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August 06, 2005
Bring on the real women..
Once again I am a little late sticking my oar in a debate that has been bouncing around blogland for a while. As always there are more eloquent posts on Dove's (so called) Campaign For Real Beauty as well as some seriously disturbing views. (Detailed here.)Even so there are some points that need highlighting.
Firstly let us not forget that this is product promotion first and foremost. Do not be fooled by the word ‘campaign’, it is an advertising gimmick to create an aura of morality around the whole seedy business.
Secondly my admiration would be greater if the product in question was something altogether more necessary (deodorant, bubble bath even a straightforward skin moisturiser) but no, what we are dealing with is a backside firming cream. So girls you can be happy with the ‘real you’ only if your arse could be a little less wobbly.
Thirdly these are not real women at all, take a look at them, smooth tanned skin, clear eyes, perfect teeth, the list could go on. They are all model material, the only difference being that they are a couple of sizes bigger than your usual emaciated victim. This is why I always end up slightly infuriated by the whole ‘outsize’ model industry. If I study the Dove Campaign women closely I cannot pick out anyone larger than myself, my BMI is just within the healthy range, in theory I’m not even overweight. If 60% of women in the UK are like me, a size 14 or above then that means that over half our female population must be looking at these women and thinking ‘If they are considered ‘curvy’ (or enter any other patronising euphemism here) then what the hell does that make me?’ If Dove really is trying to help us feel better about our bodies (which I doubt) then it has failed miserably. Bring on the size 22-24 models and then we might start talking.
Which brings me rather smoothly onto something I saw on ITV news the other day (I know, I’m sorry. It wasn’t in my home, I had no choice in the matter) At last! The perfect female has been designed! She has Jennifer Aniston’s hair, Catherine Zeta Jone’s face and so on ad nauseam. (Something similar in this article.) Weren’t our foresisters campaigning about this sort of thing way back in the Sixties? But wait it’s OK because this is the 21st century now and so they made sure they also blurted out a quick sentence about the perfect male. Get this unlike our fair sex the perfect male already exists, his name is Brad Pitt (I kid you not) Since when did progress mean that we had to lower the whole of society right down to the lowest possible denominator? Come on guys, if we must judge humans then let us do so on their grander achievements, the mark they have left on the world, their benefits to society, rather than some visual aspect we can do very little about.
I’m thinking of designing my very own perfect female. Jane Austen’s wit, Mary Wollstonecraft’s vision for the future..... something like that
Or perhaps she could be completely fictional, Shug Avery’s survival instincts with Dorothea Brooke’s pure heart and so on...
Anyone going to help me out here?
Posted by purple elephant at August 6, 2005 11:30 AM