Proud To Be Me: A body positivity tool for LGBTQ+ youth

Introducing… Proud To Be Me – the new body positivity tool for LGBTQ+ youth, brought to you by the Dove Self-Esteem Project.  Let’s help the young people in our lives feel confident and proud of who they are.

Around the world, many young LGBTQ+ people face pressure to conform to narrow beauty standards, binary ideals, and stereotypes of how they should look or be. And it comes as no surprise that this is one of the reasons that some young people in the LGBTQ+ community struggle with accepting their appearance.

Everyone deserves to grow up feeling confident and like they can express their truest selves, without holding back. And on their own terms, too. For many young people, self-esteem and positive body image is a journey, and when it comes to appearance pressure, LGBTQ+ youth are especially vulnerable. Experiencing higher levels of body dissatisfaction, young queer people are between 2 to 6+ times more likely to engage in disordered eating behaviors, compared to their same-aged peers.*

This needs to change.

Take action with Proud To Be Me

Since 2004, we’ve been working to build self-esteem and body confidence in young people all over the world through the Dove Self-Esteem Project. Now, we've joined forces with CANVAS Arts Action Programs, body image experts, and LGBTQ+ youth to co-design Proud To Be Me. Our new evidence-based tool addresses:

• Societal appearance ideals, body diversity and exploring beauty beyond the binary
• Accurate, inclusive language, pronouns and how to avoid misgendering
• The spectrums of gender identity, sexual identity and how to make sure no one is left out, or forced into a category that doesn’t fit who they are 
• Challenging negative body talk, body activism and more 

Created for Gay-Straight Alliance programs, LGBTQ+ clubs or youth centers, Proud To Be Me is a two-hour body image program, specifically created for LGBTQ+ youth and allies aged between 11 and 14. The aim of the program is to promote an open and honest dialogue around body positivity in the LGBTQ+ community – as well as boosting self-esteem, encouraging unique self-expression and exploring the cultural messages and appearance pressures that can discourage being authentic.  

Download the tool today 

During the program, young people will explore different sources of appearance pressure and practice different skills to push back against the desire to conform to appearance norms. 

Download the session now. Let’s build self-esteem and help young LGBTQ+ people feel confident and proud of who they are.

_{*Sources: Austin, Nelson, Birket, Calzo, & Everett, 2013; Blashill & Safren, 2014; Calzo, Sonneville, Scherer, Jackson, & Austin, 2016; McClain & Peebles, 2016; Watson, Adjei, Saewyc, Homma, & Goodenow, 2017.}