I know my title already has you thinking, “Woah, what kind of heartless bitch am I dealing with, here?” I am, indeed, a bit sentimentally challenged, but bear with me.
Dove’s ad campaigns don’t impress me. Aerie ad campaigns don’t impress me. No ad campaign advertising that “everyone is beautiful” or that we are all “perfectly imperfect” appeals to me or impresses me. Why?
1) Your ego is not the media’s responsibility. After a certain age, the media/society card becomes invalid. You are in charge of your self esteem.
2) Not everyone is beautiful. Not everyone will think you’re beautiful. Do you think you’re beautiful? Because that’s literally all you’re in control of. Welcome to Earth. Have a beer.
3) Claiming the media perpetuates “unrealistic beauty ideals” is probably the cheapest argument you could make. The rarity of the features of most models is what sets them apart. Of course not everyone looks like that. That’s like claiming that the NBA and NFL set unrealistic standards for athletic ability.
4) It shouldn’t matter that you’re not beautiful. If there’s a message that needs to be sent, it’s that beauty shouldn’t be the end all be all of a girl’s existence.
5) Call me a cynic, but I see these ads as a sleazy appeal to the broken psyches of the insecure. It’s a public relations stunt. They’re just trying to make themselves look good.
Basically, we, as women, are all being patronized. We aren’t expected to push ourselves to think independently. We’re too fragile to accept reality, so we’re being fed these absurd campaigns to coddle our egos. It’s pathetic.
As harsh as this may have sounded, it’s not coming from a hateful place or from ignorance. I used to have extremely low self esteem. I would constantly imagine myself with lighter skin and longer hair and light green eyes. Then I grew up, got an education, and realized I was, indeed, a bad bitch and that it didn’t matter who agreed or disagreed with me. We’re all much more capable than we give ourselves credit for.
what do you think?