The Question:
Binaries permeate every aspect of our culture and extend to how we appraise and affirm those around us. That define and influence societal standards based on your physical appearance.
What if beauty wasn’t the goal anymore?
The Brand:
Dove
How does Dove reflect gender?
"29% of Americans have felt
limited by gender norms and stereotypes." Mintel, 2020
Problem
Beauty is viewed through the lens of culture. In the bestselling 1990 book by Naomi Wolf, the author states that “An obsession with physical perfection that traps the modern woman in an endless spiral of hope, self-consciousness, and self-hatred as she tries to fulfill society's impossible definition of ‘the flawless beauty." The beauty industry, including skincare, has been used as a means to reinforce these ideals
According to Dove’s 2024 Real Beauty Report, women have long existed in this paradox. Investing the time, labor, and money required to conform to societal beauty standards, and gain access to the privileges they can afford, while simultaneously being admonished and patronized for fixating on physical appearance. 40% of women would still give up a year or more of their lives if they could achieve their ideal appearance or body size.
Men suffer, too, from increased risk of substance abuse, suicide, and shorter life expectancy than women – especially if they try to challenge masculine norms. Based on a study “An Exploration of the Factors that Shape Adolescence” we found the onset of adolescence triggers a common set of rigidly enforced gender expectations associated with increased lifelong risks of mental and physical health problems.
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“The beauty industry for many is a source
of anxiety and trauma.” Dove Real State of Beauty Report, 2024
Opportunity
Despite more expansive portrayals of beauty, according to Dove's own 2024 Real State of Beauty Report, the beauty industry continues to be a source of anxiety and trauma. The question remains: if real beauty has become the norm, then why don’t women feel beautiful? Dove is a brand that has challenged beauty standards for the past 20 years, creating a legacy of championing women. Dove now has the opportunity to liberate not only women, but every body from the binaries imposed by the beauty industrial complex.
Dove has relied on a version of self-esteem that was contingent upon your physical, external self and beauty as a source of confidence. But relying on beauty as a source of confidence traps you in an endless spiral of hope, self-consciousness, and self-hatred. We recommend Dove move from a brand that builds self-esteem for women through beauty to a brand that inspires body confidence in all bodies.
A brand that builds
self-esteem for women
through beauty.
A brand that inspires
body confidence
for all bodies.
Manifesto
Dove will promote self-acceptance through the idea of Embodiment.
Twenty years ago, we challenged toxic beauty standards with our Campaign for Real Beauty.
Since then, we’ve been working to transform beauty from a source of anxiety to a source of confidence.
But our industry still sees beauty as skin deep.
And it seeks to define you according to a binary.
Beautiful or average.
Masculine or feminine.
Dove believes your appearance is only a fraction of your identity.
We believe you are inherently nuanced and constantly evolving.
You are complex.
You can be nurturing and assertive.
Refined and rugged.
Playful and rational.
Careful and reckless.
Instead of redefining beauty, we now celebrate the full experience of having and being a body.
Embodiment is
the experience of living and being in a body.
It is the choice to consciously inhabit the full spectrum
of our experience of being a human without
judgment or binary.
Exit the Beauty Industry
To inspire body confidence in all bodies, we propose that Dove exit the beauty industry.
Dove Rebrand the beauty bar, one of Dove's most iconic equities as the Embody, showcasing Dove’s commitment to something deeper than beauty.
Because the embodiment of every body shouldn't be limited to one side of a binary. Dove believes you can embody everything you are.
And as you are, you are enough.
Campaign
Dove will begin by asking a question:
if every body woke up confident, what would the beauty industry sell?
this question invites passers-by to pause, question, and challenge internalized preconceptions imposed by a system designed to make every body feel inadequate.
