It's time society takes notice of how ugly the quest for beauty really is. Dove believes if we look beyond tall, slim and skin colour, we will discover a whole new world of beautiful.
Take the pledge to #StopTheBeautyTest, click here.
For over a decade, Dove has been working to make beauty a source of confidence, not anxiety, and here's where the journey continues.
Dove India and New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) present Stop The Beauty Test, a campaign that aims to raise women's voices against beauty stereotypes. Come, let's celebrate beauty in all shapes, colours, and sizes and pledge to create a more accepting society where there is no one particular definition of beauty.
Here are the Highlights of the Dove #StopTheBeautyTest Telethon:
There is so much more to us than our appearnace: Neelakshi Singh, a.k.a Plump to Pretty, Body positive content creator & model on the Dove #StopTheBeautyTest Telethon
The journey for me has been full of ups and downs but it is really really interesting to see what I was and what I am now. I had eating disorder called Bulimia for two years. Even I didn't know that I suffered from it. We have progressed on mental health but it was very difficult for me when I was going through. It has made me a different person today.
The whole journey began on social media for me. From a point when I did not get any validation from people around me to getting validation from strangers on social media. I was shocked at this. I now think that confidence is about faking it till you make it. I owe my journey to social media. Social media has given me a confidence that I never had in the physical world around me.
The kind of question I usually get is how are you so confident but there is no exact formula. Somehow, we have not been able to go back to our parents and speak open-heartedly. I just wish that we had someone to vent our feelings out.
Remember, you are not alone in this. You need to be celebrated in every size, every form, every colour. Talk to your mother, to your parents. Check on the people around you, check on yourself. Because in the end, you are going to do so many things that are not appearance-related. I would urge the media and all of you to use the #StopTheBeautyTest filter and promote the positive beauty campaign.
People used to say, ‘how will she get married? She lives like a man and plays a sport like boxing’: Boxer And Olympian Lovlina Borgohain
Psychologically teenagers tend to be very self-conscious and they also place a very high value on the opinions and evaluations of their peers, which is what makes them vulnerable to body esteem issues: Dr Megha Dhillon, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Lady Shri Ram College on the Dove #StopTheBeautyTest Telethon
In India, skin fairness is very much ingrained: Dr Helena Lewis-Smith, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Appearance Research, University of the West of England on the Dove #StopTheBeautyTest Telethon 
We were approached by the Dove self-esteem project nine years ago and they told me that they want to reach as many girls as possible across the world. What the project does with us is that we collaborate with people like in India and target body confidence education among the young group. The programmes that we develop are relevant to young people. We can't really just be reaching kids with lessons in schools because that can be boring. So, we have been developing innovative and engaging tools and ways like chat boxes and comics so that we can help the young people.
Unfortunately, it does not matter, where you are in the world or how old you are, you are very vulnerable to be subjected to stereotypical ideas. All these stereotypical ideas are very Euro-centric. In the Indian context, it is skin fairness that is very much ingrained. People who are darker than other people are teased. In India, we also talk about families. Girls always face pressure from their families. We also talk to the parents.
Self-esteem and body confidence training and education should become an integral part of what young people can have access to: Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Representative in India on the Dove #StopTheBeautyTest Telethon
The mission is to make the next generation love their body: Priya Nair, Executive Director, Beauty & Personal Care, HUL on the Dove #StopTheBeautyTest Telethon
We have reached out to 69 million girls globally since 2004 under our project- self-esteem programme. In India, we are partnering with UNICEF, the mission is to make the next generation love their body. We all have to come together to make a really difference.
The aim is to reach 6 million girls across eight states in India to empower them with body confidence.
#StopTheBeautyTest campaign can really have a deeper impact on consumer lives in India, says Arun Srinivas, Director, Global Business Group, India, Facebook
Use Dove #StopTheBeautyTest AR filter to drive home the message that beauty is unique
Launching #StopTheBeatuyTest filter during the telethon Priya Nair, Executive Director, Beauty & Personal Care, HUL said that Dove wants to drive home the message that beauty is unique, and one should take pride in who they are.
Reframing the body image to body neutrality is important: Anushka Kelkar, Photographer on the Dove #StopTheBeautyTest Telethon
One of the biggest things when it comes to body image is such a shameful topic for many. People don't talk about their deepest fear when it comes to our bodies. I have worked with over 300 women in my photography project from across the board- of various complexions, and body types. For me, working with young women have been huge.
Moving from body hatred to body love in one step is difficult. So body neutrality is an important step.
If people are worried about every little line, wrinkle, spot, and every inch of them, then that's where you've got to draw the line, and try and counsel people about it: Dr Simal Soin, Founder & Chief Dermatologist, AAYNA
Writer, Poet and Performer, Priya Malik in her poem written for the #StopTheBeautyTest campaign says that I love myself and I love all of it, be it my big nose or my unruly hair.
Instead of reinforcing stereotypical adjectives on our children, we need to make our daily language more inclusive: Aparna Jain, Author & Leadership coach on the Dove #StopTheBeautyTest telethon
The stage of adolescence is vital. A lot of attention is paid to the girl child. When she goes through puberty, that's where she starts facing the gaps. That's when they want them to get married off, mainly in rural India. I was very clear when I wrote my book that I will focus on young adults, the adolescents. I deliberately stayed clear of the corporate leaders in the book while talking about role models because they are already media heavy. There has to be some form of connection and we need to do everything to make the narrative more representative and inclusive and not stereotypical.
In our education system, I feel that there is a gap between girls and boys in how boys are not expected to as much and they are finding it a bit difficult, especially in urban India. Boys are actually quite far behind.
It's incumbent on parents to really change the mindset of the boys; that's where people should be focusing their attention. Also, I feel that it is usually on mums to take the responsibility of their sons but it should be on both parents.
We are used to Euro-centric beauty. We need to realise how it all started: Priya Malik, Writer, Poet and Performer on the Dove #StopTheBeautyTest Telethon
When we see a fair child and our parents say, 'look what a beautiful child'. That itself starts the discriminatory behaviour. In our family itself, this starts and should stop right there. I grew up in a big family and we all children used to compare ourselves. We are used to Euro-centric beauty, We need to realise how it all started. Representation of women in the media is also very important.
Amit Sharma, Director, ‘Stop The Beauty Test’ campaign film, on featuring real women and real experiences and changing mindsets
When individuals are comfortable in their skin, they are more confident and are able to give their best, says Sanjiv Mehta of HUL
On the Dove #StopTheBeautyTest Telethon, Dr Maitri Chand, Marriage and Family Therapist shares how comments on physical attributes begins at a young age and how we can bring about a change on three different levels – individual, familial and institutional.
On an individual level, I would really encourage people to be freely aware and mindful of what their meaning making mechanisms are, what their prejudices are. So if you are looking to shift the system, be the change, be the change that you want to see in the world. And sometimes unapologetically so. Be more supportive of women around you, create communities that help women rely on each other. And so can be, they can be stronger together then. On a family level, praise your child. Talk to the children differently. Talk about them positively. Especially if you know that the child can hear you. Do not compare your child to anybody else, focus on the child's uniqueness. Help them know that they are one of a kind. What makes you, you. So, have constant conversations about this. On an institutional level, for example, in the educational system, because we know that these prejudices, these attitudes, and also the impact of these attitudes, gets instituted very early in our lives. Some of this needs to start very early in our lives as well. So institutions that help bring about self-acceptance, self-love, identifying your talent, identifying your specialness, all of this needs to be, needs to be talked in a broader sense as well.
How women look affects their self-concept and sense of self-worth tremendously: Anupama Kapur, Clinical Psychologist, and Author of the Dove Beauty Test Report joins the Dove #StopTheBeautyTest Telethon and reflects on how entrenched narrow ideas of beauty are and how they affect one’s mental health
Beauty should be a source of confidence and not put women into anxiety and depression, says Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, HUL; President, Unilever South Asia on the Dove #StopTheBeautyTest Telethon
The study done by us (Dove) has shown that 9 out 10 women in India face unfair beauty tests. This is the first time we have done the research and got deep inside. We want women to know that they are distinctive and we have to give up the stereotypical definition of beauty. This is also a step towards women empowerment.
Dove is a brand that has always spoken about real beauty. We never photoshop, we never do digital distortions. We feature the real women as they are. We are working with fabulous girls like Deeksha and Noor and organisations and we want young women to take the challenges and be confident and not be impacted by the stereotypical definition of beauty and unfair tests. We are working on a project for self-esteem with UNICEF.
When people used to come for marriage proposals, people used to judge me for my complexion and my qualifications did not matter: Noor Zahira, Freelance Journalist, featured in Dove’s #StopTheBeautyTest film 
People used to tell my mom not to send me in sun as it would make my complexion even darker. When I was in 8th standard, I saw people giving my mom various remedies to lighten my color. In 11th, I realised that I don't need these but people used to discriminate and behave differently with me because of my skin colour. I want to tell the girls out there, you are in your skin, and you have to own it. Do not listen to anybody's remedies.
When I was 5-year-old, someone told my parents, that they should get rid of my scar through surgery: Deeksha Singh, Assistant Editor in a news company, featured in Dove’s #StopTheBeautyTest film
When I was 5-year-old, someone told my parents, that they should get rid of my scar through surgery. I faced a lot disturbance from a very young age because of this. I felt that I am different from others. My seniors did not give me attention. I felt that people will dislike me, boys will not like me or I will not be able to get married. I even tried peel-off masks and other things to get rid of my birthmark.
This (birthmark) is something that poked me and in this campaign, I got a chance to vocalise my fears. Every girl is judged by people. I joined the campaign and felt that this is something that is relatable and how people make it difficult to accept ourselves as we are.
A lot of women and young girls face discrimination everywhere: Dr Prannoy Roy
How Much Beauty Is Enough?
Dove #StopTheBeautyTest Telethon gets underwayWatch live
Less than an hour to go for the Dove #StopTheBeautyTest telethonIt's time society takes notice of how ugly the quest for beauty really is. Dove believes if we look beyond tall, slim and skin colour, we will discover a whole new world of beautiful.
Two hours to go for the Dove #StopTheBeautyTest telethonWatch our special program to raise women's voices against beauty stereotypes. Join Dove India and NDTV's #StopTheBeautyTest Telethon today at 7pm (IST).
Dove India-NDTV Present #StopTheBeautyTest CampaignDove India and NDTV aim to celebrate beauty in all shapes, colours, and sizes and pledge to create a more accepting society where there is no one particular definition of beauty. Join us for a special telethon on October 17, 7pm (IST) onwards.
68 per cent Indian women believe rejections based on their looks affect their self-esteem and confidence. The findings are based on an independent study done by Dove in 2020.
The Need To Stop The Beauty TestAn alarming 9 out of 10 single women in India feel that they are judged and rejected based on their looks during the marriage process, states a study by Dove.