There’s been a lot of conversation online (and offline) about the new Dove campaign. But the reality is, it isn’t subverting the paradigm. It’s a part of the paradigm. I’ll let The Belle Jar explain:
Dove Does Not Give A Shit About Whether Or Not You Feel Beautiful.
The Sin City Siren 
My issue with the Dove campaign is that it STILL sets a standard for what IS and what ISN’T “beautiful.” By merely establishing that these women are “more beautiful than they think they are,” Dove is still reinforcing the fact that there is some level of physical appearance that these women attain that makes them beautiful, as opposed to if they actually looked the way they do to themselves.
Yes! The campaign still wants women to focus exclusively on whether or not they are beautiful. And that beauty ideal is still being shaped and branded by marketing. And in my opinion, the way it is shot suggests the male gaze. We are still watching women. We are still judging them. And that gaze is from the outside. We are still being told that women cannot evaluate if they are worthy for themselves. They cannot set the standard for what is beautiful on their own. It’s bullshit “empowerment.”
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