'I put duct tape on my stretchmarks to shrink them,' a teen messages me. 
'I don't understand why all these 'IG baddies' look perfect but I don't,' another teen writes. 
'I hate my body,' and yet another tells me after a confidence workshop.

And none of it's surprising:

Young girls are growing up surrounded by messages telling them how to look, how to behave -- and all the ways they're falling short. 

They need more than suggestions to 'just ignore it.'

They need practical tools to navigate it.

I’m Danae Mercer. I’m a journalist and content creator, and I speak to a community of more than two million women about body image, confidence and self-worth.

I’m also the founder of the Real Confidence Project -- an organization that visits schools and speaks to girls about body image, social media, comparison, and confidence.

What I hear worries me.

These girls are bright and articulate. But many are struggling with how they see themselves. They are navigating online comparison, online bullying, beauty trends, and fear of judgement -- often without the resources to understand what's happening.

I am calling on education leaders and policymakers to make age-appropriate confidence and body-image education part of school life.

I want to put 'confidence' on the 'curriculum'.  Every girl should leave school with practical tools to understand social media, AI, body image, bullying, mental health, relationships, self-talk and the pressures trying to define her -- and the confidence to decide who she wants to be.

This proposed curriculum could include:

Understanding body image and appearance pressure
Recognising comparison and manipulation on social media
Recognizing what's real and isn't online
Building emotional resilience and self-trust
Learning to navigate online bullying 
Learning to communicate, set boundaries and speak up
Training and resources for teachers
Clear routes to further support when a child is struggling

This is not about teaching girls to feel confident every moment.

It is about giving them the tools to question what they see, cope with setbacks that come their way, and know that their value is so much greater than something on a screen.

Girls should not have to reach adulthood before learning how to take up space.

Please sign this petition and help us ask schools and policymakers to treat confidence, body image and media literacy as essential parts of a young person’s education.