On Thursday, March 22, Stacy Nadeau, spokesperson for the Dove Real Bodies campaign will be speaking at 7:00 p.m. in Alumni Hall.
Nadeau will be coming to Gustavus as part of Empowering Women Week, which runs from March 19 to March 23. Along with the speaker, the week will feature a number of activities on campus, including daily tabling outside the Evelyn Young Dining Room by various on-campus organizations regarding women’s empowerment and related issues. There will also be an involvement fair in the banquet rooms.
While Nadeau’s talk is not intended to represent all of Empowering Women Week, she does speak about a major issue regarding women’s empowerment.
“Nadeau sends such a positive image about embracing yourself for who you are,” Senior Bree Ceranske, one of the creators of Empowering Women Week, said.
Nadeau will address issues of body image, eating disorders, self-esteem and women’s empowerment.
Launched in 2004, Dove began the Campaign for Real Beauty which became a worldwide marketing campaign. The “Dove Beauties” featured in the campaign were women recruited off the street or through newspaper ads.
This campaign included advertisement, videos, workshops, sleepover events and even the publication of a book in celebration of the natural physical variation embodied by all women and to inspire them to have the confidence to be comfortable with themselves.
Ceranske initially heard Nadeau speak in Orlando and felt that inviting her to speak would be a great motivational component of Empowering Women Week.
“Body image is one issue we have not had a huge focus on in the past, so although Nadeau does not entirely define the week, she fits very well with the motivational messages we want to send and focus on,” Ceranske said.
“Body image is a huge deal for females everywhere, especially here at Gustavus,” Ceranske said. “With spring break coming up, this talk is also great timing as women begin to worry about bikini season and body image.”
Empowering Women Week is the joint effort of fourteen different student organizations coming together to enable both women and men to see themselves in a more positive light.
“Body image in particular is one aspect that so many struggle with—male or female. Nadeau is a great example of someone who overcame these fears. She is plastered on billboards and in magazines with no digital alteration. She is here to say that it does not matter if you do not fit what the media says is the perfect image and that you are beautiful as is,” Ceranske said.
Anna Campbell, vice-presidents of MAGS and one of the major forces behind Empowering Women Week, hopes that by bringing together so many different organizations, Nadeau will draw in a broader audience consisting of both genders.
“We really want to reach out and get people thinking about body image and self-esteem. Gustavus is an incredibly fit campus overall, sometimes to the extreme. Every student has some insecurity or another and we hope that Nadeau will address some of those concerns and make students feel better about their selves,” Campbell said.
The need to focus on body image mainly stems from the way the media portrays women and men and the impact it has upon society.
“The media’s portrayal of the ‘ideal’ woman is generally one specific type: size two, C-cup, perfect skin and an overdone face. It is realistically impossible to achieve this look. Why should we even be striving to achieve this look?” Cambell said. “We need to change the fact that so few women consider themselves to be beautiful because of this portrayal.”
Negative body image is not exclusive to the female gender, however. Nadeau will also touch on the portrayal and stereotyping of males in the media.
“Men are supposed to be testosterone-driven, emotionless muscle heads. This image is also unrealistic and unnecessary. Negative body image and expectations affect all of us in some shape of form,” Campbell said.
Senior Kristen Scherer is planning to attend Nadeau’s talk and other Empowering Women Week events and is excited to hear what Nadeau has to say about body image and her time and experiences as a Dove Beauty.
“There obviously does not seem to be a lot of obesity at Gustavus or the opposite extreme, but it is important to address both spectrums. It is especially important as we are at an age when everyone is so concerned with appearance and may come under a lot of pressure. I hope that a lot of people listen and take her words seriously,” Scherer said.