Real Beauty
Dove has been here in Toronto, seeking new models for its "Campaign for Real Beauty". The campaign was launched in 2004, after the company had funded a global survey of 3,200 women from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The "Real Truth about Beauty,: A Global Report" based on the data gathered in the survey was released by the research firm StrategyOne, in collaboration with Dr. Nancy Etcoff and the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard University, with consultation from Dr. Susie Orbach of the London School of Economics.
More than 2/3 of the women agreed that the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that is unattainable for the majority of women. More than half agreed that the definition of physically beautiful attributes is dismally narrow. All of this has had its effect, as demonstrated by the fact that only 2% of the survey's respondents felt comfortable describing themselves as beautiful.
The campaign has met with world-wide acclaim, inspiring Dove to continue it, and to search for new models. Toronto was the fourth city combed for new faces-of-beauty to add to their roster. The originals represented a wide age range, from Leah Sheehan's 22 years to Irene Sinclair's 95 years. They also represented a range of sizes, from small to ample. Everyone of them is beautiful, if the eyes of the beholder have the ability to see their appeal. There are so very few eyes, however, that remain unclouded by the smoke screen thrown up by our society, worshipping youthful skinniness, as it does. If you think this is an exaggeration, just take a good look through the ranks of the current stars. Search carefully for wrinkles among those who are older. Search carefully for "full figures" among those of every age. You'll find it a challenge indeed.
Dove's campaign is wonderful, but it is not enough. The world needs more done to free one-half of its population form the shackles born of stereotypes. Follow the link above. Read the whole article. Give it a little thought. Even if you're male, there isn't a one of you without at least one woman in your life, without a mother. If you're male, give a little thought to what you could do to give that woman the gift of self-confidence. If you're female, give a little thought to what you could do to help us all reclaim the awareness that we're beautiful, each and every one of us.
More than 2/3 of the women agreed that the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that is unattainable for the majority of women. More than half agreed that the definition of physically beautiful attributes is dismally narrow. All of this has had its effect, as demonstrated by the fact that only 2% of the survey's respondents felt comfortable describing themselves as beautiful.
The campaign has met with world-wide acclaim, inspiring Dove to continue it, and to search for new models. Toronto was the fourth city combed for new faces-of-beauty to add to their roster. The originals represented a wide age range, from Leah Sheehan's 22 years to Irene Sinclair's 95 years. They also represented a range of sizes, from small to ample. Everyone of them is beautiful, if the eyes of the beholder have the ability to see their appeal. There are so very few eyes, however, that remain unclouded by the smoke screen thrown up by our society, worshipping youthful skinniness, as it does. If you think this is an exaggeration, just take a good look through the ranks of the current stars. Search carefully for wrinkles among those who are older. Search carefully for "full figures" among those of every age. You'll find it a challenge indeed.
Dove's campaign is wonderful, but it is not enough. The world needs more done to free one-half of its population form the shackles born of stereotypes. Follow the link above. Read the whole article. Give it a little thought. Even if you're male, there isn't a one of you without at least one woman in your life, without a mother. If you're male, give a little thought to what you could do to give that woman the gift of self-confidence. If you're female, give a little thought to what you could do to help us all reclaim the awareness that we're beautiful, each and every one of us.
2 Comments:
I couldn't agree with you more.
We had this in the UK, and I was deeply suspicious of Dove. It's like a man chatting a woman up in a bar and saying, "You know, it doesn't matter what other people think, *I* think you're cute." It's taking advantage of a person's insecurities to sell them something. And that's what they're doing, at the end of the day.
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