Dove's "Real Beauty Sketches" quickly became a viral phenomenon. But as it blazed past 1 million views on YouTube, the video has racked up its fair share of critics, too. The Ogilvy-produced clip, which shows a police sketch artist drawing women as they perceive themselves versus how strangers see them, has been praised by thousands of women as a heartwarming wake-up call for women to stop being so hard on themselves. But some feel the video actually reinforces beauty stereotypes by depicting one sketch as "uglier" than the other. Below, we catalog a few of the specific complaints about the campaign that have been bouncing around the Web this week.
1. It features too many traditionally attractive white women.
Jazz Brice on Tumblr:"When it comes to the diversity of the main participants: all four are Caucasian, three are blonde with blue eyes, all are thin, and all are young (the oldest appears to be 40). The majority of the non-featured participants are thin, young white women as well. … Out of 6:36 minutes of footage, people of color are onscreen for less than 10 seconds."
2. It seems to define beauty as being thin and young.
Kate Fridkis on PsychologyToday.com:"Looking at the two portraits of herself, one woman described the one meant to be prettier as looking 'much younger,' which seemed to be true of all of them. The more 'beautiful' facial representations seemed to all be thinner and younger-looking. If that is the crux of beauty, then I guess we're all pretty screwed by that obnoxiously inexorable bastard called time."
3. It positions beauty as the yardstick by which women measure themselves.
Stacy Bias on StacyBias.net:"Is the pinnacle of success always beauty? Believing that others see us as beautiful? Believing that we are beautiful? I want people to question their negative self-perceptions, sure. But I would love for that to happen in a context where beauty doesn't always end up valorized. This is a mindfuck—'everyone is beautiful, so you are beautiful, too!' still reinforces beauty as an aspirational value."
4. It shows women as their own enemies rather than victims of a sexist society.
Erin Keane on Salon.com:"All of that body image baggage is internalized by growing up in a society that enforces rigid beauty standards, and since the target demographic for this ad is clearly women over 35 with access to library cards (which is to say, women who have had some time to figure this reality out), it is baffling that Dove can continue to garner raves for its pandering, soft-focus fake empowerment ads."
5. It is hypocritical because it comes from Unilever, which also makes Axe, Slim-Fast and more.
Charlotte Hannah on Twirlit.com:"[Dove's] long-running Real Beauty campaign has shed light on some important truths about the media's unrealistic portrayals of women, but given the fact that Dove is owned by Unilever, which also owns Axe (ugh) and the company that produces Fair & Lovely skin lightening cream (double ugh), the campaign comes across as hypocritical and patronizing—a way for the company to pander to women for sales while practicing the very evil it preaches against."
What arguments have we missed? Let us know your thoughts or share links to other reactions in the comments.
Related stories:
• Dove Hires Criminal Sketch Artist to Draw Women as They See Themselves and as Others See Them
• Low Self-Esteem Is Not a Problem in Dove's Real Beauty Sketches … for Men