So this week there was a bit of a hullabaloo about this Dove ad:
Real Beauty Sketches
It sparked lots of lively discussion on my Facebook page as well as others. My first reaction to the ad was an emotional one. Tears did well in my eyes a little. I admit to being far too critical of my own appearance, and I have always been this way. So, the ad touched a nerve.
Then others wrote rebuttals to the Dove ad, like this one:
Response to Real Beauty Sketches
I think all of it makes for interesting, necessary food for thought about appearance, body image, media, advertising, and being a woman in a culture that glorifies certain physical characteristics, as hard as we might try to "embrace differences."
I think it is fantastic that I see plus-size models more frequently and even know that there is a niche for such models. I enjoy being able to see what a piece of clothing might actually look like on me. When I was growing up, I had no such knowledge or images. But that is coupled with the reality that "plus size" for a model is about a size 8 or so (I've heard). Hmmmm.
I think is it fantastic that I see models of various skin tone, hair color, nationality, etc. But it still seems that a disproportionate number of images are the same old ideal--thin, blond, white. Is that what our little girl selves still dream about, or is that what the media tells us we should be dreaming about?
I don't know. I do know that I've been doing some serious soul searching about my own body/appearance hang-ups. I've got a little girl to raise. Through all of this I have to ask myself, what will she remember? Will she chase impossible images and always find herself coming up lacking? I hope not, but I think at least part of the burden of making sure that doesn't happen falls to me.
