Former Dove model gets real

“I knew women had qualms about their bodies,” former model and motivational speaker Stacy Nadeau told Penn students Tuesday. “I just never realized how deep it goes and how scary it can be.”

Before an audience of over 200 in Houston Hall — almost all of whom were women — Nadeau encouraged students to widen their perceptions of beauty by rejecting impossible standards set by the media and leading healthier, happier lives.

Nadeau, 23, was originally part of Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign, which launched in summer 2005. It was intended to promote the importance of positive self-esteem in women.

The campaign featured six models who Dove felt exemplified the real average woman to epitomize a large, underrepresented niche in the beauty product market — normal people.

Nadeau and the other five women posed for the advertisements in white underwear without makeup. There was no digital enhancing of the photographs.

“I never thought I’d be doing this. I was in the right place at the right time,” said Nadeau, who was approached on the street by a Dove representative while walking to work in Chicago one morning. Nadeau initially rejected the offer, thinking it bizarre that Dove wanted a size 10 to model in her underwear.

But once she learned of the campaign’s ability to reach out and help a nation of women with insecurities regarding their appearance, she decided to join the movement.

Nadeau delivered her speech with candor, injecting personal anecdotes and jokes into the lecture. Her honesty invoked a relaxed atmosphere among the students. “She was really inspirational,” College freshman Aly Ketover said. “It was nice to have somebody real.”

Other students applauded Nadeau’s message as a breath of fresh air. College sophomore Katie Rymal said she felt Dove’s campaign was a change of pace from the size 0 supermodels constantly in the media.

“The dumb gossip web sites that choose the hottest girls at Penn are really bad for girls’ body images,” Rymal said.

The Panhellenic Council organized the lecture as part of Penn’s eighth annual Women’s Week, which focuses on the representation — and misrepresentation — of women in the media. “Especially because it’s Women’s Week, Panhel recognized the importance of this event,” College junior and Panhel representative Jordan Sale said. “Nadeau is an incredible role model, and women of all ages can benefit from her message to change the way women feel about their bodies,” she added.

Nadeau hopes that events such as this one can help lower depression, anxieties and eating disorders among young women. “All women deserve to feel great about themselves,” she said.

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