MANILA, Philippines—In this era of bespoke trends, personal blogs, and selfies, it would be quite logical to assume that Filipinas finally have a healthy sense of self—that they now acknowledge their own beauty and think of themselves as being truly beautiful. However, this recently uncovered reality suggests otherwise:

“Only seven percent of Filipino women regard themselves as actually being beautiful.”

This was a finding borne from the recent Dove-commissioned study that gathered women nationwide to uncover “The Real Truth About Beauty.” The study hoped to define the beauty sensibilities of women from the Philippines. The findings showed that most Filipino women are still not comfortable with their own beauty.

Considering the beauty crowns we’ve won as a nation, the impressive confidence of the Filipino women to wield her own happiness, as well as the resilience of the Filipina spirit, this count definitely does not do justice to how beautiful Filipinas truly are. How can only seven percent out of an entire nation of genuine beauties regard themselves as beautiful?

Filipino women’s beauty sensibilities

When probed, Filipino women know exactly where this wavering confidence on beauty is coming from: from themselves. The search for beauty is an internal struggle; 29 percent of women in the Philippines say the biggest beauty pressure is the pressure they put on themselves which is greater than any other source including pressure from society (19 percent), friends and family (14 percent) and the media (4 percent). In fact, 50 percent of Filipinas say that they are their own worst critic.

But there’s hope. While Filipinas feel the pressure to be beautiful, they also know that they can look and feel more beautiful by taking care of themselves. About 91 percent of these women believe in the importance of self-care, and know that when they make an effort to look their best, they feel better about themselves overall. They know they have the potential to look better, but they do not make the most of what they have.

Dove pushing perspectives

As a global giant in personal care and as the original champion for real beauty, Dove endeavors to make a difference in the lives of Filipino women. Dove, through its superior products that gives real superior care; and via campaigns that make women realize their real beauty, takes on the challenge of pushing perspectives to get more Filipino women to believe that they truly are beautiful.

Dove encourages everyone to be part of the first ever Dove summit on Aril 2, 2014. An online dialogue between real women, the Dove Summit aims to uplift and inspire every Filipino woman and change the way they view themselves. This Real Beauty movement seeks to increase the 7 percent statistic by getting more Filipinas to love and appreciate their own beauty.

Happening in real time across different platforms, the 2014 Dove summit invites everyone to inspire women to realize their own beauty. Like Dove facebook page (www.facebook.com/Dove) and follow @DovePH in twitter and join all the discussions by using hasthtags at #RealBeauty and #IamBeautiful to