Daughters Might Be Learning Body-Shaming From Moms

Dove does it again. The brand that has released viral after viral advertisement about women’s self-esteem and real beauty, introduced another marketing campaign in the same vein as their previous empowering videos. Released Tuesday, a short film called “Legacy” demonstrates a mother’s influence on their young daughters.

Five women were asked to write two lists. On one they described what they like about the way the look, and the other what they don’t like. Separately, their kids were asked to perform the same task and later the family members exchanged the results. The moms confessed the parts of themselves that they’re the most self-conscious about and the social experiment reveals that no matter how much the parent tries to shield their children from their personal body insecurities, the girls pick up on these anxieties. The social experiment was conducted in part to back up Dove research that has shown that when girls have a positive role model, they are less likely to let uneasiness about their looks hold them back. While the mothers’ negative outlooks on their bodies were certainly disheartening, the physical features that the women were proud of registered with the girls as well. “I believe that the fact that I smile a lot has a lot to do with why my skin stays nice,” one more admitted. At the end, her daughter said, “I like my face, because it is smiley.”

“Whether a mother, aunt, coach, teacher, or sister, all women can set a positive example for the next generation by expressing their own beauty with confidence,” Jennifer Bremner, Director of Marketing, Dove, said. “Dove has long been dedicated to fostering positive self-esteem in women and girls, and we invite all women to join us in making a difference to the next generation by ensuring their own beauty legacy is a positive one.”

2014 marks 10 years since Dove released its first segment in their “Dove Campaign For Real Beauty.” Sparked by a survey in 2004 that revealed that only 2 percent of the women interviewed considered themselves beautiful, Dove began their operation to improve women’s outlooks on their bodies. The “Body Evolution” video revealed what kind of manipulation and retouching goes into creating a beauty advertisement and has been viewed a staggering 17 million times since it was posted in 2006. Their 2013 ad spot “Real Beauty Sketches,” which shows women describing their appearances to a forensic sketch artist was named the most watched video-ad of all time with more than 64 million views on YouTube. But the campaign has received its fair share of blowback as well. Its most recent ad, “Patches,” in which women are tricked into believing they’re wearing pharmaceutical patches that will make them feel more beautiful, sparked outrage on social media and many traditional media outlets. But considering every ad Dove has released has managed to start a conversation — be it good or bad — on women’s self-esteem, it’s possible that “Real Beauty” is here to stay.