the attention of girls who are 7 to 12 years old.
Levine said self-esteem issues are starting younger and younger.
“We hear stories of 7-year-old girls refusing dessert or telling their moms they feel fat, undergoing plastic surgery because they are bullied about their appearance,” Levine said. “Not only is this troubling on a visceral level but there are real health consequences to negative body image and poor self-esteem, eating disorders, obesity, bullying, alcohol use, smoking, early sex and teen pregnancy. These consequences made a compelling case for New York City to take action. Nobody has been a greater public health leader than Mayor Bloomberg.”
(From http://nyunews.com/2013/10/07/girls-3/)
0 Responses to “New York self-esteem campaign for young girls”