It appears as though progress is being made. On those rare occasions when Adblock isn’t working, we are presented with various commercials advertising the new era, an era in which women can be more than just a body. Companies such as Dove Beauty and Always remind us women that we have the strength to be “powerful” and “change the world.” It’s inspiring, it really is. Until, the commercial ends and I am told to go buy their beauty product.
Dove’s “Real Beauty” and Cover Girl’s “#GirlsCan” campaigns are only a few examples of the various companies that are taking advantage of the infuriating societal standards set on women to sell their products. While this may be obvious to some, many individuals are mesmerized by the spell of “empowering” messages these companies are pushing, and rightly so. Their marketers are great. They trigger emotion and plug in their product toward the end.
For example, Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign has released a short clip warming any audience viewer’s heart. It initially appears to be perfect. You have a lady who is describing her insecurities, which are merely just side effects of getting old — wrinkles, bags under the eyes and tiredness. Meanwhile, there is an artist drawing a portrait of the individual from another individual’s perspective. The idea is that you compare two images of the lady, one representing how she views herself and the other representing how the stranger views herself. It’s beautiful, right? Of course not. The geniuses over at Dove are suggesting it’s OK to have insecurities, because what really matters is the way other people view you. To top it off, the commercial ends encouraging women to focus on the important things in life, which in this case is the love she has for her husband, because it’s impossible for interests or careers to be the most important element. It seemingly does anything but actually empower women.
When we focus our attention over to Cover Girl, we question if they are serious or not, for the slogan of their self confidence quest is #GirlsCan. The goal of the campaign is to remind girls that they can do what they wish to do, with a little bit of cover up. Cover Girl, just like Dove, has taken advantage of the insecurities that exist within our society in order to sell a product that simply enhances these insecurities by momentarily flushing them behind bronzer.
While it’s genius, it’s wrong. Depression, eating disorders, isolation and suicide are all examples of potential harms that develop through a lack of self esteem and pressures to obtain the unobtainable perfection. If we continue to applaud these brands on their “progressive” advertisements, the gender binary will continue to develop and the insecurities and social pressures inflicted on females will be a constant in our lives.
Sarah Saad is a junior double-majoring in human development and women, gender and sexuality studies.