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Home · Lifestyle

Gabrielle Union And Zaya Wade Discuss Toxic Beauty Advice Online: 'I Won’t Follow Anyone Into Thinking I’m Not Beautiful'

In partnership with Dove and to highlight National Teen Self-Esteem Month, the two discuss how young people can deal with harmful beauty advice on social media.
Gabrielle Union And Zaya Wade Discuss Toxic Beauty Advice Online: ‘I Won’t Follow Anyone Into Thinking I’m Not Beautiful’
CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images
By Elizabeth Ayoola · Updated May 2, 2022

It’s officially National Teen Self-Esteem Month and Gabrielle Union and Zaya Wade took to Instagram Live to discuss toxic beauty advice on social media and how teens can navigate it.

“We’ve all seen toxic beauty advice on social media and we think it’s time we ended it,” the actress and mom said. “If a post tells you, you’re not pretty enough,” she said, “unfollow” chimed in Zaya. “If someone says natural hair is ugly,” she continued, “mute,” said Zaya. “If you see anything that makes you feel like you’re not beautiful, simply remove it from your feed.”

The message stems from a partnership Zaya and Gabrielle have with the Dove Self-Esteem Project. The campaign is called #DetoxYourFeed and the goal is to inspire parents to speak with their teens about toxic beauty advice via social media. They want parents to encourage teens to hit the unfollow or mute button on content that causes them to feel negatively about themselves. It’s also to empower teens to define their own beauty and take control over the type of beauty advice they consume on social media. 

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A post shared by Gabrielle Union-Wade (@gabunion)

“We’ve identified a clear problem that is eroding the self-esteem of our girls and needs immediate attention and action. We created this #DetoxYourFeed campaign to not only raise awareness around the insidious nature of toxic beauty advice, but to also help parents navigate tough conversations and empower teens to unfollow content that makes them feel bad about themselves,” said Leandro Barreto, Global Vice President of Dove. “While it may be a bit overwhelming at times, we hope it will contribute to important conversations that lead to a more positive experience for teens on social media.”

The Dove Self-Esteem Project released a study focusing on the effects of social media on self-esteem for young girls. Findings tell us one in two girls attribute low-self esteem to harmful beauty advice they see on social media, and 71 percent of girls felt better after they unfollowed idealized beauty content. 

It’s important as parents that you talk to your kids about what they consume on social media and how they can manage any negative effects. The study found 80 percent of girls would like their parents to discuss idealized beauty advice they receive on social media and how to manage it with them. 

It’s encouraging to see Gabrielle having that conversation with Zaya and nurturing healthy self-esteem. 

“I won’t follow anyone into thinking I’m not beautiful,” Zaya said, “and we don’t want you to either.”

TOPICS:  Dove Self Esteem Project Gabrielle Union parenting zaya wade
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