I Dove You More Than Chocolate. (Dedicated to Mercy Adhiambo)

{Beauty is not caused.  It is.}~~Emily Dickinson

~~I’m just CRAZY about the “Dove Campaign,” which promotes beauty from WITHIN.

Yeah, honey, WITHIN.  What a freaking concept.

Consider this:  if Dove were around when you were a young girl to help you develop into somebody who wildly loves herself, would you have listened?  Would you have believed? Would you be different now?

Well, would ya, Punk? 

Speaking for myself, I used to look in mirror and think I was fat and unattractive.  And quite honestly, I still don’t know where that originated from. I mean, did somebody tell me I was chunky and not pretty when I was a young girl? Or is this something that is inbred and ingrained in female genetics?   Perhaps it was an accumulation of things, such as the media, Kate Moss, Glamour, and Cosmopolitan. Did I mention Kate Moss?

All I know for sure is-- I was never thin enough, pretty enough or Moss enough. I was never where I was supposed to be, wherever that BE was....

And I don’t think it would’ve mattered a damn how much I weighed either; seriously; even at size seven, I was thinking about taking laxatives and stuffing my fingers down my throat.   

But thought and action are two different things.  Thank God or I’d be dead right now.

I hate when I compare myself to other women, although I find myself doing this sometimes. 

For example, my behavior last weekend; my girlfriend and I were out for dinner and directly in the middle of my bite of fried chicken smothered with Swiss, Miss Thang decides to walk by with a body that resembles Angelina freaking Jolie. I glance at my girlfriend with a bit of venom and viciousness spilling down my chin and in perfect unison we mutter …

    :::::::BITCH::::::::

     That’s just not right.

Can you imagine men behaving in such a way?  Picture it: A hot lookin’ guy walks by and two men sitting at a table look at one another and moan, “Now, that’s some tight ass on that dude.  I haaaate him!”

Not going to happen.  Unless, um….you know, they dig the same junk.

Dove’s mission is to change the way girls and women think about themselves:

   “In 2004, Dove launched the very successful Campaign for Real Beauty which features Real Women, not models, advertising Dove's firming cream. The advertisements focus on promoting real, natural beauty, in an effort to offset the unrealistically thin and unhealthy archetypal images associated with modeling. The sentiment is articulated quite strongly through their slogan "real women have curves" as well as the campaign's Web site, http://www.dove.us/#/cfrb/, which features quotes from each of the Campaign for Real Beauty models. The women share their perspectives on what real beauty is and why they wanted to be involved in the campaign”—Media Awareness Network

         Shanel Lu: I love the thought of being a part of an ad that would potentially touch many young girls to tell them that it is all right to be unique and everyone is beautiful in their own skin. 

        Julie Arko: Being a woman is beautiful. Waking up every morning and living a happy, healthy life is beautiful. 

        Lindsey Stokes: Young girls need to see real women like themselves in print ads or on TV. 

        Sigrid Sutter: Truth is beauty. 

        Gina Crisanti: It [the campaign] encourages the viewer to let go of society's narrow fantastical idea of beauty, and embrace beautiful reality. 

       Staci Nadeau: It's time that all women felt beautiful in their own skin.

       Kim Sisto Robinson: True beauty is wisdom, intellect, kindness, and compassion

When are we going to give ourselves a break?  When are we going to realize that the way we are is ENOUGH.  It’s always been enough. Not only enough, but beautifully and completely and magically enough. 

     WHEN?  

    At the bottom of this page, please write what true beauty means to you…. And remember, I Dove you more than Chocolate.

      Well, Almost.

Check this out~~~Dove - Evolution Commercial (higher quality)

     {I don’t like myself, I’m crazy about myself}~~Mae West

krrobi

Skirtsetter

Educator / Writer