Like most students who watch movies or log in to Facebook, Larissa Umberger is assaulted by images of what popular culture believes to be ideal female bodies.
Models wearing heavy makeup and form-fitting dresses fill ads and red carpets.
Upon seeing such images in October and watching videos examining female body image, Umberger prepared a presentation, which she delivered on April 23.
"My presentation was about beauty and self-esteem," said the Dolores High School junior. "I urged the girls who attended to have more confidence in their natural beauty and themselves."
Questions raised by Umberger in her hourlong presentation dealt with the nature of beauty and whether it can be defined. After presenting pictures and videos of female forms, Umberger explained to her audience that every woman is beautiful in her own way.
"I think female body image (in our society) is very negative because we're blasted with social media telling us what we should look like," she said. "When we don't look exactly how they say we should look, it downs our self-confidence. There are lots of different kinds of beauty, and you can't really define it."
Umberger detailed initiatives that she plans to take to improve body image in the community.
"My sister Ali brought the 'no makeup Monday challenge' to Dolores a couple of years ago, and that has kind of disappeared," she said. "I want to bring it back again."
Umberger said she'd like to film a video similar to singer Colbie Caillat's music video for "Try," which features women removing makeup and hair styles. More than 40 students have volunteered.
"I'm working with the computer teacher, Ms. Webster, and the people who are involved are going to film and create videos of our own," she said.
She added that she'd like to share her presentation with other schools.
"I told my counselor that if it's well received and people think it's really important, it would be nice to take it to Dove Creek and Mancos," she said.
Umberger has a 4.0 grade point average and plays three sports at Dolores High School. She qualified for the state track meet in 2014 and helped lead the volleyball team to a state appearance in 2015.
