Following its round table discussions with leading women in Jeddah and Riyadh, Dove this week gathered key industry opinion formers in Dubai for a similar roundtable discussion on the local relevance of its global Campaign For Real Beauty which aims to change current perceptions of beauty and offer in its place a broader, healthier, more democratic view of beauty. Local experts, such as plastic surgeon Dr Buthainah Al-Shunnar, fashion designer Meher Mirchandani and dietician Lina Khalil, with key regional media attended the debate on real beauty.
“The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty challenge to widen the definition of beauty has touched the lives of women across the world,” said Dove spokesperson, Rola Tassabehji, Corporate Communications Manager - Unilever Middle East.
“Following the launch of the award winning campaign in the Arab world last year, we are continuing to spread the message of real beauty in the Arab region. This year’s campaign focuses on revealing what really happens behind the scenes of ads with perfect looking models. We hope by using this ad and the promotional activities around it, we can help women foster a healthy relationship with their bodies and their looks - a view of beauty that all women can own and enjoy every day.”
During the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty roundtable, most women agreed that real beauty is derived from self confidence.
“The most beautiful woman can feel ugly if their self confidence is shaken,” said Dr Al Shunnar. “Whereas a plain woman who walks with pride and elegance can look far more beautiful than she initially appears.”
“I have had women coming into my surgery asking me to ‘do whatever I like’ and when I dig deeper I discover that the woman’s husband has left them that day for a younger woman. In these cases, I say no to the surgery because I know that the issue is deeper that what they look like – it is how they feel that needs correcting.”
However, not all surgeons are as scrupulous as Dr Al Shunnar, the group commented, as the lines of plastic surgeons along Dubai shopping strips and the recent plastic surgery loan advertisements that came out in Lebanon testify to.
“In some Arab countries, it is becoming a status symbol to wear the nose bandage that follows plastic surgery. Women are undertaking this surgery to look like the celebrities they admire, Nancy Ajram is the most common request,” Dr Shunnar added.
Dr Shunnar also discussed the worry trend of young teenage girls coming in for surgery. They do not see it as a dangerous surgery, as women over 30 tend to view cosmetic surgery, they see it as a simple procedure that is a real option and are aggressive about that option.
These comments are echoed by a Dove study conducted among 3,300 girls and women aged 15 to 64 in 10 countries, including Saudi Arabia, which found that 37% of Arab girls between the ages of 15-17 would consider cosmetic surgery in the near future. This contrasts to a much lower 27% of women between the ages of 18-64 who considered surgical procedures as an option.
The study also found that 63% of Arab women are threatened to feel attractive amidst the beauty ideals portrayed in the media, fashion catwalks and entertainment industries. The earliest influencers on feelings about beauty and body image are mothers with 47% of KSA woman saying that their mothers played a pivotal role in their opinion of their beauty. Husbands also play a key role with 19% of women aged18 to 64 saying their romantic partners’ view of them play a powerful role in their opinion of their own beauty.
However, Ms Mirchandani commented on the need for women to accept responsibility for themselves, saying “it is up to women to assert themselves, not to blame men or the media.”
The latest Dove campaign highlights how the use of computers and heavy make-up can distort the image of beauty in advertising. This concept is rolled out in a tv commercial as well as in a number of key consumer activities held in select cities across the Gulf region.
“I hope that by continuing to spread the message of Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty among Arab women through various channels, we further reinforce the importance of a wider definition of beauty and help more women across the world enjoy their real authentic beauty and reach their full potential,” concluded Ms Tassabehji.
Dove conducted two global reports in 10 countries in 2004 and 2005, including Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, for the second study.
The research was conducted by StrategyOne, a research consulting firm, in collaboration with Dr. Nancy Etcoff (Harvard University), and Dr. Susie Orbach (London School of Economics/ Sociology Department).
Methodology: International phone surveys among 3,300 girls and women aged 15 to 64 utilizing the field services of Mori International. Depending on respective country size, 100 girls (15 to 17 years) and 200 to 300 women (18 to 64) were questioned per nation.
The first global survey discovered that only 2% of these women describe themselves as “beautiful”.
In the second study, where Saudi Arabia was one of the ten countries that was covered:
• 9 in 10 Arab females revealed they are unhappy with their physical attributes. A further 64% of those questioned admitted to avoiding activities due to feeling self-conscious about their appearance
• 63% of Arab women are threatened to feel attractive amidst the beauty ideals portrayed in the media, fashion catwalks and entertainment industries.
• 46% of young Arab girls, whose ages range from 15-17 years, wished they would see more girls and women in the media that looked like them.
• The Dove survey also revealed a generational shift in the way women perceived beauty. With 37% of Arab girls between the ages of 15-17 considering cosmetic surgery in the near future, a much lower 27% of women between the ages of 18-64 deemed the beauty procedures as an option.
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