From the Selfie post I just did to the Dove beauty campaign where they posted signs over the doors saying "Average" and "Beautiful" and watched people walk through the doors, I've been seeing a lot of emphasis on the word Beautiful...
The first time I saw that Dove clip, it moved me to tears. Watching people choose average, watching them encourage each other to choose Beautiful...the mom with the teenage daughter is the one that really got me. I started blubbering like my son when I ask him to eat his dinner when I saw that one (oh he's a fun boy if you aren't on my instagram). The only thought in my head at that time was 'Bingo. What an amazing message'.
And then I read through the comments on some of the posts (not my posts - it was everywhere on Facebook) and I couldn't believe what I was reading.
Comment after comment knocking the campaign...
"What if you just are not beautiful...what if you are just average and know it and are okay with it??? What happens when you know and accept that you will never be a beauty queen but instead is just the average girl next door? So then if you choose the average door people are going to label you with self worth issues? I'm not beautiful, I'm average and it's okay..."
"Since when is average considered a bad thing? Why can't women be average and feel beautiful at the same time? Why the labels?"
"How about the "right now I don't care how I look because I have more important priorities" door? I understand empowering women and appreciating all forms of beauty, but I also think by discussing it so much, we're all assuming that beauty is an important part of our day to day lives. It really doesn't need to be, and I'm not crazy about teaching my kids that message."
"I choose to remember that each and every corporation is out to make money. They may say they care about customers, employees, the environment, society, world peace, whatever, but they only care about any of these things as long as it improves their profit margin. The second that being a warm fuzzy loving company stops being profitable they will swing into a new business model and carry on. Never make the mistake of buying the images they are selling."
I don't know if I can properly describe how I feel when I read these. Confused? Sad they missed the message? Annoyed?
I do know this. I personally love the #ChooseBeautiful Campaign. It resonates with my standpoint exactly. We are all beautiful - we just have to make the choice to be. We can FEEL beautiful even if we don't meet the the media definition of beautiful. While we might not all like it, the truth is that appearance plays a major part in our society. People are self conscious about how they look, they are bullied by people trying to make them feel inferior, they are bombarded with images and advertisements every day about how to make themselves better/thinner/prettier/younger. Accepting yourself as average just feels wrong to me. There is something OUTSTANDING about each of us.
Why is it that when I google search "beautiful women" I get these images...
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But to get these images I had to search "average women"?
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How was it determined that these women should be considered "plus size"?
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Why do these things all have to be compartmentalized into their own little categories? Why is it that appearance needs to be judged and separated based on some definition handed to us by the people behind the camera? The same people who now alter images so drastically that the women who posed in the pictures don't even look like themselves anymore.
Why can't ALL these women just BE BEAUTIFUL???
Beauty is a choice. A decision. It comes from within. We have to be able to turn around and tell the media "Hey, I don't look like that, but I'm still BEAUTIFUL!" Maybe it's because we are kind, or intelligent, or confident or strong. Maybe it's not our physical characteristics that make us feel beautiful, maybe it's something deeper - something within us that makes us unique and amazing and important. But we all have the right and the ability to feel beautiful - should we choose it.
In my wanderings I came across a website that said that being body positive and thinking you are beautiful are mutually exclusive. Meaning - you can love your body, but not think you are beautiful. And I want to disagree. I think if we are going to really and truly love our bodies for the amazing things they are, then that includes what they look like - wrinkles, jiggly bits, saggy parts and all - and accepting that beautiful is exactly what WE define it to be - not what we let society define it as. I do get what they are saying...that traditionally the word beauty is an emphasis on our appearance, and they are trying to get away from that as being the basis of our self worth. So let's make beautiful a feeling as opposed to a definition of appearance. Or better yet, let's start accepting that there is more to being beautiful than just what we have learned is "attractive".
So no, I don't wonder why they didn't put up the "intelligent" doorway for women to walk through. I'm not angry that they categorized the doors as Average and Beautiful and apparently emphasized appearance. I'm especially not going to boycott the product because I feel like they are preying on women's insecurities. (Hey, if there is a coupon, I'll try any product!)
I feel like they are making videos and advertisements that I am damn proud to show my children and my students. Because they send a very powerful message - and it's not "hey buy our body wash". They say "hey, you have the power to change the meaning of beauty. You just have to see yourself and ACCEPT yourself as beautiful first".
And damn right I'm buying into it. But sorry Dove, I'm not running out to buy your latest shampoo because of it either ;)
To keep this rolling, check out websites by some other fabulous women who feel the need to change how we feel about beauty. And start choosing beautiful everyday. Own who you are. Love your own body. And let's teach our children how to do the same.
http://tessmunster.com/index.html
http://bodyimagemovement.com.au/
http://www.bodyheart.com/
http://www.beautyredefined.net/
I'm pretty sure this deserves a selfie! Tonight, this is my beautiful. My 9pm, post boot camp, marking papers, need-an-extra-large-coffee-but-kicked-this-Monday's-ass kind of beautiful, and I'm damn proud of it.
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I do know this. I personally love the #ChooseBeautiful Campaign. It resonates with my standpoint exactly. We are all beautiful - we just have to make the choice to be. We can FEEL beautiful even if we don't meet the the media definition of beautiful. While we might not all like it, the truth is that appearance plays a major part in our society. People are self conscious about how they look, they are bullied by people trying to make them feel inferior, they are bombarded with images and advertisements every day about how to make themselves better/thinner/prettier/younger. Accepting yourself as average just feels wrong to me. There is something OUTSTANDING about each of us.
Why is it that when I google search "beautiful women" I get these images...
But to get these images I had to search "average women"?
How was it determined that these women should be considered "plus size"?
Why do these things all have to be compartmentalized into their own little categories? Why is it that appearance needs to be judged and separated based on some definition handed to us by the people behind the camera? The same people who now alter images so drastically that the women who posed in the pictures don't even look like themselves anymore.
Why can't ALL these women just BE BEAUTIFUL???
Beauty is a choice. A decision. It comes from within. We have to be able to turn around and tell the media "Hey, I don't look like that, but I'm still BEAUTIFUL!" Maybe it's because we are kind, or intelligent, or confident or strong. Maybe it's not our physical characteristics that make us feel beautiful, maybe it's something deeper - something within us that makes us unique and amazing and important. But we all have the right and the ability to feel beautiful - should we choose it.
In my wanderings I came across a website that said that being body positive and thinking you are beautiful are mutually exclusive. Meaning - you can love your body, but not think you are beautiful. And I want to disagree. I think if we are going to really and truly love our bodies for the amazing things they are, then that includes what they look like - wrinkles, jiggly bits, saggy parts and all - and accepting that beautiful is exactly what WE define it to be - not what we let society define it as. I do get what they are saying...that traditionally the word beauty is an emphasis on our appearance, and they are trying to get away from that as being the basis of our self worth. So let's make beautiful a feeling as opposed to a definition of appearance. Or better yet, let's start accepting that there is more to being beautiful than just what we have learned is "attractive".
So no, I don't wonder why they didn't put up the "intelligent" doorway for women to walk through. I'm not angry that they categorized the doors as Average and Beautiful and apparently emphasized appearance. I'm especially not going to boycott the product because I feel like they are preying on women's insecurities. (Hey, if there is a coupon, I'll try any product!)
I feel like they are making videos and advertisements that I am damn proud to show my children and my students. Because they send a very powerful message - and it's not "hey buy our body wash". They say "hey, you have the power to change the meaning of beauty. You just have to see yourself and ACCEPT yourself as beautiful first".
And damn right I'm buying into it. But sorry Dove, I'm not running out to buy your latest shampoo because of it either ;)
To keep this rolling, check out websites by some other fabulous women who feel the need to change how we feel about beauty. And start choosing beautiful everyday. Own who you are. Love your own body. And let's teach our children how to do the same.
http://tessmunster.com/index.html
http://bodyimagemovement.com.au/
http://www.bodyheart.com/
http://www.beautyredefined.net/
I'm pretty sure this deserves a selfie! Tonight, this is my beautiful. My 9pm, post boot camp, marking papers, need-an-extra-large-coffee-but-kicked-this-Monday's-ass kind of beautiful, and I'm damn proud of it.
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