Real Beauty: after the dust settles

Do you remember Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty? The “Sketch” video featured an FBI forensic artist sketching two portraits of the same woman — one as described by a stranger, another as described by the woman herself.

None of the women knew what the study was about, nor did the artist see who he was sketching. He drew several anonymous women in this manner and, in the end, all of the sketches had something in common: those described by strangers were more beautiful and more accurate than the self-descriptions by women. The women underestimated their own physical beauty.

This video became a phenomenon. Everyone was sharing it, commenting on it and participating in the online discussion called #WeAreBeautiful. The conversation was booming. This was clearly an issue women needed to discuss.

But like all crazes, this one fizzled. Still, this is not something to be taken lightly. As one woman in the video said, “it impacts the choices and friends that we make, the jobs we apply for, how we treat our children . . . it impacts everything.”

Verily, a magazine presenting a refreshing and sound alternative to what modern women read in magazines like Cosmo, presented a commentary on the craze in Monica Gabriel’s post “Picking up where Dove left off.” She pointed out that women don’t want narrow, degrading or insufficient portrayals of women in mainstream media. Yet we find ourselves surrounded by these portrayals and buying into the lies they tell.

Is “real beauty” just a fad? I sure hope not.

So what do women want? Talking to women of all ages, and I know many men agree, we want genuine portrayals of people. There is no doubt we love to look at beautiful things. God did create us in His own image, and that’s the most loving, beautiful thing out there. But more than seeing physical beauty in magazines, we want to be reminded that we are unique individuals that cannot be replaced or replicated.

Seeing a beautiful person and admiring them is a heavenly blessing. But when we exploit or abuse those images, and the people in them, issues arise.

We need to shift our perspective on beauty. It's fine to seek it out, marvel at it and express gratitude for it. But real beauty comes from seeking other's genuine natures and inspiring the good in each other.