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July 28, 2005
Real Women Have Clothes
There's been a lot of criticism of the new Dove ads featuring "normal size women." People tend to fall into two categories - those happy to see women who reflect the true size of the majority of women in America and those unhappy that there's one less source for skinny porn.
Here's the thing - porn has its place. I'm not saying everyone everywhere should be covered up. I'd much rather live in a country where the majority think watching sex on screen is okay than live in this country that thinks making love is shameful, but murdering people on screen is okay. And I enjoy me some ogling at beautiful people, be they male or female.
But I really don't need to be bombarded with pictures of women in their virginal white underwear to respect my individual beauty. I enjoyed the first iteration fo the Dove Real Beauty campaign - where all the women in blonde wigs threw them off to reveal hair in all its varied beauty. I don't really need them to undress to understand the same concept in body formation.
Let me be clear - I've got nothing against the female form. I respect a woman's right to do anything she wants with her body. But how is it enlightened to swap one half naked female form to sell product for another? Why can't we keep our clothes on and still be desirable?
Frankly, I hope my boyfriend never encourages me to be a part of an ad campaign that will plaster my half naked body across America. (Katie Couric gushed on the Today Show about how great it was that one woman's husband encouraged her to be a Dove model.) I prefer to leave some things to the imagination...and provide my love with something that is entirely between us alone.
More:
"Do 'Real Women' Sell? Everyone Has an Opinion," by Jack Tycher in the NY Post
"Look closely -- Dove ads boast mixed messages," by Richard Roeper in the Chicago Sun-Times
Posted by cj at July 28, 2005 09:45 AM
Comments
It’s great to see the Dove ads highlighting women in real shapes and sizes for once. MommyCool.com notes that when girls and women starve themselves to obtain pixie proportions or are obsessed with losing weight, in general, we all lose. Free women from food disorders fueled by unrealistic societal images. Dove celebrates beauty with curves and it’s refreshing.
Posted by: PapaCool at July 28, 2005 01:16 PM