‘Selfie’ Shows How Moms Influence Girls’ Body Image

A short documentary released last month at the Sundance Institute’s Women at Sundance brunch challenges moms to get in touch with their natural beauty.

The film “Selfie” reveals just how easily mothers can pass down their body image insecurities to their daughters, so both the moms and daughters are asked to take photos of themselves on their smartphones – featuring their so-called flaws.

“The selfie on the surface seems really simple but when you think about how many selfies people take and then delete or they filter or they somehow change before they put it out there, I really wanted to explore the honest selfie,” Cynthia Wade, who directed the film, told TODAY.

Moms and daughters open up about body image

The girls were surprised to learn that their moms had insecurities of their own, even though a Dove survey found that about 72 percent of girls learn about beauty from their mothers. Many moms, similarly, didn’t realize how much they influence their daughters’ body images.

“Doing this was such an eye-opener for me because I always thought that I didn’t pass any of those insecurities on to [my daughter]. In fact, I didn’t even know she knew about them,” mother Julie Hiam said.

Hiam’s daughter responded, “It’s really difficult for me to see my mom feel uncomfortable about herself because I think she’s just my biggest role model and the most beautiful person I know.”

Wade hopes the project can help show women that beauty is expressed best through confidence and self-love – and that mothers and daughters can learn to see their own beauty in a different light. She encourages women to use the hashtag #LoveYourSelfie to “show us how you see your beauty.”

Source: TODAY