Partnerships and Advocacy

Two sisters, Lindsay and Lexie Kite, devoted almost a decade to exploring images of so-called beauty in television, movies, and magazines. What they discovered was that girls and women are exposed to an almost constant barrage of media messages that only certain body types are beautiful and that to appear less than model-thin calls for extreme measures such as the digital alteration of photographs. The sisters devised an idea they called “Beauty Redefined,” which aimed to promote healthy body image and self-esteem among girls and to challenge the popular media’s unrealistic female images. They soon discovered the benefits of networking and found potential partners in unexpected places—such as the makers of Dove products—who shared their goals. The sisters concluded that the partnerships they forged were their most important asset in spreading their message.