The Dove "Real Beauty" Campaign

Earlier this afternoon, I was at the grocery store buying stuff listed on my grocery list. While buying soap and bath gel, a mini-TV located on that lane caught my attention. Dove commercials were being aired on the TV. Instead of skinny models and other celebrities endorsing dove's products. There were non-traditional models of all races, shapes and sizes telling the viewers that "Young girls need to see real women like themselves in print ads or on TV", "Truth is beauty" and "It's time that all women felt beautiful in their own skin". I learned that this was the Dove Real Beauty Campaign. It's main goal is to promote real and natural beauty and counter the public's opinion on standards of beauty. Dove wants "to make women feel more beautiful every day by challenging today's stereotypical view of beauty and inspiring women to take great care of themselves."

It's good marketing move that dove used regular women who who does not conform to the highly-idealized images of highly-airbrushed models and celebrities. The only criticism that I have is that the company that manufactures dove is the same company that manufactures Axe. I just find it ironic that Dove empowers women while Axe objectifies women.

The Science Behind Beauty

Science provides answers to almost all of our questions. I wondered if science can explain why we find someone beautiful and attractive. I researched online and yes, science has a logical explanation on why we find someone appealing. I’m going to share them to you in this entry.

Science says that symmetry is beauty. A symmetrical face and body is attractive. For women, a waist-hip-ratio of 0.7 is attractive. Research has proven this. An examination of coca-cola bottle bodies of Playboy models and Miss America contestants showed that most of them had a waist-hip-ratio of 0.7. What exactly does the waist-hip-ratio entail? A woman with a 0.7 healthy waist-hip-ratio will most likely bare a child. A 0.7 WHR is an indicator of good health. It means that the women produces the proper and right amount of estrogen that will make her waist-hip-ratio reach the ideal range. The same goes with the male testosterone.

That’s the science behind beauty in a nutshell :P but of course let’s remember that science has a very limited view of the world and doesn’t capture everything there is to know. I believe that the science behind beauty only encapsulates a part of the explanation for attraction.

Beauty Pageants, Detrimental to the feminist movement?

I remember a time when my mom organized a certain beauty pageant. I accompanied her to the screening wherein women from ages 18-25 are auditioned for the pageant. There were height requirements. The applicants had to bring two-piece swimsuits with them and walk while their feet are confidently perched on high-heeled stilettos. The judges in the screening then asked the applicants a series of questions. After that, they were given a percentage score. The bulk of the percentage score comes from how the applicant’s face and body look like. The applicants will only qualify for the beauty pageant if they are part of the top 25 applicants. As I watched the screening process, the word objectification came to mind. The feminist movement is against objectification and objectification is evident in beauty pageants. Why? The beauty pageants are judging the contestants mainly on their physical appearance. Thus, implying the idea that the outer appearance is the highest feminine quality. Beauty pageants don’t really focus on a woman’s other qualities such as her talent, attitude and intellect. Furthermore, beauty pageants create a standard for beauty. What is common among all beauty queens is that they have slim bodies. They wear high-heeled stilletos, make-up and revealing clothes.

Beauty pageants like Miss World and Miss Universe attract millions of viewers world-wide. They influence their viewers to adhere to their standards of beauty. I just don’t think it’s right. 

Cosmetics, are you digging it or dissing it?

Cosmetics are said to enhance the beauty of women but now even men are using it. Adam Lambert from American idol 2009 is one of them. Some people say that cosmetics promote a culture of vanity wherein looking good becomes the utmost priority. People spend money on day and night creams, eyeliners, mascaras, false eyelashes, foundations, powders, lipsticks, lip glosses and the list goes on. I think the consensus is that women feel that they need to put on make-up and even large quantities of it as a form of dress, and feel that they are somehow not fully-clothed until they do. On the other hand, other women think that they don’t need to enhance their features with make-up since they are perfectly happy with their appearances. For some, make-up is a form of artistry. You express how you feel through make-up. It takes skill and talent to become a make up artist.

  I don’t think there is anything wrong with pampering yourself with cosmetics. I actually use cosmetics. I buy skin care products and make-up. I think it’s okay to put on make-up as long as it makes you feel more confident and beautiful but it starts to bother me when people put on tons of make-up and you can’t recognize their faces anymore because they’re trying to be someone else.

Barbie AKA Barbie Millicent Roberts

You know how mothers constantly nag their daughters? My mom kept nagging me to do something productive at home and forced me to clean my room just now. While attempting to clean up, I found this pink dusty trolley bag with the brand name Barbie on it under my bed. It looked familiar to me and I remembered that I used to keep my favorite Barbie dolls in there when I was a kid. I immediately unzipped the trolley bag and found ten Barbie dolls inside. Nine of them were Western-inspired. Nine of them hand long blond hair, blue eyes and white skin color. Nine of them wore either micro mini skirts, skimpy tank tops and high heels or hanging tops and fitted pants and ankle-high heeled boots. Only one of the ten dolls were Asian-inspired. It had black hair, black eyes, medium skin color or what I refer to as sand 14 when buying foundations(make-up). It was wearing a very elegant baro't saya. I stared at that Asian doll for a while and thought that I recognized who that Asian doll was patterned from. It looked like a Filipina. I took notice of the shoulder pads of the baro of the Asian doll. The shoulder pads were too high and that style was the trademark of the former first lady, Imelda Marcos. I had a limited edition Imelda Marcos doll!

The ratio of the Western dolls to the Asian dolls that I have is 9:1. I asked myself, "Why?" Do I really have a stronger preference for Western dolls than Asian dolls? I don't even have African dolls. Okay, I admit to myself that I am fond of platinum blond Barbie dolls and I do think they're beautiful. What could have shaped my perception of beauty? What could have influenced me to purchase more Western dolls than Asian or African dolls? Am I exercising a form of discrimination? Questions continue to boggle my mind. I googled the name "Barbie" online and came across the term, Barbie syndrome. It happens when women want to become like Barbie and they want to be in their best appearance to attract men. I read that when children play with Barbies, they associate themselves with the doll and try to identify with it. Now that scares me because Barbie has proportions that are not realistic. I also see people wearing blue contact lenses and dying their hair blonde. I hope that my younger sisters and the younger generations will not be diagnosed with the Barbie syndrome. I want them to embrace their race. <3>

why go under the knife?

As I switch on the television, flip through the glossy magazines and other print media, I see people like Vicki Belo, Pamela Anderson, Cher and many others who have obviously gone under the knife. Going under the knife is another term for undergoing plastic surgery. We cannot deny the fact that we are a youth-obssessed culture. It saddens me that people don't embrace aging and even refuse to tell people their real age. People undergo plastic surgery in pursuit of a younger face and a perfect body. The goal of plastic surgery is achieving beauty but what is beauty? Isn't it a social construction of reality? The society sets the standard for beauty. The media is a very powerful tool for shaping our perceptions of beauty. I see commercials telling its viewers that white is beauty. I see billboards promoting laser hair removals, body sculpting, whitening and the like. Women like me are now forced to conform to these standards.

I ask myself, "What is my stand on plastic surgery?" I am neutral on the subject matter because it has its pros and cons. For its pros, it makes some women feel more beautiful and confident. For its cons, it has its dangers, it is costly and for some, it can be addictive. As for myself, I am leaning towards embracing and appreciating what I have. I believe in the scientific principle that nature knows best. I can enhance what I have through natural means such as working out and taking care of my body(a little make up would be fine too).