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According to a recent and widespread study, it appears that American women have deconstructed thebeauty myth. When I first wrote about the oppressive power of prevailing norms of “the physical ideal” in1991, very few women felt comfortable challenging them. It was taken for granted by audiences with whomI spoke that the ideal was tall, young, thin, blonde, Caucasian, and large-breasted, and that if they fell outsideof this rigid definition of beauty – which they experienced as “a barrage” of images coming at them fromads in magazines and TV commercials – then it was them, not the images, that were at fault. If they onlytried harder, they were told, if they only spent more, exercised more, or even went under the knife, somehow,someday, they might claim “beauty” for their own. Meanwhile, studies in the past repeatedly showed that women just didn’tfeel that good about themselves physically; one landmark study established that women felt a lowered sense of self-esteemwhen they read fashion magazines and saw models than when they did not. In the first edition of The Beauty Myth, asubstantial minority of women said they would rather lose 10 pounds than achieve any other life goal

what a beauty

A Letter from DoveAt Dove, we think differently about beauty. Our point of view is optimistic and realistic. We embrace the philosophy that eachwoman’s looks, shape, size and spirit are what creates her own unique beauty. We believe that a wider definition of beautyis possible – one that is multi-dimensional and defined by women themselves. Dove wants to be a part of making this definitiona reality. With that mission in mind, we commissioned a study to enrich our understanding of how women really feel aboutbeauty – what’s in their heads and in their hearts. The findings surprised us and we think that they will surprise you, too. We’vediscovered that beauty is a passionate topic for women – filled with contradictions. It’s a subject that women both love andloathe to talk about.The results of this groundbreaking study, The Dove Report: Challenging Beauty, are summarized in this booklet.

The title,with its double meaning, implies that

(1) beauty is a challenging topic for women, and

(2) women are challenging stereotypicalviews and standards of beauty.At Dove, we believe – and the findings of this study reinforce – that a cultural shift can take place. Our vision is that a newdefinition of beauty will free women from self-doubt and encourage them to embrace their real beauty. The findings in thisreport are just the beginning. We hope that The Dove Report: Challenging Beauty has pervasive implications for womennow and far into the future. Our vision is that this research will generate discussion that will help evolve the perception ofbeauty to be more empowered, forgiving and democratic.The Research ProcessIn order to generate truly significant findings, Dove and The Downing Street Group, a research consulting group, created arigorous, four-phase research process that resulted in The Dove Report: Challenging Beauty.

First, in order to determine the subject and scope of the study, The Downing Street Group gathered and reviewed all literatureregarding women and beauty, including other studies, surveys, media reports and academic literature. The goal was to tryand figure out what research had not been conducted previously.Second, Dove identified and commissioned a panel of experts to further review existing research and literature, and provideguidance on untapped opportunities on the topic of women and beauty. The Dove Report Advisory Board includes authorsNaomi Wolf and Mary Lisa Gavenas, academics Pamela Trotman Reid and Toni Antonucci from the University of Michigan,and Wendy Steiner from the University of Pennsylvania. After much discussion and debate, the advisors agreed that existingresearch had examined the many problems the subject of beauty causes women – from eating disorders and self-esteemissues, to jealousy and feelings of worthlessness. But there was an emergent and novel opportunity to research the solutionsand strategies that many women already are using to combat the negative feelings that beauty often can elicit. The researchset out to test the hypothesis that American women radically underestimate their own beauty. The hypothesis proved tobe incorrect.Third, The Downing Street Group conducted intensive qualitative research to gain a better understanding of the real beautyissues women face, and how they speak about them. More than 200 women were interviewed in their homes – individually orwith friends and family. They were taken on beauty excursions, and were asked to keep journals, take photographs and gazein the mirror, all while being observed and questioned by The Downing Street Group. The goal of this phase was to ensurethat the quantitative questionnaire contained the proper content, and was contextualized in a way that captured how realwomen talk about beauty.