The Conversation: Redefining Beautiful
Girls at a Texas high school start "makeup free" club to empower women.
Oct. 8, 2010— -- Too often in our celebrity-driven culture, beauty is defined by the products a woman puts on her face. But a group of teenage girls in Texas has set out to change that idea, one makeup-free face at a time.
At Colleyville Heritage High School in Colleyville, Texas, girls have formed a pact: Every Tuesday, they'll put down the makeup brush and go to class with clean faces.
"The big message is that we just want to empower women to feel self-confident about themselves," said senior Lauren Gilby.
The students call their club Redefining Beautiful, and since the core group of girls launched the idea at the beginning of the school year, nearly 200 of their fellow students have joined in the mission. Even some boys have formed a support group.
The girls say that makeup can sometimes become a crutch for teens seeking to achieve an image of magazine-style perfection.
"They rely so much on their self image that they forget, 'I'm here to learn. I'm here to make a difference,'" said senior Emily Gates.
"They also kind of lose a sense of self," added senior Laura Kelly. "We want people to feel confident in who they really are."
Today, several of the Colleyville students who are redefining beautiful talked about their club with ABC's Andrea Canning, who also went sans makeup in solidarity with the girls during the Conversation.
As the word has spread, girls at neighboring high schools have started calling the Colleyville students to find out how they can form makeup free clubs at their schools. The Colleyville club plans to create a website where they post their core values and guidelines so other teens can form their own chapters.
"You don't have to look airbrushed, you don't have to look perfect all the time. You need to be able to be yourself," said Kelly.
We hope you'll watch today's Conversation for more.