About the Campaign for Real Beauty

I found myself on the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty website www.campaignforrealbeauty.com where I was moved to tears by the newest TV commercial created for this campaign. The music and the images are emotionally powerful. But the larger part of my emotional response was from recognizing that a large company with enough dollars to reach a global market cared enough about their influence to want to deconstruct and reconstruct our ideas of beauty. In a world so heavily influenced by media and advertising, the bold move by Unilever (the company manufacturing Dove) might initiate a paradigm shift.

A number of people writing about the campaign have noted the incongruence between the message of women being beautiful as they are and then selling them firming and anti-aging products. I do agree with the incongruence. However, the campaign is a worthy one in itself for exposing the truth behind the media’s influence on the attitudes of real women, young and old. And I think we have to be realistic in the balance between a company’s reason for existing and how they wield their influence. From a perspective of corporate integrity, I think this is about as good as it gets. Despite the minor incongruence, I applaud them for the brilliance of the campaign as we are desperate for the message that they are offering: that beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and colours, and that beauty is founded on something more than physical appearance.

In the research study that Unilever commissioned that preceded the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, 3200 women in 10 different countries were surveyed to discover their perceptions of beauty and physical attractiveness, both their own and the larger concepts of it. I was so fascinated by the results of the study, that I brought my computer to the dinner table and shared the details with my partner Barry. You can review the study at http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/uploadedfiles/dove_white_paper_final.pdf

The top three measures of beauty were happiness (86% of the women surveyed listed this as important), kindness (84%), and confidence (82%). Although physical attributes were listed as important, the consensus was not as high. The appearance of the skin was listed as important to 67% of the women, overall physical appearance to 64%, facial appearance to 62%, and body weight and shape to 58%. From the study, they state “Importantly, women who are more satisfied with their own beauty are significantly more likely than those who are less satisfied to think that non-physical factors, including happiness, confidence, dignity, humor, intelligence and wisdom contribute to making a woman beautiful.”

Furthermore the most crucial affects on how beautiful a woman feels are attributed to ‘being loved’ (92%), “doing something you really love to do” (87%), and “taking good care of yourself” (82%).

It is apparent that us women are not blind to the wider dimensions of beauty. Being bombarded by media imagery that creates an unrealistic statement of ‘normal’ makes it challenging to consider ourselves beautiful. Only 2% of the women identified themselves as such. But it is also our responsibility to go beyond what is imposed on us externally and take control of our response to it.

I wonder though, what it would be like to be surrounded by images of women and men who are less than ‘perfect’ physically but exude grace, dignity, humour and vulnerability. I love considering the potential power of this possibility.

In conclusion, the research paper states:

“Just as women lay some of the blame for the perpetuation of inauthentic beauty on popular culture and the mass media, they also believe that that the latter can be a force for reconfiguring the former so that true beauty becomes the new standard – with unprecedented power to open minds and move emotions.

True beauty will not be driven by theory or ideology, but by its resonance in the hearts and minds of those who encounter it. This study has given women the opportunity to speak about what it can be. However, its articulation is the obligation of those who speak to women around the world about their beauty every hour of every day – in the visual images and words of the mass media. Their challenge is to know true beauty when they feel it and to faithfully represent it in the ways in which they speak about it.”

A personal reflection

I have a rare night alone. My partner Barry and my son Sasha are both out.

As I contemplate how to spend the evening, I am reminded of my single, childless days.
Many solitary evenings would have left me feeling lonely and unloved and frequently I turned to food and TV to avoid my pain.
Years later, I filled my many solitary evenings with music, dance, photography and writing. No time or desire to eat. I was driven to discover who I was, what my emotions were all about, what I was capable of becoming and doing.
Now… I am neither driven to dive deeply into my creativity, nor to avoid my feelings by eating or watching television. I am grateful to discover that I am peaceful with whatever the evening holds in store – first a candlelight dinner for one, where I realize that I am really not all that interested in eating. My sense of taste takes second place to all the other senses.

I stroke Ellie, my cat. She is consistently inspiring as a model of sensuality. The way she looks in my eyes, curls into my touch, squeaks her delight, and then surrenders her belly for loving.

Listening to U2. Nostalgic. Makes me dance, sing and rock as I write. Music fills an empty space with hints of beauty. It brings me joy and comfort, far more so than food or television ever could.

In the bathroom, I stare into the mirror and do an assessment. I recognize that I like myself, yet still think that my belly has too much fat and my hips are too narrow and then I laugh at the ludicrousness of my judgments. Despite all my work to love my body, old thoughts die hard. Now though I find peace in the realization that my judgments ultimately mean nothing. It is how I conduct myself on a day to day basis that matters.

After years of focused intention I have created a deep and lasting friendship with my self and my body that I can savour. And I am reminded that all the hard work brings the fruition of now being paid to help others do the same.