Julia Barry is the creator of "In Her Image: Producing Womanhood in America," a multimedia program addressing the effects of female imagery on American life. Learn how to get involved.

Mixed Media Messages
Don't Let Them Affect Your Life

We asked Julia Barry, media activist and artist, to tell us how media messages affect girls in other countries such as France, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Israel and India. Are self-esteem issues the same across borders? Here's what she had to say:

I am currently living in London, doing research on what's going on with media imagery and commercial messages outside of the United States. Despite the different character and attitude of each city I visit, advertisements in each one are similar across the board. Globally, we're all getting the messages of MTV, fashion magazines and billboards.

I'm not suggesting that there's an evil media machine out there, controlled by someone like the Wizard of Oz—quite the opposite actually. We take the images thrown at us as what's normal. As individuals, we might believe that we must exercise to be skinnier (not simply to be healthy), that elderly people are not as attractive as young people, and that pretty people have got it made. I'm here to share a bit more about why, as girls, we may believe those ideas and how we can challenge them.

Don't judge a book by its cover! What you see is affecting your view of others.

How many commercials interrupt your favorite shows? How many ads are there in magazines compared to articles? It's not wrong to look at these pictures and want to buy products, but we've started to judge the quality of things based on appearance. We decide what we're going to buy because of the way it looks. If the packaging doesn't look right, or if the shirt doesn't have the right logo, we won't buy it because we don't think it's a good product. There's nothing wrong with wanting a specific style, but what is wrong is that we apply these values to people too. If someone looks, sounds, or acts outside of what we consider normal, be careful not to judge them before you even know them.

Only you know who you are. What you see is affecting the way you look at yourself.

We should all know that TV, movies, celebrities and magazines don't represent reality; you've heard of airbrushing and of models being "Photoshopped" on the computer before their pictures are put out for us to see. Even though we know these things, we think these images are normal, and continue to look to commercials, ads and all sorts of other images as the standard of what we should look like and act like. Every time you ask yourself why you're not more beautiful, more talented, and more popular, you're letting these media messages get the best of you. Instead of believing that you need to do something to make yourself better, try to remind yourself about how great you already are!

Feel good about yourself!

Here are some things I do to remember to feel good about myself:

1. Structure my exercise around feeling good, and not around how much my size or shape can change.
2. Limit how much time I spend in front of the mirror each day. You'd be surprised how much more time is left for activities you enjoy!
3. Keep a journal. Having a private space to write down my ideas, doubts, hopes, etc. (as opposed to a blog that other people read), has helped me to feel positive about myself and my life.
4. Spend time with my friends doing things other than shopping, going online, or talking on our cell phones. We appreciate each other more with real time spent together.
5. Be involved! Helping other people and doing things I love give me so many rewarding and inspiring moments.

What do you do to remind yourself how great you already are? Send your answers to: uniquelyme@girlscouts.org.

Get more information on uniquely ME! resources and tips for building self esteem.

Ask Dominique Dominique Dawes, Olympic Games Gold Medalist and uniquely ME! spokeswoman takes questions from Girl Scouts, and tells us what she thinks. Have a question for Dominique? E-mail her at uniquelyme@girlscouts.org Dear Dominique, What is beauty to you? Girl Scout, 13, Florida In my opinion, beauty is made up of three qualities: a positive attitude, ambition, and service. Beauty = Positive Attitude The most beautiful people in the world have a positive attitude that just makes you want to be in their presence. When you're around them you can just feel the love! They are warm, considerate and genuine. They make us smile. Beauty = Ambition Ambition makes people beautiful because they have the passion to do something in this world. My most beautiful friends are always trying to find out how to challenge themselves. They want to use their skills and knowledge to impact the world for the better. Beauty = Service The greatest thing we can do in this world is to give and to give back to others. Every action and every step we take affects someone else's life, and they affect ours. Serving others is not only a blessing to the receiver but it's a blessing for the giver as well. Each week, I ask myself these three "beauty" questions: Am I showing others a loving attitude? Am I constantly striving to challenge myself? Am I making an impact in this world? (Big or small, it's just as important!) What does "beauty" mean to you? Send in your answers to: uniquelyme@girlscouts.org — Dominique

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uniquely ME! THE GIRL SCOUT/DOVE SELF-ESTEEM PROGRAM was established in the fall of 2001 to boost self-esteem among girls ages 8 to 17. The uniquely ME! resources are available for all girls. For more information, visit the girlscouts.org uniquely ME! Web page.