Why Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches” Video Isn't All That's Cracked Upto Be!

WATCH THE VIDEO :

First off, I'd like to acknowledge the positives in the video. The team at Dove is actually right: most of us- are our own harshest critics. Most women probably are more beautiful than they think. This basically reminds us that we shouldn't be as hard on ourselves as most of us often are, and it’s really uplifting to remember that others are more prone to look past the “flaws” that we perceive in ourselves and to actually- see beauty. The fact that it’s reminding young women to see the beauty in themselves is a good thing, and I want to celebrate that.

Now, let’s get down to the real talk.

When the participants described themselves, these were some of the things that were implied as 'negatives': fat, rounder face, freckles, fatter, 40— starting to get crow’s feet, moles, scars…! Whereas some of the implied positive descriptors used by others were: thin face, nice thin chin, nice eyes that lit up when she spoke and were very expressive, short and cute nose, her face was fairly thin, and very nice blue eyes. So… I don’t know if anyone else is picking up on this, but it kind of seems to be enforcing our very narrow cultural perception of “beauty”: young, light-skinned, thin. No real diversity celebrated in race, age, or body shape. Oh, and by the way, there are real women who look like the women on the left. What is the video saying about them, exactly?

This reminds me of the Winnie the Pooh quote- “Always remember: you’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think”? There’s something else that I've noticed: a popular version of the quote is making its way around the internet; it’s the same at the start, but then has, “and twice as beautiful as you ever imagined” at the end. That last part is usually written in the biggest text, or italicized for emphasis. So… why is the end so important?

Because the message that we constantly receive is that girls are not valuable without beauty.

Brave, strong, smart? Not enough. You have to be beautiful. And “beautiful” means something very specific, and very physical. It doesn't matter what other merits a woman possess, if she is not conventionally attractive, she is essentially worthless. What we don't realize, is that the definition of beauty is broader than we have been trained to think it is, and that fitting inside that definition isn't the most important thing. We get trapped into the constant objectification of women.

What you look like should not affect the choices that you make. And certainly do not make how well you feel. If you align with the strict and narrow “standard” that the beauty industry and media push be critical to your happiness, because you will always be miserable. You will always feel like you fall short, because those standards are designed to keep you constantly pressured into buying things like make up and diet food and moisturizer to reach an unattainable goal. Don’t let your happiness be dependent on something so fickle and cruel and trivial. You should feel beautiful, and Dove was right about one thing: you are more beautiful than you know. 

But please, please hear me out: 'you are so, so much more than beautiful!!'

By:

Farzana Palathingal

BOT 1^st year