Real Beauty Sketches

Amidst all the senseless terror, confusion, and hurt surrounding the Boston Marathon yesterday, it was extremely comforting to come home to see a beautiful video with a heartwarming message.  If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check out the Dove Real Beauty Sketches here.

This video has a great premise.  Ask any woman to name 5 things she hates about her looks and she'd probably ask: "just 5?"  Ask her to name 5 things she loves,

and I bet she'll come short after 2.  

This is a problem.  In a culture where our self-worth is measured by

how beautiful we are, how sexy men perceive us to be, and how we compare to other women, if only 4% of women see themselves as beautiful,

then does that mean only 4% consider themselves to hold any value?

These Real Beauty Sketches are attempting to change that.  Dove seemingly wants us to understand that we have a skewed perception of ourselves;

we are actually much more beautiful than we perceive.
If we learn to develop a positive self-image,
then we will be infinitely more happy, carefree,

and valuable.

However, I struggle to stand behind this campaign.

These "Real Beauty Sketches" are only reinforcing an emphasis on

aesthetics and "beauty."  If the women in these videos can learn

to see themselves as pretty, then they will be happy.  How is this a positive message?

At one point in the campaign, Florence says that our perception of our beauty:

"impacts the choices that we make, it impacts the friends that we make, the jobs

we apply for, how we treat our children; it impacts everything.

 It couldn't be more critical to your happiness."

She then says that she has some work to do on herself (regarding self-image).

This message completely misconstrues the issue.

The problem here isn't that women have a negative self-image, but

that the norms and expectations in our culture perpetuate these

impossible stereotypes.  We are consistently being told that if

you aren't "pretty" enough, then you have no value.  This Dove campaign

is only further exacerbating the problem.
I would have liked to see a much different ending to this video. The woman should not be told that she is wrong for not perceiving herself as beautiful, but instead that society is wrong for placing emphasis on "beauty" in the first place.

Self-actualization and value shouldn't come from aesthetics; it should come from our accomplishments and the quality of our character.