A child's concept of what an “ideal appearance” looks like is influenced by what they see on-screen. For girls and boys, who spend an average of 2 hours and 19 minutes every day on screen media, this is a harsh reality that can yield negative impacts like low self-esteem and body confidence*.

Dove is, for the first time, expanding its education programming by leveraging mainstream entertainment to tackle low body confidence through a two-year partnership with the Cartoon Network’s animated series, Steven Universe.

Using a public health intervention model, the Dove Self-Esteem Project will expand beyond structured workshops delivered by adults to taking educational content direct to young people in a medium they know and love – cartoons. Inspiring young people through animation, this partnership with Steven Universe will help further educate young people on self-esteem and body confidence through the cartoon's themes of inclusivity and empowerment, world and characters. Something that has never been done before and taking the Dove Self-Esteem Project, the world’s largest provider of self-esteem education, to a scale never-seen-before.

This pioneering collaboration comes from the Dove Self-Esteem Project which has been helping young people build self-esteem and body confidence through educational programmes since 2004. The project is based on the knowledge that over half of girls do not have high body confidence, leading them to avoid spending time with friends and family, put their health at risk and opt-out of important life events. The Dove Self-Esteem Project exists in 140 countries around the world is committed to reaching 40 million young people by 2020 through its existing educational programmes; and with the help of Steven Universe, will now reach 20 million more.

“Cartoons are a powerful medium when it comes to empathy and understanding, which is why my team and I take great care with Steven Universe to reflect real issues that affect our audience," says Rebecca. "I'm grateful that I will have access to a plethora of research on body image and mental health thanks to this partnership with the Dove Self-Esteem Project. This is an issue I have struggled with personally and I hope this will be a chance to amplify positive messages about self-awareness and acceptance.”

¹(Racial and Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Children's Television Use and Self-Esteem, 2017)

Working with the Dove Self-Esteem Project, all content has been carefully co-created and grounded in scientific evidence by body image expert, Dr Phillippa Diedrichs at the Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England, in order to make a meaningful impact on a young person’s self-esteem and body confidence.

“Appearance ideals and stereotypes are widespread in children’s media. Studies show that this trend occurs more frequently on screen than in books. Therefore, it is vital to have new content that encourages children to have a positive relationship with the way they look and showcases a diverse and inclusive range of appearances” states Dr Phillippa Diedrichs, Body Image Expert. “The partnership creates content that tackles topics identified in scientific research as key influences on young people’s body confidence, and delivers it in an engaging and fun way.”

Watch some of the content below and keep checking back for more as it’s released!

appearance-related teasing & bullying

Dove Self-Esteem Project x Steven Universe: Competing and Comparing Looks

Dove Self-Esteem Project x Steven Universe: We Deserve To Shine Music Video

As the only beauty brand with a presence at Comic-Con, the Dove Self-Esteem Project will be adding to the traditional experience by co-hosting a thought provoking "Superheroes of Body Positivity Panel" discussion with their partners at Cartoon Network.

Steven lives amongst the Crystal Gems – magical characters who defend the planet Earth – in the town of Beach City.

• Steven (half-human, half-Gem)
• Garnet (Gem/Fusion)

• Pearl (Gem)
• Amethyst (Gem)