Redefining Beauty
Sex sells - you don't have to look very far to see this marketing strategy being utilized. Sadly companies that use this tactic fuel low self esteem by portraying idyllic beauty as the norm, creating a society that is obsessed with outer perfection and generally unsatisfied with themselves. This has dramatic affects on people's health (particularly women), and has contributed to what I would call the plastic surgery revolution.
Interestingly enough, the very same venue that has created this social status plague is now seeing movements to help remedy the issue. In 2005 Dove launched their "Real Beauty" advertising campaing in which average women were used in place of supermodels. The recently released TV show "Ugly Betty" also seems directed at the issue. In the show Actress America Ferrera plays a relatively unattractive woman working in the fashion industry who achieves success via qualities such as intelligence, hard work, assertiveness and altruism. The show has sparked the soon to be launched "Be Ugly 07" Public Service campaing that will encompass appearances, website (BeUgly07.com) and various events - all promoting the theme "Be real, be smart, be passionate, be true to yourself and be ugly."
While I wouldn't say America Ferrera is ugly, I do appreciate and value the motive behind the concept. Your comments?
posted by tgags @ 11:26 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Even "The Devil Wears Prada" pokes holes in the fashion industrie's quest for "anorexic perfection" in its own way. I know, that's an oxymoron.
Thanks for the post. A more relevant topic than most imagine.
Thanks, I didn't see that movie. Perhaps I'll check it out, thanks.
It really is amazing. You look back on shows like Three's Company (Joyce DeWitt did eventually have a nose job because everyone was ga-ga over Suzanne Sommers) or Charlie's Angels and they looked like beautiful woman, but the kind that you could easily see in your neighborhood. They were mostly natural beauties. Now the majority of famous people who once looked ranged from okay to very attractive people now look like their own species of super perfect people. Nose jobs, breast implants, cheek implants, chin implants etc. Take a look at awfulplasticsurgery.com and goodplasticsurgery. com to see all of the work they have done. Take a look at Tara Reid's (best known from American Pie) stomach of a botched liposuction job. Look at the new Miss USA. I'd be interested to see what work she HASN"T had done.
Anyway no real life person could compete with that, so instead you have women feeling inferior...becoming anorexic etc. because people get so used to "perfect" people that they harp on all of their own flaws.
Here is an EXCELLENT commercial from Dove. You have to see it. It shows how an ordinary woman can be turned into a glamourous model with makeup artists and photoshop...making a normal looking woman into a fictional piece of art...but advertisers do not usually tell you what they actually did to get the model looking like that. I was aware of airbrushing...but not of totally morphing a person's face to meet perfection. Its a fascinating commercial!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U&mode=related&search=
Good points!
I had seen that commercial on this blog... along with some other intersting stuff on the topic if interested:
http://www.cultureofbeauty.blogspot.com/
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