Blog Post 5

If I had to re-invent this Dove campaign for men, I would call it "Inner strength" and I would run it very similarly. The change I would make though would be to have the focus on physical strength as opposed to facial beauty. Women are usually considered to be more self conscious but I think men are just the same about how muscular they are. I will use my boyfriend as an example. He is well aware of my insecurities because I am more open about them and am always talking about what I would want to change about my body. I always thought he felt fine about the way he was built becuase first of all, I had never seen anything wrong with him and second of all, he usually doesn't complain about his body the way I complain about mine. One sunny day, I'm talking about how I could pull off being able to wear shorts and swim suits the way I see other girls (who are pretty stick thin) do it. To my surprise he  says "Well I wish I could pull off being able to walk around with my shirt off"! I was confused as to why he didn't think he could! I mean he's not the buffest person I've ever seen but he's very defined and pretty solid, I love the way he looks without his shirt!! It made me think, do guys have just as hard of a time as girls do with seeing themselves the way others see them?? I think so. They aren't as verbal about it and may not take it to the same extreme as girls do but I definitely think that same insecurity is there. I think the hardest thing for people to see about themselves is their inner beauty and strength that shines through. All we see when we look at ourselves in the mirror are our physical traits and our flaws. One thing we don't get to see (that others see way more clearly) is how we act around others. We know what we do but we don't get to observe from the outside how it comes across to a general public. In my opinion, a person's outer beauty relies A LOT on their inner beauty. Have you ever met someone who upon first sight is absolutely "beautiful"? Then after getting to know them, their outer beauty is either confirmed by a beautiful soul or is ruined by an ugly personality?? Same goes for someone who may appear physically unattractive. After getting to see someones personality and how they treat others, it can actually make their physical appearance change to make them more attractive. Same goes for guys and their strength and "masculinity". I may see a guy who is skinny to the societal standard but if I see inner strength and confidence in that person, they look just as strong to me as someone who may spend 3 hours a day in a weight room. In the opposite direction, if I see someone who is pretty buff but see a weak personality/attitude, they will not look "strong" to me. One reason why I think self-confidence campaigns are aimed towards women, even when guys have insecurities too, is because I feel that society puts more pressure on women in general to look a certain way. If you are watching TV, I'd bet that 80% of commercials are aimed towards a women's appearance or have a woman as the main character and whether or not we try to igmore them, that ideal gets stuck in out heads. Women are targeted more in general so we feel the need to undo that by posting things like Dove's  real beauty campaigns.