Dove Really Gets It

    I already use the soap. And you can betcha that I am going to buy more Dove products whenever I can find a good use for them. Some cynics would argue that I have simply succumbed to Dove's latest advertising campaign. It might appear so. However Dove's latest ad campaign goes much deeper than products to clean, cleanse, and condition. It's about women. And how we see ourselves. It's about a problem that has plagued us since Eve first viewed her reflection in a pool outside of the Garden.

    I have watched the following video three times. I have cried each time. There is a profound truth about beauty here that has been thwarted and perverted and promulgated by our culture, by our own inadequacies and by our propensity to believe the lie over the truth. I am not laying this one at the man's door. It is our struggle. It is our pain. And at our core, it is our lie.

   This idea of self-image has been and continues to be a fairly constant struggle for me. And the struggle of many other women. It haunts me every time I pull on my pants, think about putting on a bathing suit, or catch a glimpse of my reflection in a mirror as I pass it by. Can I value what I see there? Can I not define myself by that image? Can I correctly validate the warp and woof of time that are daily being etched on my face? Can I see myself for who I really am?

   I have blogged about this before here and here. It's a ongoing conversation that women of all ages and persuasions need to have. Old and young. Mothers, daughters, sisters, friends. Not one of us is exempt.

   Thank you Dove.