Last week I posted a video by Dove, Evolution, showing the transformation of an everyday gal into a sex-pot billboard model. In the beginning, a woman, probably in her mid 20s’ undergoes major cosmetic reconstruction allowing her to morph from beast to beauty. While I found the Dove video impressive, many do not and subsequently see serious flaws and contradictions in Doves Real Beauty campaign (Take a look at the website and watch the video, www.campaignforrealbeauty.com). Some believe Dove’s campaign manipulates “real” women to merely bolster product sales rather than create a message of feminine empowerment and a positive and realistic female body image. In addition, others argue that Dove continues the commodification of women, as both consumer and commodity, in which woman, only partially clothed in their ads, are again subjected to the male patriarchical gaze. While I do not entirely disagree with the above statements, I must, however, commend Dove for challenging age old patriarchical understandings of femininity by using models who look relatively “normal” in comparison to their industry counterparts. Dove, in my opinion, represents what Fisk terms the “people,” individuals characterized by an “ever shifting set of social interests” who through the use of popular discrimination redefine and reshape mass cultural products for their own purposes (Fisk, 2). Dove uses the products of mass culture, cosmetics and body care paraphernalia, in a reappropriation of accepted social norms concerning female body image and challenge viewers to revaluate their own notions of body image and femininity, even if they are making profit. It is easy for individuals to find fault and criticize the Real Beauty campaign but it is many of these individuals, however, that fail to provide a realistic alternative cultural practice, other than abolishing corporate America and thus Dove. As discussed by Baudrillard, the consumer-commodity marketplace will forever remain and if Dove vanished another beauty company would merely take its place, therefore losing the innovative message of Real Beauty. Dove’s Real Beauty campaign represents a time of transition in which a “political mobilization posing a challenge to capitalist hegemony” occurs and an alternative discourse, concerning realistic female body image, is encourged and because of this I give the Real Beauty campaign my support (Kipnis, 34).
Kelly Mac.
Baudrillard, Jean. The illusion of the end. pp 1-8.
Kipnis, Laura. ‘Refunctioning’ reconsidered: towards a left popular culture. pp 12-35.
Fisk, John. Popular Culture: pp 1-15.
Kipnis, Laura. ‘Refunctioning’ reconsidered: towards a left popular culture. pp 12-35.
Fisk, John. Popular Culture: pp 1-15.
5 comments:
Kelly,
I totally agree with your contentions regarding Fiske (and Baudrillard) and the Real Beauty campaign. It is so much harder to create something than to deconstruct it, which is why (I believe) Dove has managed to be condemned for this campaign. Of course at the end of the day they are a corporation aiming to reel in as much capital as possible, but at least they are attempting to normalize what actually the average woman is, instead of continuing to immerse itself in the unnatural idealistic representation of women that has infected our culture. It seems to me that while most women realize that these ideals are unrealistic, they still strive to measure up to them. Campaigns like the Dove Real Beauty campaign are by no means perfect, but are a step forward.
I think you already touched on this, but I wanted to expand on this one idea from my point of view. I think another point in Dove's favour is that they are offering up a variety of images that we can pick and choose our own meanings from. As Fiske points out, we have agency when we take in popular culture like the Dove "Real Beauty" campaign, and I can choose to appreciate the parts that empower me as a woman and ignore the parts that do not hit the mark. As we have seen with many examples in class this term, the authorial intention makes no difference. When I take in the images Dove is putting out in their campaign, I interpret them and decide what has value for me.
I can also choose to ignore the fact that this campaign comes from a corporation. I do not have to purchase Dove products to benefit from this campaign; I can benefit by seeing women of all (sort of) shapes and sizes normalized in the media and watching the myths of the "beauty" industry exposed. I think this might be the most interesting part from my perspective. It is a fair question, though, whether or not we should "support" Dove, or reward them for projecting positive messages about women, by "supporting" them financially. If no one buys Dove products, as a corporation it is likely they will change their ad strategies to obtain sales. So, I am free to choose whether or not to buy from them, but am I undermining a positive message by foregoing the opportunity to cast my vote in favour of it? On the other hand, if I purchase Dove products because I approve of the "Real Beauty" campaign, am I simply participating in the appropriation of feminism for profit?
When I first saw this campaign being splashed all over the place, I kind of thought, oh good, some recognition of unrealistic beauty standards by Dove, and corporate social responsibility too! I've since scrapped that thought because I strongly believe that this "pluralism" that is being expressed is just smart ad execs appealing to a market (the average woman)that can supply major profits to them and Dove. I think that corporations who are selling their products fully realize that they are selling completely false beauty standards. They keep doing it because it maintains a reliable demand for what they are producing. This Real Beauty campaign is somewhat "new" and "shocking", which compells consumers to remember that product when they go shopping. I think that as soon as sales start to lag- which it will- we'll see a brand new campaign that will showcase brand new images for us to consume. I don't think the Real Beauty campaign is in any way a “political mobilization posing a challenge to capitalist hegemony” because it was CREATED BY the capitalist hegemony for our consumption. I do, however, realize that we have agency to recognize that these images are counter to what we are usually witnessing; but we also need to consider where these came from, and why they exist.
I think what got me started on trashing my own positive impression of Real Beauty was when I learned that Unilever, the people who run this campaign, are the same people who run the adds for Axe Body Spray, and Slimfast.
I may be siding with Althusser more than I would like to admit here, but the economic base sure is doing a good job at determining the superstructure with Real Beauty.
I first saw this video on an episode of The View, where they were talking about how common it was to "fix" pictures to make them more beautiful, alluring and thus sell more product, what ever it may be. In regards to the Dove campaign, I am ever the skeptic. I think that this move is a clever one, thought up by some men in suits, I can hear them saying "Ah, women are sick of models, will give'em real women, that should drive the sales up". I like, Randi, totally agree with your comments regarding Fiske and Baudrillard. I also think it odd that mass culture is taking a feminist ideal, women = beauty no matter what, and exploiting it so that I will buy a tube of Dove moisturizer. Guess what, I don't buy it and I don't buy Dove either. However, many women are falling for it, my Grandmother included, so what are we to do? Once again the corporate bigshots have fooled some of us. I think that we just need to become smarter with where we spend our money. We also need to realize that corporate culture will try anything to get our money, so be aware my friends, be aware.
just a side note:
my mom gave me some dove moisturizer as part of a "care package" (as she calls it) for christmas last year and i broke out into the worst rash i've ever seen. now that's real beauty.
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