Body image. It’s something most of us struggle with in one way or another.On April 14, Dove released the latest installment of its “Real Beauty” advertising campaign called “Dove Real Beauty Sketches.” The clips spread quickly through social media, with a vast majority of people praising the message. Case in point, it has more than 34.4 million views on YouTube and not a single “thumbs down” vote.
The video featured women describing themselves to a professional forensic artist and he sketched them as they saw themselves. Then, another person with whom the woman had briefly interacted would come in and also describe her to the artist. The women then compared the difference between how they saw themselves and how the other presumably saw them.
This is all well and good. I acknowledge the positive side of this video — we are often our own worst critics. We have a tendency to see our own flaws standing out starkly against the images of perfection thrust upon us by the media at large. Realizing this, and working to develop a more positive body image is a worthwhile endeavor and I commend Dove for sending this message.
But there are also some serious flaws.
There were four main women who were featured, all of whom were white, blonde and thin. The majority of the other women shown were also white and thin. Two black women are briefly shown and an Asian woman is seen at the end standing next to her sketch. In other words — complete lack of any real diversity, racially or in regards to body types.
At the end of the video, when the women were comparing the two sketches, it was blatant that one version (the version they described) was supposed to be seen as less beautiful than the other. Some of the features were mentioned as negatives — fatter, rounder face, freckles, wrinkles, moles. Other features were implied as positive — thin face, short and cute nose, nice eyes. In essence, it reinforces the already culturally accepted ideas of what is and is not beautiful.
There are probably many, many women out there who look similar to the first sketches done. The ones deemed not beautiful. Think about the message this is sending to them. Dove is saying that yes, you are more beautiful than you think … as long as you still aren’t fat or old or have wrinkles.
This video isn’t challenging. It doesn’t challenge the narrow definition of beauty in our society. It doesn’t challenge a culture of body shaming. It doesn’t challenge us to think fitting into the stereotypical version of “beautiful” isn’t necessary.
In fact, one of the quotes in the longer version of the video on Dove’s website implies the opposite — that a woman’s beauty is central to her happiness.
“I should be more grateful of my natural beauty. It impacts the choices and the friends that we make, the jobs we apply for, how we treat our children. It impacts everything — couldn’t be more critical to your happiness.”
It’s the same tired message women hear all the time. You aren’t worth much unless you are beautiful. You can’t be happy unless you are beautiful. And by watching this video, I’m inclined to think Dove’s definition of beauty isn’t too far off from society’s.
While I understand the positive side of this message, I think it’s important to call Dove out for reinforcing damaging stereotypes of what “beauty” is. There is no one single definition of what beauty is. Nobody can define it — least of all a cosmetics company trying to sell a product.
Kaitlin Moroney can be reached at [email protected]