In an effort to create awareness and promote better and realistic perceptions of real women of the world (emotionally, physically and otherwise), Dove is long-known for its provocative ad campaigns celebrating the beauty of women of all shapes, sizes and colors.
In its latest #ChooseBeautiful campaign, Dove asked several women in big cities like San Francisco, Shanghai, Delhi, London, and Sao Paulo to walk through the door of the attribute that best describes them.
In a word, two large adjectives [posted up in Facebook blue ironically, the words]: “Beautiful” and “Average” were placed atop entry doors to a building awaiting their push of self-perception. This is what happened:
Actually, in my humble opinion: It’s a good experiment but not that deep.
In a world were we are deemed and seek to be “liked” we’re often forced into false modesty-especially if we (without question) can show ourselves who we claim to be. In such case false modesty is usually the name of the game and often works best if you do not want to be perceived as arrogant, cocky, snob (or any other adjective that will be placed upon you for choosing “beautiful” or any other adjective that suits you without question).
On the flip side of that, it’s also a good experiment because when one stares at the word “beautiful” next to the word “average” without question (because of the word “average”), the decision to walk through either would seemingly be the choice of a decision as to how a woman feels about herself on the outside (versus as a spirit or her person).
With that, (and cameras rolling and people watching) one of 2 decisions come into play:
- to be roll with being okay with being falsely modest (so as to no appear arrogant, cocky etc.)
- to be okay with being and living your beautiful–aloud
…because one truthfully and modestly has a clear and distinct choice of how she feels about herself on the outside [in the choice between feeling as if she is]: “Beautiful” or “Average”–(because one wouldn’t necessarily think of “average” as a adjective to use by comparison to “beautiful” to chose about how they feel about themselves as a spirit or person on the inside).
Either way, I say, every woman has something beautiful inside, or about her that exudes outside.
The best way to walk through doors like such without trepidation or contemplation is to do like the saying says:
“You don’t have to get ready if you’re already ready.”
You have to ready yourself-first-to be ready for this world. And if you do it out of order, the world will make up a ‘self’ for you-then that’s who you end up telling yourself you are.
That being said, even before approaching doors like such, in the game of life out here in the world, if you don’t already, pick a pick-me-up! A theme song [like I do]:
Even on her worst day, no woman should even leave the house without knowing or feeling that there is something(s) ‘beautiful’ about herself-this world is worthy of…(yeah, in that order).
Take the time to reach into the faculties of yourself and be okay with what of or about you is “beautiful” and chose to wear that-regardless if it makes people uncomfortable, or chose their own personal negative adjectives to define you (to suit their own plights and comfort zones).
I learned that in this life, what people about you, is relatively and solely contingent upon what they feel about you. In order to make someone feel something, you had to have actually done something to them. And whatever you didn’t actually and literally “do” to them, the reality is-they’re doing it to themselves and well, that’s not your problem or your torture…it’s their problem and their torture. So let them wallow in that-not you. You: GO BE BEAUTIFUL!
…that way, when walking through doors like such, such is life [say]: “I am beautiful, period-regardless of how, or what you feel about it.”
I say (to doors of the life and alone, or even in the world around you): If you’re too
