http://jazzylittledrops.tumblr.com/post/48118645174/why-doves-real-beauty-sketches-video-makes-meI cannot helpt but feel this rebuttal is just... unnecessary.
For one, they mention that " people of color" are only on screen for 10 seconds. Of course that is a figure that could be improved, but at least as a very quick statistic, the census of 2011 states that about 80% of the american population is caucasian:
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.htmlThere are multiple versions of the commercials with different lengths, but the one that seems to be cited is the 3 minute one here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk"Cloe" coming in about 1:04 may loosely be considered " caucasian" and has a good bit of air time but certainly has more complex ethnicity than that. If I saw her on the street, I probably would not consider her " white". She has approximately 13 seconds of air time. But that isn't the point and shouldn't be the point. Not every commercial has to be about race and has to cite the census when dividing the airtime of differently raced individuals. This seems to be grasping at straws just to make the argument stronger.
Then comes the attack on beauty. As an artist who strives every day to make works of beautiful nature, I despise how this argument sees it. It is spoken of almost as if it's a bad thing! What seems to be forgotten is that this is a
beauty product that is trying to
sell. Should they expect to dismantle their company because wanting to look good is apparently so demeaning for women? While it's not explicitly stated, and my own interpretation is certainly shining through here, the selection of the participants and their unique features, along with the general feel of the entire commercial is certainly hinting at the notion of real beauty coming from within, and is expressed outwardly. If the women participating had not been beautiful people inwardly, then the people describing them would most likely have negative images of them, no matter how attractive they actually were.
A woman's beauty does not define her completely. Perhaps I just surround myself with a different type of male, but intelligence, loyalty, and common ground are considered to be of higher importance when considering long term relationships. But it should be noted that sexual attraction is very important, especially in the beginning of a relationship. If two people are not attracted to one another physically, there is absolutely no way that they will last to form a more committed relationship. This does not mean everyone has to be a "10" if you'll allow the analogy, and besides everyone has different tastes anyways.
Dove, theoretically COULD potentially make a video about the importance of intelligence ( which basically means you're shit out of luck if you weren't born as the brightest girl in school) or courageous ( which basically means you're shit out of luck if you have social anxieties) but they decided to stick closer to home and focus on beauty- and illustrate that one should have more confidence in themselves than they might realize.
What a
horrible message that is.
Now, the fact that the same company that owns Dove apparently also owns AXE is it's own situation, and I don't think at all effects this particular commercial. For something that is designed to have you throw money at it, I believe it does a pretty decent job of giving it's viewers something of substance, which is more to say than about 90% of commercials out there.
edit: on another point ( the writing is a bit long and I forgot to scroll down further) the author says:
"Did you hear that, ladies? How beautiful you are affects everything—from your personal relationships to your career. It could not be more critical to your happiness!"
in response to this quote from the commercial:
“I should be more grateful of my natural beauty. It impacts the choices and the friends we make, the jobs we go out for, they way we treat our children, it impacts everything. It couldn’t be more critical to your happiness.”
Of course this a bit of an exaggeration anyway, but even if we take it at face value, it holds up well enough. We are very social animals, we yearn for affection and the feeling of community. Are you trying to tell me that not feeling that you are wanted and appreciated, that you are beautiful, isn't important? I, a 21 year old white male living in the united states ( basically a tyrant, but all powerful king by some) get hung up on my physical appearance
All. The. Time. It is well enough to worry about bettering yourself and generate your own confidence, but it's nice to have your confidence reaffirmed every once in a blue moon. Whether you are talking about beauty or not, low self esteem can destroy someone's life, and certainly affect who you group yourself with, what jobs you think you're good enough for, and how you raise your children. Women having low confidence is a very real problem, and even without media trying to raise a pinacle standard of beauty( which Dove has also made commercials attacking), there would still be issues, and Dove is trying to ease them with this commercial.