You are more beautiful than you think

[Italiangreyhound]

I know it is nothing radical and it is something we all know in our hearts but I think this is cool....

You are more beautiful than you think

realbeautysketches.dove.com/

(I know inner beauty and all that too but outer beauty is real too)

Another way this video might work is to be taken as

These really good looking women think they re not good enough so where does that leave YOU???

ie not a positive message at all.

and predictable that us is a MAN artist that realises their beauty and transforms them.... The male gaze re-inforced ....

Even the thread title in FWR makes me twitch.

I don't want to look or feel more beautiful.

I want to be paid the same as men for the same job, and have the same prospects for promotion, I want the authorities to take crimes of violence against women seriously, I want our children to be raised in an environment that doesn't groom them with porn and I want all of the god-awful stuff going on all around the world to cease.

Whether I have some lines around my eyes is of no import to me. Sure lots of women care about this stuff a lot, which is a result of the media & beauty industry. Adverts like this imply that women are rather self-absorbed don't they? That all women care about is what they look like. Which ADDS to the pressure on women to behave this way, rather than decreasing it.

But dont you care about silky smooth underarms? :)
Completely agree. I have no problem with women caring how they look and doing whatever they want to look 'their best'. I do have a problem with society telling us tbat it matters so much.

That was awful, women are only judged on their beauty is the message, even if you think you aren't beautiful looking then hey you might be to other people so that's all Ok then. .

And youll never snag a man with that attitude. Because obviously thats a womans ultimTe goal in life

Two articles about it:

jazzylittledrops.tumblr.com/post/48118645174/why-doves-real-beauty-sketches-video-makes-me

bigfatfeminist.com/post/48169692578/on-self-esteem-and-the-struggle-or-why-im-not-into

I'm wondering if the OP chose the wrong section of MN in which to post the link! All valid points though.

Lots of good points made upthread. Dove can shove it.

I agree to some extent they were like 'low maintenance' looking the more average side of pretty ,

but all had, good skin, decent hair. neat facial features, all slim

where were the spotty people ,alopecia/frizzy hair,big old nose honkers,chubby cheeks,small eyes, chubbers?

its almost saying, 'we'll make you feel prettier...but only if you're pretty to start with.'

They come at this in various ways, but they never challenge the basic paradigm--beauty exists and it's important, and there are ways to maximize your possession of it. The alternative is almost impossible to put into words, but it amounts to everyone taking themselves for granted, and just saying, "There's a lot of variation in people's appearance, and I suppose I'm OK, I seem to be surviving." Then everyone's beauty routine would be combing their hair, which they might get around to, most days.

Really I think that men have a better approach (or policy of ignoring it). Do what you minimally need to, and then just get on with your life. We could say that willingness to engage with the whole concept of "beauty" is a sign of an acceptance of a passive role, where the way a person looks is a major part of their value. It would be great if the response to this Dove campaign were a puzzled expression and "I don't see why anyone thinks this stuff is important."

Yep. Try your best not to disgust others with greasy hair, BO or a huge about-to-burst spot. When it's important to you and people you love, look like you've made an effort. That would be a very good philosophy.

Laurie Penny, writing in the New Statesman, pointed out:
"Dove is owned by Unilever, a multibillion- pound company that seems to have little problem using sexism and body fascism to advertise other products: it also manufactures Lynx, of the ?fire a bullet at a pretty girl to make her clothes fall off? campaign, the Slim-Fast fake food range, and more than one brand of the bleach sold to women of colour to burn their skin ?whiter?."

link

DameFanny- do you know me? Then you'll know I speaketh the truth!

So glad people have said what I wanted to, was too tired last night.

Dove just want you to buy their products, it's just advertising to make you part with money. And yeah, their products contain far to much scent for anyone with sensitive skin to use anyeway.

Thanks for all your thoughts.

NiceTabard sorry if I have made you twitch. For what's worth I definitely want all the things you mention...I want to be paid the same as men for the same job,.... all around the world to cease. Yes me too.

I got a totally different message from it, I didn't see it as a male artist viewing these women but as the people who had met the women in question and then fed back what they saw. I agree with the comment being wrong, about how you feel about your looks affecting so many things, I don't think that is the case at all but I do think how I view yourself makes a difference to how I feel sometimes, if that makes sense.

LadyKinbote clearly I did post in the wrong place, my apologies. I am a feminist but all your comments are making me I am not enough of one!

I think what is inside is immesurably more important than what is on the outside, for both men and women. But we live in a world where we see each other and know each other initially by our 'external' and how we feel about that is (to some) important. That does not mean I think we should all look the same or fit the same standard idea of beauty etc by any means.

I think we should all love and value ourselves and anything that helps us to do that for any part of us I would see as useful. Watching that link didn't make me want to buy Dove.

You have all challenged me, which is great.

I hope I have not offended you all.

You have taken that all with very good grace OP

Sorry if my comment sounded a little harsh. The twitch was real though!

I can see that, you are opening my eyes!

How do we reconcile this ideal where 'physical beauty' is not indicative of self worth with the world as it is where every web page has some 'stunning' women being famous for being beautiful!

As a mum to a girl of 8 how do I talk to her.... I mean I tell her how beautiful she is because she but I say inside and out, and I try and instill in her a sense of what is important, really important.

My favourite phrase at the moment to her is 'What can girls do?' To which her reply is 'Everything.' and my favourite link is

www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=618595954835545&set=a.196002453761566.54025.163394857022326&type=1&theater

All your thoughts are very helpful, learning to re-learn all the crap the world throws at us is just such a huge task.

nicetabbard thank you.

Welcome to FWR OP