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Sydney Foster of Bowie at first struggled to find an answer when asked Friday what made her beautiful. As grandmother Linda Foster whispered into the 8-year-old's ear, she realized she could sing well and had a "good smile."

Making girls first realize what makes them special is one goal Yasmin Anderson-Smith hoped to accomplish during the "Souls of Black Girls" program at the Seat Pleasant Activity Center. More than 20 residents came to the event meant to boost esteem and make girls aware of how the media alters their definition of beauty.

Wondering if young women truly accepted themselves, Anderson-Smith began "Every Girl Can," a female empowerment program, at Takoma Park Middle School in 2007 and wants to reach girls in Prince George's and Montgomery counties. She is CEO of KYMS Image International, a Bowie-based consulting firm.

"There's a fascination with a lot of the media images on DVDs and commercials," Anderson-Smith said. "One of the real goals of the program is to let girls know what their strengths are."

Holding a pile of colored construction paper and Post-it notes, Anderson-Smith asked the girls to write down what defined their beauty. Some girls filled out their sheet right away while others slightly struggled.

A viewing of producer Daphne Valerius' 2008 documentary "Souls of Black Girls" followed which interviewed black actresses like Jada Pinkett-Smith and Regina King about the effects TV and fashion magazines have on self-esteem and how the media must do a better job of portraying women of color positively, specifically women with darker skin tones.

A panel discussion followed including local women such as Seat Pleasant Councilwoman LaTasha Gatling (At-Large). She recalled a serious car accident at age 3 that left a scar across her face requiring 200 stitches. She remembers asking her mother for a cosmetic procedure but her mother refused and said she looked beautiful as she was. Gatling said she thanks her mother for that and today forgets she even has the scar.

"When someone says, ‘What's on your face?' I go, ‘What are you talking about?'" Gatling said.

Faye Dixon, 44, of Seat Pleasant said she has a problem with music video images of young black women on channels like Black Entertainment Television and MTV. She said she censors those stations from her grandchildren and called on parents to start monitoring what their children watch, who they talk to and which friends they hang out with.

Dixon added that parents need to stop being defensive if others inform them of their child's misbehavior, such as dressing inappropriately.

"Stop getting mad at our neighbor," Dixon said. "Our neighbor is part of our community and is trying to protect us."

Dixon's niece, Jada Harris, 11 of Washington, D.C., said she has a friend in school who said she didn't believe she was beautiful and wished her hair were longer.

"I told her there's not such a thing as not pretty," Harris said. "Everyone's pretty in their own way."

E-mail Natalie McGill at nmcgill@gazette.net.