When someone asks you to describe the way you look, what do you say? Weird face, too fat, too skinny, thin hair, bushy eyebrows, dodgy nose?
What about ‘beautiful’? We thought so.
Following research, the guys at Dove picked up on the notion that women’s relationship with their inner beauty is somewhat tattered - and after discovering a staggering 96% of women do not consider the word ‘beautiful’ when describing themselves, something had to be done.
And so, the brand have created an emotional short film that explores these notions, encouraging women to see past the beauty we see on our billboards and cinema screens.
In the video, women from San Francisco, Shanghai, Delhi, London and Sao Paulo have a choice of walking through two doorways titled either ‘beautiful’ or ‘average’. Unsurprisingly, the majority choose average, many without even hesitating. “Beautiful to me, it’s too far away out of reach,” said one, while another said she ‘regretted her choice’ almost immediately.
The women that chose ‘beautiful’ radiated positivity, encouraging others to do the same. “It was a triumphant feeling,” said one. “It was like telling the world that I think I’m beautiful.”
Through the making of this video, Dove hopes to inspire women to make ‘beautiful’ a choice, and be positive and proud about their beauty.
Life coach and psychologist Natalie Thomas said: “It saddens me to see that so many amazing women in this film felt that they should accept ‘Average’ as a way to describe themselves.
It’s important to make positive choices every day and it is great to see that Dove’s new film encourages British women to ‘choose beautiful’.
As a nation, we need to be encouraging individuals to accept and project the inherent beauty that exists within.”
Watch the video below and #ChooseBeautiful, ladies!