Welcome to Don’t Call Me Pretty! The #DONTCALLMEPRETTY Movement started back when I was in college studying Interdisciplinary Studies. My thesis assignment was to choose a phenomenon that was taking place and come up with a solution to the problem. I chose to study body image dissatisfaction for women in western culture. At the time I was doing the research in 2015, the body image movement wasn’t big yet, but I realized I was on to something. I was watching the conversation grow on social media and more and more influential women and brands I followed were using their voices to speak up.

In 2016, I decided I wanted to create a place to share what I was feeling. I like so many women, had struggled with my own body image silently for a long time and I wanted to find community. That was when I became overwhelmed thinking of the impossibly high standards of beauty women are expected to upkeep by society's standards. As a woman, we are taught that being called “pretty” is one of the highest compliments that we can receive, and getting a compliment like that from another woman can catapult our self esteem. The way my perception of how I look has affected virtually everything in my life from how I make friends, to how I interact with peers, perform in school, get jobs and ultimately how I’ve learned to measure my worth as a human being - and I know I’m not alone.

#DONTCALLMEPRETTY is taking a stand to say, “my worth is not in the way I look,” and it encourages us as women to value one another for more. When we begin to recognize the fact that each of us is a multifaceted, complicated human being who deserves to be valued for more than just their physical appearance, we begin to make progress.

I want Don’t Call Me Pretty to be a safe space where people who inspire me can motivate the next generation of changemakers to accomplish goals and dream bigger. I have an incredible network of friends who are models, nurses, writers, pr mavens, students, politicians, influencers, photographers, survivors, activists, artists, designers, and more whose stories I can't wait to share with you all as part of our #WCW series.

When we take off the mask of what we think of as “pretty” is when we can truly shine as ourselves.

xo
Aly

Meet Aly Nagel

Aly Nagel is a Social Media Strategist with years of experience working with clients in the fashion, beauty, lifestyle and entertainment industries. She has helped develop social media campaigns for clients like Dear Drew by Drew Barrymore, Cosmoprof North America, Halle Berry, and Women’s March LA to name a few.

In 2016, she founded Don't Call Me Pretty (@dontcallmepretty_) on Instagram as a place to empower women and girls to feel confident in their own skin using the mantra “our worth is not in the way we look.” Since then, #DONTCALLMEPRETTY has grown from a social media movement into a business and her greatest passion. She hosts workshops for youth and professionals alike that give attendees tools on how to curate positive social media feeds and boost their self esteem. She also works one-on-one with clients coaching them on how to build confidence in their everyday lives.

Connect with Aly on social media!

Instagram: @aly_nagel
Facebook: @alynagel1