Jeddah, 3rd March 2023 – Dove, our leading brand has been championing real beauty since 2004 and has been working towards building self-esteem and body confidence via the Dove Self-Esteem Project. To-date, Dove has reached more than 82 million young people globally across 150 countries through its academically accredited programmes. It is also the largest self-esteem education provider in the world, offering no-cost, academically validated tools to parents, teachers, mentors and kids.
Dove’s latest initiative in Saudi Arabia aims to continue their mission of widening the definition of beauty for Saudi girls so that the transition to womanhood is a positive and empowering experience.
In new research from Dove with over 1,000 women and girls (pre-teen and teen girls) in Saudi Arabia, it was found that societal pressures and expectations to look a certain way materialise almost overnight after hitting puberty, often coming from their closest social circles. This can sometimes drive them to alter their appearances at young ages.
Some of the findings are:
- 73% girls reported feeling pressure to conform to narrow beauty standards at the onset of puberty.
- 63% of girls reported receiving negative comments from their innermost circles.
- 75% feel the need to change the way they look due to such comments.
- 70% said they wished they had someone in their lives to help them feel their most confident selves.
- And 81% said better education about body image and confidence is needed in schools.
- 74% starting to wear makeup, and 65% starting a diet.
The excitement of embarking on the journey of womanhood comes alongside the fear of not ‘looking the part’
- 74% feel that the pressure to be beautiful overnight negatively impacts their transition to womanhood.
- 78%, or 3 in 4 girls, wish society would stop pressuring them to look a certain way overnight.
- 76% wish the people in their lives knew the impact of their negative comments, and how this ultimately affects their self-confidence.
In addition, the findings show that young girls have identified a gap in their lives when it comes to embarking on the journey of self-love and acceptance and are looking to their social circles for support.
- 70% of Saudi girls wish they had someone in their lives to help them feel like their most confident selves.
- 76% want adults to be better equipped to educate them about body image.
- 81% think there needs to be better education about body image and confidence in schools.
- 82% believe everyone has a role in breaking down unrealistic beauty standards.
Introducing the NEW Confidence Kit from the Dove Self-Esteem Project
Dove has launched an all-new Confidence Kit - www.dove.com/selfesteem to support young girls in Saudi Arabia as they cross the threshold into womanhood. Built to address topics like navigating narrow beauty ideals and celebrating individuality, the academically validated Confidence Kit will support adults to become the pillars of support that young girls are looking for and encourage them to celebrate their individuality.
To bring the programme to life, Dove also launched a bold and beautiful new film to highlight and challenge the beauty pressures young girls in Saudi Arabia contend with as they cross the threshold into womanhood.
Manan Gupta, GM B&W MET & Italy, CMO B&W UKI, EMET & ANZ : “At Dove, our mission is to encourage all women and young girls to develop a positive relationship with beauty, which is why we've been campaigning globally to break down narrow beauty ideals for the last 20 years. We believe beauty should be a source of confidence, and not anxiety. Seeing the statistics from our research in Saudi Arabia, we felt we could portray this global mission, with a strong local campaign to raise awareness about the beauty related pressures these young girls' experience.“
About the ‘Mabrook Kbirti!’ Film
‘Mabrook Kbirti!’ – or ‘Congratulations, You’re a Woman!’ is a phrase that celebrates the joy of womanhood and all the exciting changes that come with growing up. But among the many changes young girls in Saudi Arabia contend with during puberty, is an intense pressure to conform to a narrow definition of beauty. Designed to raise awareness about these beauty pressures, the campaign and film highlight the impact upon young girls, while encouraging adults to help ease their transition to womanhood.
The film also features the work of renowned Saudi artist, Noura Bint Saidan.