Mixed Messages: The Contradiction of Dove's Real Beauty Campaign Against Their Better-Aging Products

Presenter Information

Meagan Steele, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Location

CSU 204

Start Date

28-4-2009 9:00 AM

End Date

28-4-2009 11:00 AM

Student's Major

Gender and Women's Studies

Student's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Mentor's Name

Susan Freeman

Mentor's Department

Gender and Women's Studies

Mentor's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Description

There are many contradictory messages presented to women from the media. Jean Kilboume's popular video on women in media and other websites and organizations, such as Aboutface.com and Girls Inc., have encouraged deeper examination of the representations of women and girls in the media. For this project I conducted a feminist comparative analysis of how Unilever Corporation offers contradictory messages about beauty and aging. Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty promotes the idea that women should accept who they are and reject the idea of the stereotypical "perfect body." But their advertisements for products that emphasize youth and better aging reinforce sexist and ageist messages about women's beauty. I compared Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty to Dove's "better-aging" advertisements and products by examining TV commercials, advertisements in women's magazines and the campaign's website to compare the ideas that are conveyed about gender, aging and beauty. Using this content analysis I hope to effectively shed light on the contradiction of media messages directed towards women in today's society and promote media literacy so that girls and women become more critical consumers of the media and products that are directed towards them.