Zoom in on a red-headed girl of maybe eleven years old. The commercial flips through sexy advertisements and automated voices, all claiming to make women more beautiful. Dove made this commercial as a part of their Campaign for Real Beauty to inform women young and old of the pitfalls of perfection. Their website states that Dove is committed to “building positive self-esteem and inspiring all women and girls to reach their full potential.”
Dove’s warning about fake beauty for young girls is long overdue. More companies should take this initiative.
According to a survey conducted by Dove, 52 percent of girls ages 11 to 17 feel they would be happier if they were more beautiful. That means girls as young as middle-school age are comparing themselves to their friends, feeling pressured to wear make-up and revealing clothing and go on restricting diets. Of course, with the obesity problem getting so much media attention, it is no wonder people, especially young kids, worry about being “skinny” enough. Dove puts out the message that health should be the main goal, not a weight on the scale.
Another startling statistic, Dove’s study also reveals that one in three of the girls surveyed felt they would be successful when they left school. One in three girls believed they could go on and get a university education and support themselves adequately, because their confidence level is so low. The study concluded that if only a third of girls ages 11-17 felt they would be successful, the world would have 14 percent fewer female managers, 16 percent fewer female Olympic medalists, 18 percent reduction in the chance for a female prime minister, and 319,000 fewer lawyers, doctors and businesswomen. The socioeconomic impact of confidence loss is obviously devastating. Confidence is a success factor. Without it, our world faces tougher times ahead.
Lastly, half of the 500 girls surveyed described themselves as “ordinary.” These are the future leaders, citizens, and celebrities of the world and they think they are “ordinary.” The most outrageous conclusion out of the whole survey, by far, is that only eight percent of the girls felt comfortable with their bodies, and that 10 percent believed they were ugly. We are too far into the era of judging people by their physical appearances to turn back and pretend we have blindfolds, but we can strive, as a society, to make less decisive judgments based upon looks alone. The consequences have a harsher effect on the world than we think.
While few could be opposed to this measure, many question Dove’s motives. Unilever, the corporation which houses brands such as Dove and Vaseline also houses Axe, a brand popular for its commercials of deodorant attracting half-naked underweight women to the wearer, which would be contradictory to Dove’s message.
However, it is unlikely that the Dove brand has much control over other brands in the Unilever Corporation. Its main focus is putting out a positive body image in its commercials, not necessarily changing the way other brands advertise, although the commercial certainly condemns the sort of advertisements Axe brand releases.
Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty is a cause we, as a society, can and should support to banish false body images and encourage positive body images for girls everywhere.
Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei6JvK0W60I
