My daughter Georgia burst into the world eight and a half years ago with an innate hunger for satin. From the moment she could pull on her first twirly skirt, she has been obsessed with clothes and makeup. When she hears of a social engagement, say a birthday party or a back-to-school night, she immediately begins planning what she will wear. Her pleasure comes not in how she looks dressed up, but how she feels, which, of course, is pretty.

A girlfriend sent me the link to this video. It's part of Dove's "Campaign for Real Beauty," which launched a couple of years ago with billboards of "real" women in their skivvies testifying about various Dove products. The video is a fast-forward reveal of a model from zero to billboard in less than sixty seconds.

Of course us grown-ups have been hip to advertising jive for some time now. We know that Vogue models are skinny girls who have been cut and pasted into perfection. But this video isn't for adults; its for girls ages 8-12, those most vulnerable to the lasting damage of "The Beauty Myth".

While no corporation (outside maybe Patagonia) will ever get a free pass from me on ethical marketing, at least the Dove people seem to be making a good-faith effort toward those who buy their products: girls and women. In addition to this film they are hosting a series of "Real Beauty Workshops" in which moms, aunts, friends and the girls they mentor can participate in self-esteem-building sessions and explore what real beauty is all about (with an emphasis on eating disorders and tools to help girls steer clear of them).

Ever the conscientious mother, I showed Georgia the video yesterday, in hopes of finding a teachable moment with my daughter regarding unfair beauty standards. She watched it carefully and said, "Cool! Let's watch it again!" All it seemed to do was further confirm her belief in the power and excitement of good styling. Oh well.

I am not really worried about Georgia because her interest and pleasure in beauty is so organic. Dressing up is an opportunity to practice her craft and exercise her God-given gift for primpery. To stand in her way would be to deny her her true self which is confident, opinionated and utterly dazzling.

Nevertheless, a mother's work is never done and I'd be interested taking her and her big sister (a girl who is classically, objectively beautiful and couldn't care less) to one of Dove's Real Beauty Workshops, but at this time they all appear to be located in Canada. In the meantime, I'll continue to do the single best thing any mother can for her children: constantly mirror them, reflecting back the heart-stopping beauty I see in them both.