Last week Dove launched such a relevant & striking campaign through the release of a short film. The film – shot in five cities (San Francisco, Shanghai, Delhi, London & Sao Paolo) aims to inspire women worldwide to reconsider the choices they make about their beauty & how those choices make them feel. And inspire it certainly does. See for yourself:
It really made me think, because I’ve noticed this over & over again. I was therefore not quite surprised that 96% of women do not choose the word ‘beautiful’ to describe how they look*.
The scenes of a mother convincing her daughter to go through the “beautiful” door & the friends who encouraged each other to rather #ChooseBeautiful stood out for me. It just confirmed again that women really struggle to recognise their own beauty. Keep in mind that although women do not describe themselves as beautiful, 80% agree that every woman has something about her that is beautiful. That’s where us as sisters, daughters, mothers, friends, aquantances… & even strangers play an important role too.
A little example for you: I clearly remember sitting at the hairdresser, having a particularly ‘ugly mommy day’ (yup, nothing to give your looks & confidence a knock like motherhood!). As I was chatting to the stylist about my little Oliver a really beautiful, groomed older lady leaned over & said: “he must be a beautiful child, because his mother is so beautiful.” I was shocked, but also so flattered! Wow. I walked out with beautiful hair, but more importantly, with new confidence in myself & my looks.
Now, think about your friends & family. Who gets the most pressure to look good? Then think about who actually has the most body & image issues. Are these two issued related maybe? I know so many women with body hang-ups. The same cannot be said for men. They don’t care so much. The pressure is not on so much for them. They walk around unshaven, in awful outfits & consider a proper ‘boep’ absolutely normal. Granted, I like being groomed, looking & feeling good, but the focus should mostly be on what makes me happy & comfortable in my skin & not only on the outside pressures & expectations.
This is not a feminist discussion, it’s basically just some food for thought. It’s a reminder that us as women should choose to be beautiful & hopefully if we start with ourselves, we will feel better about ourselves.
So, I dare you: watch the film again & remember to #ChooseBeautiful. Everyday, for yourself. Choose what makes you feel beautiful & share it with the world. And give a compliment & a word of encouragement to the girls in your life – or even to the lady in the street.
Wishing you a #beautiful week!
Yolandi ♥
*Stats courtesy of the Global Dove Research: Truth About Beauty Revisited (2010); All images: supplied.