The Beauty Backlash

When we think of the media’s standards of beauty, we realize that most of us will never achieve the impossible ideals it has laid out for us. Sadly, many women still relentlessly buy countless lotions, firming creams, and wrinkle creams hoping to achieve this perfect image. Countless gorgeous female models and celebrities grace the covers of magazines while not displaying a single flaw. Even though many of these pictures have been retouched with airbrushing, women still continue to suffer from low self-esteem because they do not look like the model on the glossy magazine page. The film The Beauty Backlash reveals how companies use women’s insecurities to manipulate them into buying their products and what the Dove company is doing to help make women feel better about themselves.

Many women feel insecure about some feature on their bodies. In a recent poll, “76% of women feel insecure about their looks” (Austen, 2007). The beauty industry plays on these insecurities by putting products on the market that can supposedly fix these flaws. The beauty industry earns around “6 billion pounds a year” through manipulating women (Austen, 2007). Many women realize these companies’ ploys to make them think about their insecurities so they will buy their products. What is interesting is that even though women realize this, they still spend their money on beauty products that make outstanding promises. According to a recent survey, “64% of women think that the beauty industry exploits their insecurities” (Austen, 2007). The pressures from the media make women feel like they have to be perfect. As a result, they buy tons of products hoping to look like those images of perfect women that are everywhere.

Dove’s most recent campaign has abandoned young perfect models for everyday women with flaws. A spokesperson for Dove said, “Dove wants to make themselves a champion for women’s self-esteem” (Austen, 2007). Dove seeks to make beauty more achievable through using real women to promote their products. On the flip side, Dove’s firming cream sales went up 700% with the use of these real women (Austen, 2007). It is hard to know whether Dove is sincere or whether this is just a well-crafted marketing campaign. Dove has also gone as far as to have teams of psychiatrists and charities talk to young women in schools about body image. Even though Dove may have good intentions it is hard not to notice that as they do these good deeds their profits are skyrocketing. Prior to this campaign Dove’s sales were lower than other beauty companies. For example, L’Oreal gained status with customers through the “because you’re worth it” tagline (Austen, 2007). As a result, L’Oreal’s sales rose dramatically with their new tagline putting them ahead of Dove. Women want to feel like they are worth it because it makes them feel good about themselves.

The one other thing to consider is while Dove is promoting the real women, real beauty campaign, they also sell Axe products. As we all know, Axe ads objectify women by showing them attacking men and ripping their clothes off simply because they are wearing an Axe product. It seems that the Dove company is contradicting itself when it shows women with flaws but then jumps to women acting like bimbos who get all hot and bothered over a body spray. It is difficult to tell how Dove really views women when they put out two polar opposite ads. If the real women, real beauty is a marketing scheme it was very well planned.

The film The Beauty Backlash reveals how companies use women’s insecurities to manipulate them into buying their products and what the Dove company is doing to help make women feel better about themselves. Whether these messages are genuine or purely for sales the idea of women being beautiful with flaws and all is a positive one. It would actually be better for women’s self-esteem to be able to see women who look like them in magazines and on TV instead of airbrushed supermodels.

Bibliography

Austen, A. (Director). (2007). The Beauty Backlash [Motion Picture]. United States: Films for the humanities and sciences.

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