At the Women in the World Summit, hosted by Tina Brown Live Media in association with The New York Times, four extraordinary women came together to talk about “The Beautiful Brain”, on a panel sponsored by Dove.
“Women are not taught to be self confident,” said Dr. Stacie Grossman Bloom, assistant professor of Neurology and Physiology at New York University. “But we can teach ourselves.”
“I didn’t see anyone like me anywhere – really nowhere,” said actress Thandie Newton. “I was a spirited, happy kid, but I was the only brown kid for 100 miles.”
Thandie Newton grew up in England in a biracial family and described being rejected by everyone, particularly boys. She said her high marks in school and discovering dance “saved her life.” When Thandie became an actress, she didn’t believe she was beautiful. “I felt so unattractive,” said Ms. Newton. “I was winning awards and was on the red carpet, but I was having a major breakdown.”
Ms. Newton said, “We should praise our girls, friends, peers, colleagues, family members for what they’re doing and their great traits – not how they look.”
According to Dr. Renee Engeln, Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University, “A lot of women still feel trapped by how they and others see their body. We have a lot of women stuck in front of the mirror, afraid to go out.”
“Step away from the mirror,” said Dr. Engeln, “so you can get out there. The world needs you. We don’t need you to be a certain size or shape.”
Gabi Gregg, founder of the blog GabiFresh, talked of growing up with a negative body image and finally seeing ads with photos of women of all shapes and sizes. “It was the first time I saw that you really can choose beautiful,” said Ms. Gregg. She started a blog focused on fashion and being body confident.
“It’s a political blog,” said Ms. Gregg, “Bodies are inherently political because you can or cannot be a certain way. And I’m saying bodies are inherently beautiful.”
Dr. Engeln told of a survey conducted by Dove that found that 66% of women list confidence as the top attribute of beauty.
Thandie Newton said, “We need to put away the magazines that make us feel like we’re not good enough.”
“Women need to understand the role of self affirmation and choosing beauty,” said Dr. Bloom. “The behavior becomes a synaptic pattern in brain. We can actually learn it.”
By engaging the reward centers of our brains, actively choosing to feel beautiful, and finding inspiring role models, Dr. Bloom said, “we can make connections and actually rewire our synaptic system.”
