Real Women; Real Beauty

A stick thin, blue-eyed, blonde hair model is the definition of beauty in America. Dove’s newest marketing plan attempts to get rid of the mold that America has set for beauty. The plan is to reach out to women of all colors, shapes, and sizes to let them know that no matter what America has to say, they are beautiful.

                According to Dove, the Real Beauty campaign was launched in 2004 and had the “principle of celebrating the natural physical variation embodied by all women and inspire them to have the confidence to be comfortable with themselves.”

                An advertisement that I found online shows the transformation that a woman goes through in order to become a billboard model. Before the makeup and editing, the woman has pale skin, narrow eyes, rather short sandy blonde hair, and a short neck. Apparently, she was not pretty enough to be on a billboard because she got the makeover of a lifetime. When it was all said and done, much of the billboard wasn’t even her true image.

                Foundation covered the blotches on her skin, eyeliner and mascara made her eyes pop, and extensions gave her hair volume and length. Was she beautiful? Obviously not! After the makeup, the woman has a photo shoot. She takes several pictures from which one is chosen. The one that is selected is shown in a photo editor.

                Here, any blemishes that showed through the makeup were removed, hair was perfected, and her neck was lengthened. Her face was also made thinner, her eyes were widened, shadows were added, and a background was added for advertisement purposes.

                The video shows how a woman must transform in order to become “America-proof.” If I wouldn’t have seen the video for myself, I wouldn’t have believed it. Through the Dove campaign, women have been portrayed as beautiful no matter what they look like. I’ve seen photographs where they show women of many colors in their underwear. The women would be considered plus size in the modeling world, but normal to the average American women. Sometimes the pictures and advertisements make me wonder if they even get the point across.

                Dove wants all women to be considered as beautiful; however, they show women with perfect skin and some curves. Though this is out of the ordinary, it still does not show what America really looks like. Is Dove’s campaign working? Though they don’t show “real women” like they say they are, I believe they have had a huge impact on the women in our society. Even I have connected with some of the women in the ads.

                I feel that Dove has taken a step in the right direction. Their advertisements don’t fully represent the average American woman, but they have exposed America to the idea that all women are beautiful. And beautiful they are.

What do you think?