Dove

So a lot of my friends are sharing this Dove ad. You know, the one with the forensics artist? He draws women how they see themselves and the whole thing is suppose to teach us that we are more beautiful than we think we are and boost our confidence and self-worth.

Does anyone else have a problem with this?

This whole campaign is perpetuating the lie that a woman's worth is in her appearance. Dove is saying that women must strive to be beautiful because it is through beauty that we attain strength and power. And when they celebrate "all women," they only show conventionally attractive, predominately pale, thin to moderately thin women in their ads. Thus perpetuating very narrow standards of beauty.

Another huge problem I have with Dove is their parent company Unilever which owns Axe. Don't get me started on the recent Axe Apollo commercials (women portrayed as overly sexualized, ultimately fickle damsels in distress). Dove and Axe are sibling companies, both with campaigns designed to appeal to opposite sexes, both sexist in their own ways.

Have you seen these commercials? What was your initial response?

Dove/Axe 1/Axe2

Ladies (part two)

This is a follow-up to yesterday's post. I got feedback here and on facebook that women are more often called "bitch" than "disrespectful."

Being talked down to and told you are disrespectful is different than blatantly being called a bitch. When someone stoops to name-calling and vulgarity, I automatically see their lack of control and it's not as likely to make me doubt myself. I see it as a reflection of their nature more than mine!

Being called disrespectful makes me question my place in the system. Whoa, was I disrespectful? Am I getting too big for my breeches? Was I inappropriate? I turn it over and over in my mind and try to see it from their side, see myself as wrong. But I know myself and my motivations. I value kindness. And although I joke all the time, I am very conscious of appropriate behavior. Gosh, am I polite!

Therefore, when a manager or teacher (etc) calls me (or implies that I've been) disrespectful, I can't help but see it as an appeal to the deeply-rooted idea in our society that some people are superior to others, due to sex, race, opportunity, privilege, etc.

via

But do the credentials of our elitist-run system relate to an inherent hierarchy that justly demands my respect or are we all equals here?

Is there ever an occasion in which I ought to suck up to a man or anyone else? No. Sucking up is disrespectful in my book. It is flattering someone's ego and I'm not into that. I believe that all God's children should be treated with respect and dignity, which I can show by meeting on a level.

Ladies,