Columns

OUR BODIES COMMODIFIED

by Maura Hanrahan

It's hard to find a woman who doesn't like a good moisturizer or a nice lipstick.

     It's also hard to find a woman who is not bothered, hurt even, by the parade of anorexic female figures through the magazines we read, on the soaps we might watch on a sick day, or in the big-screen romantic comedies that are supposed to make us feel good. Size-zero dresses are all over the stores, even as young models drop dead from self-starvation. It is frustrating and, for those girls and women who internalize the message contained in these images, possibly even dangerous.

     As a result, many women were thrilled to see Dove's new magazine and TV ads featuring older women apparently proud of their wrinkles, potbellies, and sagging skin. The women in the ads are white, black and several colours in between. Real beauty, we're told, comes in all shapes and sizes.

     Who could disagree with that?

     Well, when I first saw these ads on television, my eyebrows were raised and I murmured, "That's refreshing." But, about ten seconds into the commercial, I felt a creeping sense of discomfort. For one thing, the women featured were nearly naked. In fact, some were completely naked, with their breasts and pelvic areas strategically hidden by their posture. Once again, women's nude and semi-nude bodies were being used to sell something, in this case, skin care products. Worse, women's bodies were again being used to sell things to women. There was something terribly cynical about the whole thing.

     This wasn't the only cynical aspect. Unilever, which owns Dove (and has been repeatedly criticized for continuing to test on animals) is being exceedingly clever with this set of ads. On youth favourite YouTube, there is a Dove Real Beauty Workshop for Girls. The video features a nice-looking twenty-something woman who is turned into a supermodel through make-up and hair tricks --and Photoshop. One young woman wrote, "This is probably the most eye-opening thing I have EVER seen!" That's encouraging but, as another commented, "Dove has 'purchased' the argument for embracing women for who they are, regardless of how they look".

     In addition, by calling their ads a "campaign" --the Campaign for Real Beauty-- Dove is likening itself to the Fair Trade campaign or other struggles that are genuinely aimed at tackling real problems without reaping huge profits for shareholders. But let's not pretend for a second that Dove is akin to Fair Trade.

     Women's bodies are still commodified through Dove ads. What are the chances that these ads were dreamed up by committed feminists and other women worried about the dominant female body image? They're likely very small. This "campaign" is the brainchild of public relations and marketing specialists hired by Unilever. It would have been focus-grouped and otherwise tested to pieces before being rolled out. And, through the testing process, it would have had to prove that it can sell soap and moisturizer; that is its main purpose after all.

     Dove has chosen women who, though not supermodels, are quite good-looking. They might have scars, tattoos, or freckles --but they are clearly healthy, not ill, disabled, or obese. They are also obviously middle-class, not living in poverty. They are sort of "honorary" supermodels, which doesn't really challenge the distorted image of female beauty. And, like I said, these women have no clothes on.

     Meanwhile, there is among girls and women increasing anxiety about our bodies and our faces. "Patients" flock to cosmetic surgeons in ever-larger numbers while TV shows like Extreme Makeover and The Swan garner high ratings.

     We're still naked, we're still used, and our bodies are being turned into profits for multi-national corporations.

     You know, women in many parts of the world make their own skin care products. For a lovely facial toner, combine one-half cup of lemon juice, one cup of water, and two-thirds cup of witchhazel, and shake. Then wipe it over your face on a cotton ball, satisfied that you are rebelling in a small but significant way.

Maura Hanrahan's (maurahanrahan.com) latest book is Domino: The Eskimo Coast Disaster.