Dove Soap and How Women See Themselves

Dove soap is telling women to give themselves a break.   The ad uses the services of Gil Zamora, an FBI trained forensic sketch artist to draw women both as they describe themselves and as strangers describe them.  The sketches are made, the results displayed side by side and the woman’s self described sketch is much less flattering than the one done by strangers.  Dove’s message is, “You are much more beautiful than you think.”

            Any good ad understates the product while overstating the message; a powerful tool.  Let’s face it, Anheuser-Busch works harder to sell those beautiful Clydesdales than it does to sell beer and it works like a charm.  This campaign shares a good message.  It is true that as a social experiment it has more holes than Swiss cheese, but the intelligent among us recognize this as an ad for face soap, not cold fusion.  They are allowed a bit of leeway to make their point.  And they do have a good point.

            Women are their own worst enemies and harshest critics. 

            Several decades ago, I started working out at the local YMCA.  I had been doing lap swimming for a few years, had hit a plateau for completion of a mile that I couldn’t break through.  I thought that building up my upper body strength would help.  So, a few years before it became a fad, I ventured into the weight room and started using the machines.  The men, by the way, treated me with unfailing courtesy, especially when they realized I was a regular.  I loved it!  As a working mother I carved out time to work out just twice a week, but it was enough to make a difference.  Over the years, women caught on to the benefits of weight work and the YMCA improved and expanded it facilities.  After the Y closed down the whole building for a week we came back to a totally remodeled, clean, airy, comfortable, carpeted weight room with an array of state of the art machines. 

            And then there were those mirrors!  They covered, floor to ceiling, one entire wall of the weight room.  Over the next weeks I noticed a very interesting human dynamic going on, one of which I was a part.  By this time there were lots of women working out in that room.  In my late 30’s I was probably the oldest of the group, certainly I had been there the longest.  But age, size or shape made no difference.  Not a single woman liked those mirrors.  We automatically positioned ourselves so we would not--could not--see ourselves working out.  The most beautiful, fit, youthful girl in that room looked at herself, made a face and turned around.  All of us were thinking we were too fat, too scrawny, too young, too old, too… (fill in the blank).

            What were the men doing?  God bless ‘em, they loved it.  I never saw a single man who didn’t carry his free weights over to that mirror so he could admire himself while he worked out those Adonis arms!  It made absolutely no difference if they were good looking or not, paunchy or well built, young or old, in or out of shape.  Every man in that room liked what he saw!  If you ever wanted proof that God is a man, here is exhibit A. 

            Women do need to give themselves a break.  We need to judge ourselves with a broader standard that is less physical and more mental.   Feminism has failed us in so many ways. 

            Let’s talk about this more, and keep the faith.