One thing is for sure: attitudes surrounding expression, individuality, and perfection are changing, and Dawson sees it firsthand with her 16-year-old daughter. "It's amazing watching younger people have that moment and going, 'I still want to wear heels, but I'm going to wear platforms. I still want to wear a whole bunch of makeup, but I'm going to put my eyeliner like this.' I like how much more experimental and fun and playful beauty and being yourself has become. It's not like you're not a woman if and you're also not a woman if not. It's just you are who you are. In a lot of ways, when I grew up it was like, 'If you don't look like this, then you're not cool.' Now it's like, 'If you're being yourself and you're feeling good, then you're cool.' I love that."
She added: "My daughter, it's been so cool watching her. She wants to go to school in these amazingly beautiful, very elegant, pretty-girl outfits and then sneakers. And she thinks she looks dope. Then there are other days where she wants to wear her kitten heels. I just love that she's feeling empowered to exploring that side of herself. For me, sometimes my hesitation comes from fear or feeling protective of her. I grew up with men who'd dress up, or women who did whatever they wanted. But oftentimes it was rebellious or it was self-protection or kind of about hiding something. Now it just feels really they're just people being themselves — and that is pretty refreshing."