I [heart] Being a Girl

The aim of the I ♥ Being a Girl project is to promote a positive approach to the image of young women, by collecting testimonies of empowered young women and encouraging a positively framed dialogue about gender equality, femininity and sexuality. Core values include self-esteem, a positive view of sexuality and equality in diversity. I [heart] Being a Girl extends the discourse concerning female identity to involve emotions as well as qualitative data – talking with girls instead of just providing medical or other advice. Testimonies are collected to highlight the real experiences and thoughts of young women, who feel good about themselves and their gender. A key task is to challenge the contradictory messages and social pressures many girls experience as they grow up. By having space to discuss insecurities and get support, I [heart] Being a Girl emphasizes all kinds of empowerment, in order to make informed choices about one’s relationships, sexual behaviour and reproductive choices. Distribution of the testimonies takes place through the I [heart] Being a Girl blog, youtube and social media like facebook and twitter, in order to reach as many girls and women as possible, regardless of geography, providing a good platform for continuing updates and follow-up debates.