TED@Unilever
Meaghan Ramsey: Why thinking you're ugly is bad for you
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About 10,000 people a month Google the phrase, “Am I ugly?” Meaghan Ramsey of the Dove Self-Esteem Project has a feeling that many of them are young girls. In a deeply unsettling talk, she walks us through the surprising impacts of low body and image confidence—from lower grade point averages to greater risk-taking with drugs and alcohol. And then shares the key things all of us can do to disrupt this reality.
Meaghan Ramsey - Self-esteem advocate
Meaghan Ramsey believes in business growth that stems from real social change. Full bio
Meaghan Ramsey believes in business growth that stems from real social change. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:11
This is my niece, Stella.
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She's just turned one and started to walk.
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And she's walking in that really cool way that
one-year-olds do,
one-year-olds do,
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a kind of teetering, my-body's-moving-
too-fast-for-my-legs kind of way.
too-fast-for-my-legs kind of way.
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It is absolutely gorgeous.
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And one of her favorite
things to do at the moment
things to do at the moment
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is to stare at herself in the mirror.
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She absolutely loves her reflection.
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She giggles and squeals, and gives
herself these big, wet kisses.
herself these big, wet kisses.
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It is beautiful.
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Apparently, all of her friends do this and my mom
tells me that I used to do this,
tells me that I used to do this,
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and it got me thinking:
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When did I stop doing this?
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When is it suddenly not okay to love
the way that we look?
the way that we look?
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Because apparently we don't.
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01:03
Ten thousand people every month google,
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"Am I ugly?"
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This is Faye. Faye is 13 and she
lives in Denver.
lives in Denver.
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And like any teenager, she just wants to
be liked and to fit in.
be liked and to fit in.
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It's Sunday night.
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She's getting ready for the week ahead at school.
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And she's slightly dreading it, and
she's a bit confused because
she's a bit confused because
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despite her mom telling her all the time
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that she's beautiful,
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every day at school, someone tells her
that she's ugly.
that she's ugly.
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Because of the difference between what her mom
tells her and what her friends
tells her and what her friends
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at school, or her peers at school are telling her,
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she doesn't know who to believe.
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So, she takes a video of herself.
She posts it to YouTube
She posts it to YouTube
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and she asks people to please leave
a comment:
a comment:
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"Am I pretty or am I ugly?"
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Well, so far, Faye has received
over 13,000 comments.
over 13,000 comments.
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Some of them are so nasty, they don't
bear thinking about.
bear thinking about.
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This is an average, healthy-looking
teenage girl receiving this feedback
teenage girl receiving this feedback
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at one of the most emotionally vulnerable
times in her life.
times in her life.
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Thousands of people are posting videos like this,
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mostly teenage girls, reaching out in this way.
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But what's leading them to do this?
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Well, today's teenagers are rarely alone.
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They're under pressure to be online
and available at all times,
and available at all times,
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talking, messaging, liking, commenting,
sharing, posting —
sharing, posting —
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it never ends.
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Never before have we been so connected,
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so continuously, so instantaneously, so young.
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And as one mom told me, it's like there's a party
in their bedroom every night.
in their bedroom every night.
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There's simply no privacy.
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And the social pressures that go along
with that are relentless.
with that are relentless.
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This always-on environment is training
our kids to value themselves
our kids to value themselves
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based on the number of likes they get
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and the types of comments that they receive.
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There's no separation between online and offline life.
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What's real or what isn't is really
hard to tell the difference between.
hard to tell the difference between.
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And it's also really hard to tell the difference
between what's authentic
between what's authentic
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and what's digitally manipulated.
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What's a highlight in someone's life versus
what's normal in the context of everyday.
what's normal in the context of everyday.
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And where are they looking to for inspiration?
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Well, you can see the kinds of images
that are covering the newsfeeds
that are covering the newsfeeds
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of girls today.
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Size zero models still dominate our catwalks.
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Airbrushing is now routine.
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And trends like #thinspiration, #thighgap,
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#bikinibridge and #proana.
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For those who don't know, #proana means pro-anorexia.
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These trends are teamed with the
stereotyping and flagrant objectification
stereotyping and flagrant objectification
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of women in today's popular culture.
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It is not hard to see what girls are
benchmarking themselves against.
benchmarking themselves against.
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But boys are not immune to this either.
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Aspiring to the chiseled jaw lines and ripped six packs
of superhero-like sports stars
of superhero-like sports stars
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and playboy music artists.
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But, what's the problem with all of this?
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Well, surely we want our kids to grow up as healthy,
well balanced individuals.
well balanced individuals.
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But in an image-obsessed culture, we are
training our kids
training our kids
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to spend more time and mental effort on
their appearance
their appearance
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at the expense of all of the other aspects
of their identities.
of their identities.
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So, things like their relationships, the development
of their physical abilities,
of their physical abilities,
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and their studies and so on begin to suffer.
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Six out of 10 girls are now choosing not to do
something because they don't
something because they don't
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think they look good enough.
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These are not trivial activities.
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These are fundamental activities to their
development as humans
development as humans
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and as contributors to society and to
the workforce.
the workforce.
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Thirty-one percent, nearly one in
three teenagers, are withdrawing
three teenagers, are withdrawing
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from classroom debate. They're failing
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to engage in classroom debate because
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they don't want to draw attention to the
way that they look.
way that they look.
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One in five are not showing up to class at all
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on days when they don't feel good about it.
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And when it comes to exams,
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if you don't think you look good enough,
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specifically if you don't think you are thin enough,
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you will score a lower grade point average
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than your peers who are not concerned with this.
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And this is consistent across Finland, the U.S.
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and China, and is true regardless of how much
you actually weigh.
you actually weigh.
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So to be super clear, we're talking about the
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way you think you look, not how
you actually look.
you actually look.
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Low body confidence is undermining
academic achievement.
academic achievement.
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But it's also damaging health.
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Teenagers with low body confidence
do less physical activity,
do less physical activity,
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eat less fruits and vegetables,
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partake in more unhealthy weight control
practices
practices
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that can lead to eating disorders.
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They have lower self-esteem.
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They're more easily influenced by people around them
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and they're at greater risk of depression.
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And we think it's for all of these reasons
that they take more risks
that they take more risks
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with things like alcohol and drug use;
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crash dieting; cosmetic surgery;
unprotected, earlier sex;
unprotected, earlier sex;
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and self-harm.
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The pursuit of the perfect body is putting
pressure on our healthcare systems
pressure on our healthcare systems
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and costing our governments billions of
dollars every year.
dollars every year.
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And we don't grow out of it.
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Women who think they're overweight — again,
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regardless of whether they are or are not —
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have higher rates of absenteeism.
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Seventeen percent of women would
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not show up to a job interview on
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a day when they weren't feeling confident
about the way that they look.
about the way that they look.
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Have a think about what this is doing
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to our economy.
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If we could overcome this, what that
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opportunity looks like.
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Unlocking this potential is in the interest
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of every single one of us.
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But how do we do that?
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Well, talking, on its own, only gets you so far.
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It's not enough by itself.
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If you actually want to make a difference,
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you have to do something.
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And we've learned there are three key ways:
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The first is we have to educate for body confidence.
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We have to help our teenagers develop
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strategies to overcome image-related pressures
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and build their self-esteem.
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Now, the good news is that there are
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many programs out there available
to do this.
to do this.
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The bad news is that most of them don't work.
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I was shocked to learn that many well-meaning
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programs are inadvertently actually
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making the situation worse.
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So we need to make damn sure that
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the programs that our kids are receiving
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are not only having a positive impact,
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but having a lasting impact as well.
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And the research shows
that the best programs
that the best programs
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address six key areas:
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The first is the influence of family,
friends and relationships.
friends and relationships.
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The second is media and celebrity culture,
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then how to handle teasing and bullying,
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the way we compete and compare with
one another
one another
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based on looks,
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talking about appearance — some people
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call this "body talk" or "fat talk" —
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and finally, the foundations of respecting
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and looking after yourself.
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These six things are crucial starting points
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for anyone serious about delivering
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body-confidence education that works.
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An education is critical,
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but tackling this problem is going
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to require each and everyone of us
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to step up and be better role models
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for the women and girls in our own lives.
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Challenging the status quo of how
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women are seen and talked about in
our own circles.
our own circles.
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It is not okay that we judge the contribution
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of our politicians by their haircuts
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or the size of their breasts,
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or to infer that the determination or the success
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of an Olympian is down
to her not being a looker.
to her not being a looker.
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We need to start judging people by what they do,
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not what they look like.
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We can all start by taking responsibility
for the types of pictures
for the types of pictures
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and comments that we post
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on our own social networks.
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We can compliment people based on
their effort
their effort
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and their actions
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and not on their appearance.
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And let me ask you,
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when was the last time that you
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kissed a mirror?
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Ultimately, we need to work together
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as communities, as governments
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and as businesses to really change
this culture of ours
this culture of ours
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so that our kids grow up valuing their
whole selves,
whole selves,
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valuing individuality, diversity, inclusion.
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We need to put the people that are
making a real difference
making a real difference
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on our pedestals, making a difference
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in the real world.
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Giving them the airtime, because only then
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will we create a different world.
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A world where our kids are free to become
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the best versions of themselves,
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where the way they think they look
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never holds them back from being
who they are
who they are
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or achieving what they want in life.
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Think about what this might mean
for someone in your life.
for someone in your life.
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Who have you got in mind?
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Is it your wife?
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Your sister?
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Your daughter?
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Your niece?
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Your friend? It could just be the woman
a couple of seats away
a couple of seats away
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from you today.
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What would it mean for her
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if she were freed from that voice
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of her inner critic, nagging her to have
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longer legs, thinner thighs, smaller stomach,
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shorter feet?
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What could it mean for her if we overcame this
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and unlocked her potential in that way?
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Right now, our culture's obsession
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with image is holding us all back.
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But let's show our kids the truth.
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Let's show them that the way you look
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is just one part of your identity
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and that the truth is we love them
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for who they are
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and what they do
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and how they make us feel.
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Let's build self-esteem into our school curriculums.
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Let's each and every one of us change the way
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we talk and compare ourselves to other people.
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And let's work together as communities,
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from grassroots to governments,
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so that the happy little one-year-olds
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of today become the confident
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changemakers of tomorrow.
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Let's do this.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Meaghan Ramsey - Self-esteem advocateMeaghan Ramsey believes in business growth that stems from real social change.
Why you should listen
Meaghan Ramsey helps businesses and brands shape their operations and organizations in a way that delivers both positive social change and business growth. She is a partner in the Business in Society Practice at the Brunswick Group.
With her origins in nutritional science, Ramsey has worked across FMCG, health as well as food and beverage sectors, and she has consulted to pharmaceutical, media, agricultural, tech start-ups, charities and non-government organizations.
Prior to joining Brunswick, Ramsey was the Global Director of the Dove Self-Esteem Project at Unilever in London. In her role, she developed global education programs and mass-media campaigns that encouraged the participation of millions of young girls and women around the world to improve individual confidence. Her TED Talk and speech at the UN's 59th Commission on the Status of Women helped highlight the importance of this particular work and the urgent need to address it. Ramsey speaks regularly on the role business can, and must, play in creating a sustainable, positive future.
Meaghan Ramsey | Speaker | TED.com