Something To Be Proud About - Finding Female Self-Confidence Online

About a year ago, I tried to write two companion articles about what women and girls liked/disliked about themselves. One would have been titled "10 Things Women Love About Themselves," and the other "10 Things Women Hate About Themselves." (I've taken the 'both sides now' approach with other volatile issues such as "10 Arguments For Abortion and Against Abortion" and they've been helpful to readers.)

Looking for Self-Love in All the Wrong Places
But when I did the research, I was floored by what I found...and didn't find.

There was plenty of stuff out there about what women hated about themselves. Nearly all of it focused on physical aspects.

There was virtually nothing about what women loved about themselves. NOTHING.

I Can't Get No Self-Satisfaction
Magazines, websites, books are jam-packed with what's wrong with us. We package and sell dissatisfaction as if it were a commodity, and it is - advertisers make money from promoting products and services that blunt our self-disgust with our bodies, our wrinkles, our hair, our skin.

Where is there evidence of the pride women have in themselves? Hello, anybody out there? Am I shouting into a giant empty sucking void online where websites encouraging personal strength, spirit and self-confidence should be?

Say It Loud, Say It Proud
That's where hangPROUD.com comes in. The website encourages women and girls 13 and older "to embrace their unique beauty and individual strengths and to use their power to make significant differences in their lives, communities and the world." Founders Carla Alpert and Diane Prefontaine have created an online community for girls and women to find inspiration, build friendships and refocus themselves to live a powerful and meaningful life. One unique component is eMENTORING which connects members of all ages on specific topics of their choosing.

They also promote volunteerism by linking to non-profit organizations: highlight emerging female musicians with clips of songs; feature blogs for girls 13-17, young women 18-25, and women of all ages; and offer articles of interest to women.

The Best Part of Me
hangPROUD is part of a growing movement to encourage girls and women to love themselves for who they are instead of focusing on their shortcomings; an article featuring the work of hangProud was featured in the Cleveland Plain Dealer just over a year ago.

One by one, a few shining points of light are starting to appear in that dark void online.

I'm still working on coming up with that list of "10 Things Women Love About Themselves." With your help, I can finally write that article. Send me a short blurb about something that you are proud of about yourself; my goal is to use these at a later date.

And if you know of other female empowerment websites like hangPROUD, I'd love to hear about them and feature them in the future. Send those along too, or post them in a comment below.

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