Must-See TV? Dove Ad Exposes ‘Onslaught’ of Beauty Pressures on Girls

as the mother of a 9 year old, I think the Dove ad may be extreme, but it's accomplished a goal if it's gotten people to talk about the issue. In a media culture where absolutely gorgeous women are photographed, and those photos are airbrushed and altered to make them "perfect", the talk about body image and acceptance/loving yourself has to start early, and it has to be done often, with boys and girls. It should also include discussions on things like "what's so special about this brand that their item costs 20 times as much as this other brand?" and "if wearing the right clothes, being the right shape and having the right things is that important before people will be your friend... are you sure they're the friends you want?" We need to be sure our kids have the tools they need in order to have these dialogues in their heads when we're not around, so they can make the choices they'll need to face.

I am happy about this ad. My daughter is 8 years old and chubby. The problem we have is she is a live wire!! she bikes, runs, rollerblades etc..and still she is chubby. I worry she will feel like a failure at some piont because she eats well/healthy. her daddy is a diabetic so we are very careful about goodies and carbs...
So anything on TV that might make her feel OK is fine to me.

I have a 3 year old daughter and she has frequent meltdowns over little things. Once she gets upset it's really hard to calm her and reason with her. It comes to a point where I can't even get her in her car seat. What should I do?

I both applaud Dove and chastise them.

I believe the video carries an important reminder about the pervasive message to women and girls that they simply are not good enough or attractive enough the way they are. Parents do need to be aware that these images and messages affect their daughters (and sons) at a powerful, if subconscious, level.

On the other hand, Dove has been guilty of disseminating these images themselves. Even in their "Real Woman" campaign, in which they tried to portray images of women of all shapes and sizes, they portrayed those women in their underwear. At some level, that marketing attempt failed to show that women are beautiful at the core because it ONLY focused on women's bodies, not their other valuable characteristics.

We need to take more action and show corporations that we simply will not stand for the portrayal of women as mere sexual objects. Our daughters' lives and mental health truly are at stake here.

Not to make light of those on the other end of the situation, but being naturally skinny has its own problems. We need to make sure we don't chastize those little girls that are naturally thin.

I remember being in middle school and being accused of being annorexic - even though I wasn't and ate everything! Also being constantly called thin and being looked at distainfully by other people by my thinness. I can't help it anymore than those not thin can help it.

I'm not trying to ignore anyone else's plight -- just asking that this cry to accept women at a "normal" size doesn't become a negative affect on those who are normal and thin.

i am really glad that dove is taking a stand and using "normal" women in their ads and showing how detrimental pressure from the media can be but like mentioned above, the parent company does promote slimfast, axe, and other products which are "questionable" as well as still using animal testing in their products

I agree with Donna, I'm glad that Dove is at least helping bring attention to the problem of beauty pressures from the media and how this can negatively affect young girls (and boys), but at the same time they are not totally without fault. It'sa great ad, with a great message, but it doesn't feel "authentic" and that's a shame.

Parents should really be the ones to talk to their kids about beauty pressures, and try their best to build their self-esteem. Children will always be exposed to media and pop culture in general, and as they grow older, the more they will be exposed to. We can't stop that but we can talk to them and set an example.

I like this ad, as well as the Dove's first one, Evolution. Kind of weird to attack the beauty industry when they're part of it, but oh well.

I find it highly amusing that on the same page as IVillage's story on Dove's campaign regarding the negative impact of the media on girls' self-image appears articles on "Which costume is perfect for your body type" and "How many Hershey's miniatures equal 100 calories." Hey IVillage - Take a page from Dove's campaign!

I have 2 girls and self-esteem/beauty issues myself. I grew up listening to my mother complain about her weight and various body parts she was unhappy with. Then, she would turn her comments to me, and call me "chunky" or tell me I didn't have "the body to wear that" in an accusatory and/or disgusted tone. Over time, I turned my 5'5", 130lbs. into 5'5", 230lbs, because why bother exercising or eating right if I wasn't thin enough at 130lbs.? I never, EVER want my children to think that. I never, EVER want them to feel they're too fat, too thin, too anything, well, except for maybe too wonderful for words. :)

The company that owns Dove is the same company that owns AXE deodorant. They do not care about women. They care about what will get people to buy their product.

Market forces drive our society, and marketing selling self esteem is far far better than marketing selling sex and self-loathing.

We explore these issues on the Beauty and the Breast blog.

Joan, I don't think this is a story from ivillage though, they're just showing what members have been saying about it... to show what the reactions have been.

To red: I'm sad to hear about the pressures your mom put on you. I hope you guide your girls to become healthy, self-confident, strong women. :)

Kids can't escape the media and there will always be pressures on them to live up to the impossible beauty standards of today. Hopefully, parents can help build their self-esteem at an early age.

As the Mother of a 16 and 18 yr old girls, not only do I applaud Dove for this--I implore parents to view this, get involved and let's make a change. I tried desperately to raise my girls without the focus on their bodies, yet they are bombarded daily with this fake perfection that they measure themselves by! My youngest stood in a dressing room last week berating herself and literally in tears about her body. If you could just see how beautiful this girl is, you would be amazed that she feels this way. She is not fat and she is not skinny. When she looks in that mirror she sees thighs and "fat" arms. It simply astounds me. Yet, I always have had a poor bosy image, and now as a 50 year old when I see pictures of my teen and young adult self, I say "what was wrong with me? I was PERFECT then!!" I don't know what the answer is, but selling products or not, Dove is the first major beauty company to show us that beauty comes in a lot of forms, and is tackling a real issue women everywhere face everyday! Bravo Dove!

I praise Dove for the things they are doing to raise girls self esteem and point out what our industry does to Girls of all ages. I am 24 years old, 6'0" tall and currently weigh 192lbs. Now when i tell WOMEN who know me that i weigh 192, their eyes always bulge out and ask if i really weigh that much. THis doesnt JUST affect young girls. My mom did a great job at raising me, she told me every day how beautiful i am. How great i did my make up, but i STILL have body image issues. I was always the TALL and BEAUTIFUL one. One thing she says she would change is that instead of focusing on how Beautiful i was, focus more on smarts, talants, traits. Yes throw in those beauty compliments to your daughters, but focus on her strengths and talants. I worked as a model and had anorexia as a teen, and i am not saying i am happy with my body in its current state, but i will say that i now have confidence in MYSELF because i know my beauty is more than skin deep. Talk to your kids. Go DOVE!

I think every woman, every where in the world should be up in arms about the way WE haven't taught our girls to have healthy attitudes about themselves and other females. As women we are so competitive, we're always striving to look "better" than other women. We focus on being "pretty", we allow ourselves to be swayed by the media, our daughters see that and follow our example. I think that by changing ourselves first, by becoming strong physically and mentally, then by EXAMPLE we can teach our daughters that looks take a back seat to being healthy and happy. All help from the media is welcome.

As the Mom of 2 grown and beautiful children, I'm very happy that they ARE grown. The Body-image thing was not nearly as prominent in commercial advertising when they were growing up and I feel that they were (and are) much better off for that. They have always been happy in their own skins, as I helped them to be, and are beautiful and successful young adults in spite of NOT having all this "junk advertising" to look at on the tube. My instincts were always to positively reinforce them in all things, including what they looked like. I determined when they were infants to NEVER criticize them for the way that they looked, since I had been the victim of that as a child, myself. My instincts were right, and as I feel that instinct is the way that God talks to us, I thank Him for that. My opinion is that if a parent is consistently supportive of their offspring, the "junk" that they see and hear from ANY source won't affect them much. And hugs are always important!!! Thanks for the chance to speak my mind!

To EVGrrl, thank you so much. I'm doing what I can to both improve my own self-esteem and continue to build up my girls. I'm happy to say, both of my girls are truly beautiful little people, inside and out. :) Although, I think I've done my job a little too well with the youngest - she can't stop checking herself out in mirrors and always has to say, "Gosh, I'm beautiful!" LOL. ;)

red: LOL! Well, nothing wrong with a little self-confidence. She's gonna break some hearts when she grows up. :)

Cassi: You sound like a great mom! Congrats on raising such balanced young adults, who are comfortable in their own skins. And I agree... hugs are very important!

Michelle B:I was just like your little girl. Around the age of 8 I started to put on "baby fat" as my pediatrician called it. I was active in youth Cheerleading and ate well balanced home-cooked meals, but still I begged my Mom to let me go on a diet bc the kids at school teased me. My Mom continually uplifted me with encouraging loving words. My Dr. assured her I was healthy and would grow out of it as puberty approached. He was right. I was a very early bloomer(age 10)and within months of the onset, started to slim down and grow boobs, which made all my previous tormentors even meaner to me, only for a different reason now. I learned then that you will never be able to please everyone, so first please yourself and God. I have easily maintained a healthy, fit body since then because I remained active. I am 27 and feel better about myself with each year. It's never easy, but with a caring Mom like you, your daughter will become stronger and more secure bc of this. I bet she grows out of it just like I did.

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