“Beauty” is a term that girls all over the world struggle with on a consistent basis. We constantly compare ourselves to others. We question ourselves – am I pretty enough? Am I smart enough? Am I skinny enough? Am I enough? We overlook the beauty within us, focusing on what lies on the surface. We zero in on our flaws, “my legs are too short,” “my nose is too big,” stressing about that one tiny pimple, the fact that last year’s jeans no longer fit, a bad hair day or a scar. It’s a never-ending, all-consuming cycle of negative thoughts. We are our own harshest critics. We let our own brutal inner monologues discourage us every day, and frankly, it takes up a lot of energy. Dove has launched an ad campaign to reinvent the meaning of “beauty” on social media, and it truly speaks a loud and powerful message we can all benefit from hearing.
Women were asked to write down their innermost thoughts about their appearance. Many women, naturally, wrote down some very negative words describing the way they felt. Then, two actresses sat down and had a conversation in a coffee shop or restaurant, reading the words that women had written about themselves aloud. One actress would tell the other, “you’re fat, you’re ugly, you’re teeth make you look like a mouse.” Participants, sitting in earshot of the staged conversation, would hear their self-destructive words aloud, absolutely horrified.
A study showed that only 4 percent of women around the world consider themselves beautiful. 72 percent of young girls feel tremendous pressure to be beautiful. Six out of every ten girls will stop doing the things they love – will quit gymnastics, drop out of ballet, stop taking swim lessons – because they feel self-conscious about they way they look.
Another advertisement invited women to a gallery where a facial composite artist sat with them, separated by a sheet. The artist, unable to see his subjects, would ask them to describe themselves by giving detail about each feature on their body. He would sketch them based on their description. Strangers, just introduced to the woman, were also asked to describe the same woman to the artist. The two sketches when compared side by side were breathtakingly different. The strangers’ description created a more beautiful and accurate painting. This truly powerful campaign revealed to women how negative and destructive their own self-critic can be. If you’d never imagine saying it to someone else why is it okay to say to yourself?
It’s time we change the meaning of beauty. We are all beautiful in our own, unique way. Beauty is not perfection. It is not the airbrushed images we see on the covers of magazines or the unrealistic body standards of models. Beauty lies within our imperfections, the scars and quirks that make us who we are. Beauty is a choice, and it’s time we stop criticizing ourselves and start having confidence. We need to let ourselves feel beautiful and celebrate the beauty from within. Beautiful means being happy with who you are inside and out. No one’s perfect. No one’s ever going to be the prettiest girl in the world, and although it’s not easy to wake up every morning and tell yourself you’re beautiful… You are too special to choose otherwise.