blackpooled:

sifu-psychedelic-sand-wich:

hey-ijustmet-you:

jarvisinthetardis:

So according to Victoria’s Secret I can love my body if my waist is the size my thigh currently is, if I am 5’ 9”, if I have long slightly wavy brown or blonde hair, and if I am either white or one very specific shade of brown. Thanks for that, I’ll log that away.

don’t forget all the victoria’s secret girls are all very shiny

haha they ARE shiny!

I wish people would point out the hypocrisy of the Dove “Real Beauty” campaigns more often, though. They’re not exactly a shining example of beauty equality in media.

Quoting from an essay I wrote on this for a consumer culture course in fourth year:

As stated in Tom Reichert’s article “Women in Advertising: Representation and (Lack of) Possibilities,” Dove’s research claims women blame advertising and media for setting “unrealistic and unachievable beauty standards,” and as such, the ads “are not airbrushed or retouched” (174). However, an interview with professional retoucher Pascal Dangin in The New Yorker reveals this statement to be false: “‘Do you know how much retouching was on that?’ he asked. ‘But it was great to do, a challenge, to keep everyone’s skin and faces showing the mileage but not looking unattractive.’”[1] This is particularly ironic due to the campaign’s well-known, award-winning short video, “Evolution,” which shows a woman being transformed by makeup and photo-editing programs into an image of sublime beauty to be plastered on a billboard, followed by the tagline, “No wonder our perception of beauty is so distorted.”[2] This video was intended to draw attention to the lack of realistic beauty in advertising, portraying this form of over-the-top retouching as a contributor to a skewed sense of self-image among women; the revelation that retouching was indeed used on the women in Dove’s campaign seems to completely negate the entire purpose of the video. Moreover, there are concerns that even the “real beauty” that is supposedly being portrayed by everyday women is equally disingenuous; a 2010 casting call posted by Dove on Craigslist stated, “Beautiful arms and legs and face will be shown! Must have flawless skin, no tattoos or scars! Well groomed and clean… nice bodies… naturally fit, not too curvy, not too athletic […] beautiful smiles […] beautiful hair and skin is a must!”[3] The emphasis on a lack of flaws, in spite of the “Love the skin you’re in” slogan touted by Dove, is all too clear. Although a spokesperson for Dove claimed that the ad was “unplanned” and “[not] indicative of their overall campaign message,”[4] he or she did not deny that it was a genuine casting call put forth by the company.

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[1] Collins, L. (2008, May 12). Pixel Perfect: Pascal Dangin’s virtual reality. The New Yorker.

[2] Piper, Tim and Staav, Yael. “Evolution.” Video. Youtube, 6 Oct. 2006. Web. 27 Oct. 2010. http://tinyurl.com/ylzku6

[3] Gold, G. (2010, June 29). Dove ‘Real Women’ Craigslist Ad a Mistake: ‘Not Approved,’ Says Brand. Retrieved from http://www.stylelist.com/2010/06/29/dove-real-women-craigslist-ad-a-mistake-not-approved-says/.

[4] Ibid.

Btw, Dove’s top-selling product is apparently cellulite cream. Because LOVE THE SKIN YOU’RE IN, unless you’ve got cellulite.

Also note that Dove and Axe Body Spray are owned by the same parent company. Uuuuuugh.

On top of that, though, if I recall correctly, the VS one isn’t actually about accepting your body. They just have a bra/panty line that is literally called “Love My Body”, so it’s just misleading on all accounts.