Gabrielle Unionhas built a very close bond with stepdaughterZaya, but the key to doing so was time.
Speaking to PEOPLE exclusively about theDove Self-Esteem Project, the mother-daughter duo reveals what allowed them to become closer with each other.
“In a nutshell, time. I think as a stepmom, it’s not my job to push myself into her life or force anything,” says Union, 49. “So, time has allowed our bond to grow organically and naturally. Being consistent with each other and being trustworthy with each other also.”
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Agreeing with Union’s sentiment, the 14-year-old teen says: “Me discovering who I am, has definitely deepened our bond and also other people’s bonds.”
“I can be truthful and honest with myself and therefore, truthful and honest with other people. That helps better everyone’s connections and relationships with each other,” Zaya adds. “Our relationship has grown so much from the first day I met her to now. It is because time has allowed us to grow together and progressively.”
In more ways than one, time is also something that has proven to be very important to Zaya. This, in fact, has allowed her to eventually feel her most beautiful — especially aftercoming out as transgenderin 2020.
“Time to myself, time with my friends and family. I think that all goes into bettering myself and feeling more beautiful in and out,” she says.
Social media is filled with toxic beauty advice, much of which impacts impressionable youth. That’s why Union and Zaya have teamed up with theDove Self-Esteem Projectfor the launch of the brand’s #DetoxYourFeed film and campaign.
Dove
Through this initiative, Dove aims to expose the rather detrimental beauty advice that has become normalized for teenagers across social media.
“There is a lot on social media that tells us we need to look a certain way or change how we look,” says Zaya. “This causes so much pressure to live up to a certain standard of beauty and I want other teens my age to know that while this type of harmful beauty advice is out there, they don’t need to listen to it and their uniqueness is what makes them beautiful.”
Union additionally explains, “As a mom myself, I was shocked to find out from Dove’s newest research that one in two girls say idealized beauty advice on social media causes low self-esteem.”
“As a parent to two girls, it’s so important to me that my kids have positive experiences,” she adds. “This research from Dove has made me realize how insidious toxic advice can be and how important it is to talk to my kids about how to navigate it.”
source: people.com
