Real Beauty

Do you remember what you felt like when you were a kid? Did you like yourself? Did you think you were good-looking or pretty? Probably most of us didn't have great self esteem or think we were attractive. Well, multiply that by about one hundred. That's what it's like now for young women. Our culture puts such a high price on beauty and body image, that today, many young women have much lower self esteem than we ever experienced. Eating disorders are at an all time high and more teens are asking for plastic surgery. One beauty company is doing something about it, or at least trying to make a dent. Dove has developed the real beauty campaign. Contrary to the belief that this is a marketing tool for their products (and, on some level it probably is), they have developed a website dedicated to raising the self esteem of young women all over the world through education. I'm not sure who was behind this brainstorm, but it makes me wonder if other skincare and cosmetic companies will follow suit. It's a brilliant business decision on their part. In a day and age of advertising where underwear commercials are bordering on soft-core porn, they have taken the high road with a group of women who are not perfectly sculpted. These undewear-clad ladies are showing up everywhere...even on Oprah. Their mantra is curves, in any size, are beautiful. It would be wonderful if this thinking could be contagious, but I think it will be a long road before this philosophy hits every household, but still, kudos to Dove for setting a new standard. You can learn more about their campaign by going to www.campaignforrealbeauty.com.