A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to review the magazine “BYOU – Be Your Own You.” Their sole purpose is to build the self esteem of girls ages 8 to 14. With the invitation, they sent me this description: “BYOU ‘Be Your Own You!’ Magazine is the premier provider of positive self-esteem messaging for “tween” girls, with the mission to empower them to become a positive force in tomorrow’s world.
This is what they say about their magazine:We have created the perfect balance of entertainment and education; teaching self-esteem in fun, yet powerful, ways that makes a long-lasting impact on a girl’s life. We feature stories and information on current topics and challenges girls face today (such as bullying, body image, and friendships), positive self-affirming messaging, and popular teen/tween celebrities who are positive role models and making a difference in the world.”
As the mom of a little girl, I was all over the opportunity to participate because I truly believe that the media uses its platform to tell girls that they should be something that they’re not; that somehow they’re not perfect just the way they are. We are given an unrealistic expectation of what beauty means. I see this magazine as an opportunity to reach out to our girls and change their minds about beauty.
So first of all, let me say that as a mom/fitness-nutrition researcher/health activist, I absolutely LOVE this idea! A lot of our body image problems that we acquire have been drilled into our brains as we grow up. We then somehow adopt the idea and belief that we should look rail skinny or that we should look like a photoshopped “perfect” image that is non-existent and unrealistic. This bothers me, so the idea of having something as refreshing as, “It’s okay to be yourself just the way you are, there is nothing wrong with you.” feels like a breath of fresh air.
The magazine came in a beautiful glossy pink envelope with a beautiful picture of Jessica Jarrell on the cover. She is a star on Nickelodeon and has toured with Justin Bieber and Cody Simpson. I decided that the first article that I would read would be “Shine Your Inner Beauty!” in which Jessica is being interviewed for her recent partnership with the Dove Movement for Self-Esteem. Although I loved the interview and I loved Jessica’s honesty about how she struggled with body image and criticism about her weight, I will be honest that I was quite disappointed to notice that their proofreader missed a few obvious grammatical errors in the article.
I’m not a “grammar cop” but the problem with a magazine that is going to have national distribution is that it should meet the standards of a good quality publication. In a magazine like this, I would not only expect excellence in their articles (which is obvious to me that they do have) but also excellence in their proofreading, formatting and editing. I decided to check the rest of the magazine and noticed the same throughout. In one article, the paragraph indentation was way too large and made it hard to read.
In all, the concept of the magazine is extraordinary, the fact that they use positive role models who are candid and honest about their own struggles is a huge help for young girls.
Here are some of the contents of this issue:
- the importance of volunteering
- a quiz to rate your “Inner Beauty”
- games and puzzles to work your brain and get girls to think about what and how they judge
- how to be safe on the internet
- crafts and recipes
- words of wisdom from other young girls
Would I purchase this magazine for my own little girl? YES, YES, and a HUGE YES!! Like any new publication there’s room for improvement… but yet again, there is always room for improvement in all that we do. I do wish them all the success possible in this publication and I look forward to adding this magazine to my daughter’s source of inspiration when the time comes.
You can find out more about this magazine at the Be Your Own You website.
