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Girl Scouts of the USA and Flamingo Launch Body Appreciation Program as New Research Reveals Body Image Pressures Girls Are Facing at a Young Age
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New York (Aug. 12, 2025) – Today, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), in partnership with women’s personal care brand, Flamingo, is launching a new Body Appreciation Program, which is designed to help girls appreciate their bodies for what they can do, rather than how they look. The program draws on new research from GSUSA, which highlights the significant impact of body image pressures on girls. The findings reveal that more than one third (36%) of girls ages 5–13 hear negative body image messages from the women around them. While 96% of girls say they like the way they look, 37% still wish they could change something about their appearance—a number that increases to 50% for girls ages 11–13. These mixed messages can erode girls’ self-worth, making it essential to shift the focus toward valuing bodies for their abilities, not their appearance.
Co-developed with expert advisors, including leading mental health and youth development organizations, and shaped by insights from a national pilot with troop leaders and Girl Scouts, the new badge curriculum lays the foundation for the Body Appreciation Program. The program guides Girl Scouts to appreciate the many functions and abilities of their bodies—from breathing and thinking to running, dancing, and creating. Through fun and age-appropriate activities, Girl Scouts in grades K–12 will build confidence, practice self-care, and develop lifelong habits that support both physical and emotional well-being. They’ll learn to move for fun, celebrate what makes them—and others—unique, and embrace their authentic selves. Along the way, they’ll explore how to set boundaries and respond thoughtfully to pressures from society, media, and peers—all while learning how to lift others up and create a culture of kindness and respect.
“This research underscores what we’ve long suspected—that girls are paying close attention to the messages they hear about their bodies, and those messages shape how they see themselves,” said Bonnie Barczykowski, CEO of GSUSA. “If we want girls to move through life with purpose and joy, we have to invest in their confidence—how they think and feel about themselves. We are so grateful to Flamingo for their partnership in developing this Body Appreciation Program, because helping girls build a strong sense of self is not optional—it’s essential.”
Other findings from the research include:
Girls ages 5–7 receive the most comments about how they look.
When asked if girls get more compliments on their appearance or their abilities, half of girls ages 5–7 said they receive more compliments about how they look, a pattern that reverses as girls get older, with 66% and 64% of girls ages 8–10 and 11–13, respectively, reporting that people focus more on their abilities than their appearance.
Girls want to be called smart, not pretty.
When asked what words girls most want others to use to describe them, girls of all age groups said smart (36%), funny (17%), or creative (17%).
Girls pay attention to negative self-talk.
Girls as young as 5 years old report hearing the women in their lives talk negatively about the way they look, something that becomes more prominent as they get older, with 52% of girls ages 8–10 saying they hear it a lot or sometimes, and 41% of 11–to 13-year-old girls saying they hear it all the time or sometimes.
The program is supported by more than $1 million in funding from Flamingo to help ensure wide access, continued curriculum development, and long-term program sustainability.
“At Flamingo, we believe self-care goes beyond products—it’s about showing up for yourself with confidence and compassion,” said Vikki Williams Cornwall, VP of Flamingo. “Partnering with Girl Scouts to launch the Body Appreciation Program is a natural extension of our mission. Together, we’re supporting girls at a formative time in their lives, helping them build self-worth and celebrate what makes them, and others, uniquely powerful.”
By transforming the way girls think about their bodies, the Body Appreciation badge line builds a foundation of confidence, self-respect, and compassion. It’s more than a badge—it’s a powerful step toward lifelong well-being and self-acceptance.
We Are Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs from coast to coast, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges—whether they want to climb to the top of a tree or the top of their class, lace up their boots for a hike or advocate for climate justice, or make their first best friends. Backed by adult volunteers, mentors, and millions of alums, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them. Join us, volunteer, reconnect, or donate.
Survey Methodology
The Girl Scouts Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research to 1,000 U.S. girls ages 5 to 13, with an oversample to a total sample size of 500 African-American girls ages 5-13 and 500 Hispanic girls ages 5-13, between June 3rd and June 16th, 2025, using an email invitation and an online survey. The data has been weighted.
Flamingo
Flamingo believes body care should feel anything but dull. The women’s personal care brand creates high-performance essentials designed for women who embrace the unexpected in the everyday. From innovative razors to elevated self-care, Flamingo combines thoughtful design with refreshingly accessible pricing. Since launching in 2018, the company has also proudly supported nonprofit organizations that help women build healthy, empowered relationships with their bodies. Through a commitment to action, education, and healing, we hold our brand promise to champion women, their bodies, and their choices at the center of everything we do.
