How Do Women See Themselves?

by Lullanotes on Monday, May 13, 2013

The first time I saw this Youtube video by Dove, I like it a lot. The main reasons being:

1. They are not trying too hard to sell me, as a viewer, anything. So that in itself, I feel, gives them a lot more credibility. If they had ended with something remotely like "Buy Dove to make your natural beauty shine through!" (yes I made it up), I would have trashed the video and not give it any more thought.

2. It has a really positive message behind it which is asking women to look at themselves more kindly and honestly, I don't think people do it enough. I am guilty of this too.

3. There was attention to details like the fact that they didn't just engage a random artist to sketch but an FBI trained forensic artist who is used to sketching based on descriptions and have tons of experience in that area.

It was also interesting to see other people's point of view regarding the video. jazzylittledrops felt uncomfortable because she felt there was too little diversity in the choice of their subjects and which I tend to agree. I would have appreciated if they also used someone who is on the bigger side or someone who is awkward etc ... you get my point. She was also disturbed that one woman at the end said "I should be more grateful of my natural beauty. It impacts the choices and the friends we make, the jobs we go out for, they way we treat our children, it impacts everything. It couldn’t be more critical to your happiness." and she felt that too much emphasis is placed on the physical appearance and we all know that how we are as humans and the roles we play to others are so much more than that. I don't feel quite the same in this aspect. I think the sentence "I should be more grateful of my natural beauty" is not only pertaining to external beauty but also the outlook that she views herself. Because she has a lower sense of worth in her physical appearance, she is riddled with an inferiority complex that affects how she deals with people and the world. I know I've done things like dressing myself up for no special occasion or putting on a new lipstick colour and telling myself I am beautiful on random days and it just felt like the day is sunnier, I walk with a spring in my steps and I smile more easily. On the days I think I look crap unpresentable, it ultimately made me feel bad about myself and the day was spent trying to avoid contact with people and rushing home earlier to wallow in my own company.

(No offense to you I hope, jazzylittledrops! It wasn't particularly meant to single you out but your post gave me food for thought.)

Why don't you watch it and judge the video for yourself according to how you feel? I know I spent some time thinking on what I would have told the forensic artist if I was the subject of interest.


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