Dove, as we mentioned, has their "campaign for real beauty." Part of this campaign is the Dove Self-Esteem Fund, which targets girls ages 8 to 14 in the US and Puerto Rico. The message here is that seeing these thin, even sick-looking models, distorts young girls' images of what beauty is and how they should look. It takes a huge toll on a healthy teenage girl's self-esteem to look at a model in a magazine and feel that she has to be skinny to be pretty. To quote the Dove website:
"Whether it's models that wear a size 2 or movie stars with exceptional curves, beauty pressures are everywhere. And when young girls find it hard to keep up, low self-esteem can take over and lead to introversion, a withdrawal from normal life, and a waste of potential.
For example, a recent survey in the United Kingdom indicated that 6 out of 10 girls thought they'd 'be happier if they were thinner.'"
Dove created this campaign and the fund in order to raise awareness on this issue and boost confidence in young women by introducing a new and different definition for the word beauty. The program offers activities like mentoring programs, sports, or community service work to educate these girls. I think it is important to foster self-esteem in teenagers because research shows that poor self-esteem can be the cause of teenage smoking, unhealthy dieting and eating disorders, and depression. All these things could happen because of what the media says is beautiful?? I personally think it's a great idea that Dove came up with here. It is important to counter the images and messages we receive from media about beauty. The standards that are being set are impossible to attain. It was mentioned in a previous blog that a size 6 model on the show "Top Model" was considered a plus size. I think that really says something about what the fashion industry and the media want us to think about beauty.I came across this video from Dove's campaign called "Onslaught." It inspired this post and made me want to look into Dove's campaign a little deeper... watch it and comment on it. Did it do a good job of putting it's intended message across?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epOg1nWJ4T8
I also encourage you to check out Dove's website before you comment, it might help you get a little more insight into what they're trying to accomplish.
http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/supports.asp?section=&id=93
I think that the Dove Campaign for "real beauty" is great. Also, the short film did a good job of illustrating the myriad images that young girls are exposed to everyday through the media of "perfect beauty." The girl in the film is young, and the words to the song in the background are "here it comes," referring to the massive amounts of media concerning women's beauty, that are about to overwhelm this young girl as she enters her preteen years. The images come at you fast, leaving the audience with a sense of loss of control, and no time to see, hear, or think about anything but the media's idea of what girls and women should be.
ReplyDeleteI think there are a lot of aspects of the media that influence girls and how they think about themselves. Not only do television and print ads affect this, but look at other types of role models they have. Dolls are certainly not the best role model for our girls. Look at Barbie who if her features were real, she would fall over. And the Bratz dolls clearly do not give them a positive role model. While there are the Dove campaigns for our younger girls, I do not think that this is enough. Our girls should be bombarded with more positive images than the negative ones they are currently receiving. I commend Dove for their work, I just wish there were more like them.
ReplyDeleteThe effects of today's media portrayal of women can lead to eating disorders and death. I think it is horrible that the media wants girls to think that they have to be stick thin in order to be considered "beautiful." I thought of a discussion that one of my other classes had when you said "The stereotypes are that women need to have tiny, thin bodies and perfect pale skin in order to be considered "beautiful."" One girl in my class did a presentation on magazines and they showed us two of the same pictures of Beyonce. One of the pictures showed her true dark skin tone, the other picture was lightened and used in the magazine. I think they should've used the one that showed her real skin tone. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
ReplyDeleteThe media today does have a huge effect on young women and pre-teens. Since people look to stars for the latest fashion so clearly when the stars look thin that seems to be the thing to do too. Unfortunately girls do follow the media and the stars and what they do. When everywhere around you says that heavier girls are unattractive its going to get into your head that it's true, although it is the farthest from the truth. The Dove campaign is an amazing chance for girls to know that that is not the truth, and to learn to love themselves for who they are and how they look.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's terrible that girls younger and younger are getting the idea in their head that skinny is what their supposed to look like. Girls have died because of starving themselves; girls should realize that killing yourself to "look good" is never okay.
Loving yourself and self esteem go hand in hand and if dove can teach young girls this, then growing up in our media obsessed world wouldn't be as tough.
The Onslaught film was great (I hadn't seen that particular one before). Should we be suspicious of Dove's motives as an advertiser of beauty products? (Some note that they create commercials for Axe Body Spray, which rely on the sexualized/thin ideal.) That said, what if more advertisers took an "accept yourself" approach?
ReplyDeleteI'm going to agree with everyone else in saying how great the Dove campaign is - I think it's something that we really need in this country. The Onslaught youtube video was so disturbing, to see all the images put together like that. The fact that the media is affecting children younger and younger every day is a really scary thought. In response to whether or not Dove's motives are genuine or not, I really hope that they are. I'm not incredibly familiar with the campaign, but in the Onslaught video I saw nothing about their products, which was a good start to me. I think if they were constantly advertising their own products then it might take away from the real message of the campaign.
ReplyDeleteI think the video "Onslaught" did do a good job of getting its intended message across. After watching this video I was compelled to watch the Dove Evolution video. This video really opened my eyes to some of the extreme photo shopping that is done on pictures. I think if more girls knew about what is done behind the scenes during photo shoots then maybe 6 out of 10 girls in the UK would not think they would be happier if they were thinner.
ReplyDeleteThe Dove campaign video "Onslaught" did a good job in showing all the pressure young girls are faced with everyday to be beautiful, found in magazines, on television, and from other individuals (peers and older adults). The only way this campaign can continue to promote young girls to have a positive view of themselves, is if their family and friends support the campaign's message and show their young teens that beauty is more than one's physical appearance. Beauty encompasses the whole of the person; their actions, views, etc. True beauty is found within. ABC's "True Beauty" was the first television show that I have seen that actually evaluates contestants on their beauty, physical and inner, and only one person is chosen that embodies the meaning of true beauty. Dove's campaign videos and ABC's "True Beauty" work to transform the meaning of beauty, not to mean just physical characteristics, but also individuals' inner values. I believe more shows and advertisments need to foster the positive messages that the Dove campaign promotes, and that is to help people feel good about themselves inside and out.
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