NASHVILLE, Tenn. – “I Am Beautiful,” a nationally recognized seminar that counters the obsession with feminine thinness will come to Vanderbilt University’s Sarratt Cinema Monday, March 24, at 7 p.m.
Dana Carpenter and Woody Winfree, authors of the critically acclaimed book, I Am Beautiful: A Celebration of Women, created the seminar to teach women of all ages, sizes and backgrounds to discover, reveal and celebrate the power of their own unique beauty.
The seminar is the final event of Image Week, a series of activities scheduled at Vanderbilt March 17-24 and designed to heighten awareness of and education about body image issues. The week is a collaborative effort of the Eating Disorders Faculty Task Force and IMAGE: Vanderbilt Student Coalition. The Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center and Project Dialogue lecture series at Vanderbilt are co-sponsors of Image Week.
“In a culture that is so saturated with negative images for and of women, it’s especially important to take time to find and surround ourselves with messages that are positive for women,” Jennifer Hackett, associate director of the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center, said.
Winfree will lead the multimedia seminar at Vanderbilt that covers a range of topics from the academic to the spiritual, with a mix of humor and seriousness – all designed to educate and motivate.
“Our culture convinces us that women are to be judged first and foremost for their looks, not for their efforts and accomplishments. Ironically, the super thin and youthful looks most prized today are possessed by very few,” Carpenter said.
“But there is hope,” Winfree said. “Our goal is to reshape perspective, not body size.”
Carpenter and Winfree, former magazine editors and marketing executives, have more than 35 years of combined experience in the communications and advertising fields. They are the founders of the communications and publishing firm Sole Sisters Inc. Sole Sisters is committed to producing creative and educational works that encourage personal discovery and growth for women of all ages. The two spend much of their time touring the country to present their programs at universities and colleges and have recently been featured on national television shows, including Iyanla and The Ananda Lewis Show. A documentary film, also titled I Am Beautiful, has been featured on Oprah! and Lifetime Television.
For more information on the “I Am Beautiful” seminar/workshop at Vanderbilt, call 615-322-4843.
Media contact: Princine Lewis, 615-322-NEWS, >princine.l.lewis@vanderbilt.edu</a>