…is an opinion piece by yours truly about the Dove ads.
Or rather, a certain reaction to the ads, which has been expressed by certain people at certain news outlets. Like, heh, The Chicago Sun-Times.
And you may have noticed the whole damn site looks different, too. Welcome back!
Good column, I’m glad they actually ran it. Funny, I was just reading a piece on Salon about the same ads wondering why such groundbreaking ads are selling firming cream. I haven’t been to Chicago since the ads went up, but looking at the samples on Dove’s website and other places I think they’re gorgeous ads of healthy looking women. I say more please!
you know. this is how much of a complex i have: i haven’t taken a good look at the women in the pictures. something makes me look down and not stare at the billboards. i don’t know if i think they look healthy or overweight. i’m too chicken to check them out. isn’t that weird. it’s like i was subconsciously not wanting anyone to see me checking them out. if it was a magazine ad, i’d have looked more closely, but i always feel funny when i see the ads at the el stop.
i wish i could thank the women who posed.
ok. i checked out the dove site. they are not fat at all.
what’s so ugly is their big, white, “full coverage” undergarments. sadly, some of us are stuck in the big white undergarments.
the people at dove are smart.
all that ‘dumb guy’ crap is really about the undergarments. i think they’d eat it up just he same as always if they were wearing smaller, colorful, maybe lace, crap aimed at their appeal. i can’t honestly believe they were called fat. i think these guys glanced at them like i did at first. or they’re just the biggest jerk-offs ever.
funny, such a huge reaction has come of this.
funny, i even have something to say about it.
THANK YOU. Especially for this line: The issue isn’t fat versus thin — it’s about the sanctimonious criticism of women’s bodies, from calling a size 10 woman “obese” to declaring a thin woman “anorexic.” I’m a very thin woman and I get sooooooooo tired of people either hating me for being thin or assuming I have a problem. I’ve been publicly ridiculed for it! To me this obsession with women’s bodies has NOTHING to do with what we actually look like. I’m very happy to see someone point out that a woman’s weight is her business alone.
That was a great piece, I’m so glad that you wrote it. It’s such a sad fact that women’s bodies are such a public matter. We know so much more about Oprah’s size and how “dangerously thin” Lindsay Lohan is than we do about the economic conditions in our own country. I also do agree that those undergarments are very unflattering, why didn’t Dove even try to make them look sexy? A bikini cut can do wonders for the thighs.
Wendy, that is a WONDERFUL column! I’d never read such a perfect take on this particular sense of entitlement that our whacked-out society has granted to men. Good for you and thank you so much for writing it!
Awesome article! ‘Nuff said.
Wendy, I enjoyed the column and I love, love, love this new look for your blog! Is it very difficult to make the transition to moveable type? You did a good job of keeping the overall feeling while having a more modern-looking site!
Absolutely LOVED the column. You were witty, profound, and wildly intelligent, and I am therefore in absolute awe that a newspaper was willing to print your words. Snaps to the Sun Times for having the balls to let you slap one of their Important Columnists!!!
This was a logical and beautifully written letter, Ms. Mc Clure. There is an element of guys, I find, which is insecure and feels they it has to openly ridicule things in order to maintain approval. I get the impression that they egg each other on, but if they were alone in a room with some of the Dove models(yes, in better drawers and bras- please with the grandma drawers), they would be grateful for it. I wonder how fabulous and buff some of the critics are.
Awesome article, and love the new look to the site!
Wendy,
You are the best! Loved the article!!!!
This Dove billboard/advertisement on the web is fantastic. I might go out today and buy as many Dove products as I can afford…want to encourage the reality photos. Those women look so gorgeous and happy and excited….much more appealing than the dangerously thin – sucked in cheeks – vapid Twiggy models
As my boyfriend says about the Vicki Secret models… “Where are those women? I never see them around town.” My comment to him, ” Honey, they don’t exist.”
Thanks Wendy.
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Thanks for posting the link, I would have been upset to miss it. Also, I love the new look of your “web blog,” as the S-T calls it.
Please reply to the ad report card on slate.com todady where the models are called husky and big boned. I immediately wanted to copy and paste your Sun Times piece I was so angry.
Terrific article. I can’t believe what controversy this has spurred. The women look great – and happy! However, I’d agree that prettier underwear would have negated some of the comments, and not just for the men’s perspective (which, i know, doesn’t matter, etc.) The plain white stuff sort of implies that women of average size can’t wear anything sexy.
I noticed that only females have commented on yout article (me included). Speak up guys!
Your column was fucking brilliant, Wendy. Thanks for sharing!
What is up with ANY ads of women (OR men) in their skivvies? I don’t want to see underwear ads ANYWHERE! I have long noticed even “down-and- outers” (read homeless men)leering at female passersby, critiquing them. Men are totally out of it. WHO exactly is supposed to care WHAT they think of our physical selves? Well,women DO. They care too much about it, as the culture demands it be so. If one tenth of the concern of the public for body status went towards the havoc the Bush crime family is wreaking, the world would be a far better place in which to live. claudia
Thanks for writing that piece- it needed to be said!
Also, I finished your book last night and loved it.
🙂
Argh. Just the concept of guys thinking they get to vote on who is featured on a billboard ad targeted specifically at women makes me m a d.
I mean, if they’d replace the bleach-blond, six-packed hunks from the shaving cream ads with some dorky Karl Rove-lookalike, would women even notice?
Wendy, I thought your article was very interesting and thought provoking. I loved that you acknowledged that men were entitled to their preferences and that they were not responsible for making us feel good about ourselves (while still not being catered to by the world because wtf). Too often weight issues are expressed in a polarized way where the overweight person is allowed to have his or her feelings (because they’re righteous) while the normal weight person is not to have theirs (because they’re obviously wrong). IMHO we all need to take responsibility for the way we feel emotionally and stop trying to get other people to change how they feel (or how they look) in order to satisfy ourselves. If a man expresses contempt for a normal sized woman (like in the Dove billboard ads), then he’s told me all I need to know about his own sexual maturity. His limited capacity for relating to women does not make me feel bad about myself. I admit, however, when feelings like Mr. Roeper’s are embedded in the culture and expressed without pity, it can be kind of scary for those of us whose bodies are built for comfort rather than speed.
This really pisses me off to no end. The women in the ads that I see on TV are hardly fat or offensive. They are BEAUTIFUL. They have more meat but they are surely not huge. I had not realized that Dove was hocking firming cream. I believed that they were just selling soap. This makes me as angry as seeing the Botox commercials on the Lifetime Television Network. Who do these jackass men think they are? Let me see them show their beer belly guts on camera. These are the same boorish, balding men who are ashamed to admit that they store a year’s supply of Cialis or Viagra in their closets. They need porn images just to get a minute rise. Who died and made them the ultimate consumers? If I subscribed to this newspaper with its humorless, sexist reporters, I would end my subscription PRONTO.
Is a size 0 really all that fake? Because I’m real. I exist. What I really get upset about is because I’m short (5’2″), I automatically am “cute”. I also have to put up with people commenting on how “fake” and “disgusting” size 0 is and how someone can “possibly” be a 0. Well, people, a size 0 isn’t really a size 0. It’s really a size 4 or 6. Thanks to size inflation/vanity sizing, everything is a lot smaller! If I bought a vintage dress from the 1940s or 50s, I would be wearing a 6.
You know what’s strange? I’m the same size as a good chunk of Hollywood actresses, yet, the fashion industry seems to think that clothes don’t “hang well” on us (so you’re telling me that Eva Longoria, Reese Witherspoon and Jada Pinkett Smith (who has been reported to be UNDER FIVE FEET TALL)) look ugly? That clothes don’t “hang well” on them?
I really loved your article. What I find so disturbing about the whole thing is the sheer misogyny of it all. Of all the things you can judge the quality of a woman on, how they look in their underwear seems extremely shallow. I think this attitude is really at the root of why there is an obesity epidemic. It takes a lot of self esteem and determination to be healthy for one’s own sake rather than for superficial reasons, and I would venture to say women who have achieved this balance are a tiny minority. I have been a see-saw dieter all my life because I have yet to attain this balance and I’m forty-two! I’m either going up or coming down.
Wendy, how hard do you rock?
HARD.
LOVE LOVE LOVE the new look. It’s zestier than a big slab of Marcie’s “Enchiladas”!
You’re fucking beautiful, Wendy. Nice column.
YEAH!
I love this discussion. The Dove women have been a great revelation to me. I must admit than when I first saw the pictures, I thought they were a bit overweight. But since looking at them, and refocusing my mind, these women are probably on the thin side. These women are physically fit and strong. If we saw them in their street clothes, and saw them moving, they would look very different.
As for me, I’m trying to lose weight. How much I don’t know. But I will never judge myself based on a static picture of myself in my underwear.
awesome article Wendy. I’ve always thought that really tall blonde woman is so hot, i mean, you know she could kick roeper’s ass.
Love the article, it’s so exciting to see your writing showing up in different publications. The website looks amazing, too. Yay for you!
I loved the article. It holds alot of truth. I, however, have to ask “If it were men instead of women, would our views be the same as the mens were?” Would “we” really want to see a man with a beer gut in all his glory plastered on billboards? For me, the answer is “HELL NO!!!” Ewww!!!
I’m glad they ran that column. I was completely unaware of the controversy. I kind of wonder if we’re looking at the same advertisement. I just see some really attractive women. Yes, they’re bigger than most models, but there’s room in this world for a lot of different body types. These women are by no means unhealthy in any way, and, in my definitly masculine opinion, some of them are downright hot.
Indeed, who else could so articulately put into words exactly what I’ve been trying to say when people have asked me, “Why are people making such a big deal about the Dove ads?”
LOVE THE SITE. Happy new site! I just upgraded too — isn’t it refreshing?
Apologies if this post twice, but I wanted to say LOVE LOVE the editorial AND the site.
Isn’t a good redesign the most refreshing thing?
funny, i didn’t even know there was an ‘issue’ about the ads. i see them all around town and was mainly self-conscious about finding the women so gorgeous. i felt guilty about looking too much but i guess i’m on the right side of this one! 🙂
Thanks for writing your editorial. We too have the ads all over the T in Boston, and they make me smile. I could care less about the product, I’m just happy to not see an ad glamourizing sex appeal at the expense of self-confidence. The first thing I thought when reading the columns was “They’re just pissy because for once, a national ad campaign is geared towards women with buying power, instead of men. I mean, who knows if there will be a huge jump in sales of the product? I think it’s great that we’re talking about it. Thank you!
A million thank yous to you, Wendy. You read and spoke the minds of millions of women out there! Do you mind if I link your blog on my site?
Wendy, your article is so right on, I just don’t even know how to express myself. I am so glad you’ve put this out there.
Over at Bigfatblog.com, your article is a hit. I just wrote over there how much I liked it. Very good work, and very very cool. Thanks for rocking the casbah!
Rawk. On.
And reluctant props to the Sun-Times for letting your voice of sanity weigh in on the discussion… At least someone over there still recognizes the newsworthiness of truth-telling.
As you wrote, high-minded, especially for them. Bravo.
Wendy (if I may), I’m a long-time reader but a first-time poster. I wanted you to know how much I–and by the looks of it, many others–appreciate how your editorial cut to the heart of the matter: the sense of entitlement that allows men (and even women) to critique and objectify women’s bodies. That, and not my cellulite, is the appropriate object of my disgust and antogonism.
Please everyone, keep writing letters to the Sun-Times and let them know that this kind of hateful spawn is NOT acceptable (nor is it news).
You said it beautifully and pefectly! I have seen the ads many times and thought they were great. Now hearing about all the flak has me pissed off. I think those women look better in their bodies than I do, so if the men think they aren’t worth being looked at, where does that leave someone like myself? Don’t they think we women have enough body issues already without their bullshit? I applaude you for reminding them that women are more than just eye candy put here for their entertainment.
Wow, I can finally access your comments! And just in time to congratulate you on such a great article. Thanks for writing it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for writing that. I don’t mind being invisible or being ruled right out of “attractiveness” by most of the guys I meet. I just write them off as immature jerks and move on. In a way it’s liberating to be beyond consideration as a sex object. It makes some men–not all, but some–see me as a person instead of as girl-meat. It also helps that I have a man who appreciates me, and that I get more and better sex than 9 out of 10 of those immature jerks.
But when I hear that I literally shouldn’t exist, just so some guy can be more comfortable–that my carefully dressed, well-groomed self ruins the landscape more than SUVs, more than billboards, more than too-dark spray tans–THAT pisses me off. What part of “don’t worry, it’s not for you” don’t these scumbags understand?
Oh. My. Gosh. You are too cool. I bow humbly before your adept logic and supreme diplomacy. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And thank the Sun-Times for printing your piece.
I love the Dove ads. They’re uplifting. But they also make me think. I catch myself getting mad at the skinny women of the world. Thinking “gah, her thigh is thinner than my upper arm! how dare she!” when really what I’m feeling is “ack! ack! I feel fat! No man will like me when they see that there are skinny women like that girl around! Must…hate…skinny…women!” The Dove ads are helping me remember that women are women, no matter what size or shape. They are not competition. Unless we’re playing pictionary. Then I’m takin’ you down, ladies! No mercy! 😉
Thank you for also reminding me that guys are mean to and also pick apart skinny women. And fat women. And short women. And tall women. And even supermodels.
Thank you a million times,
Robin
Thank God someone finally took them down in a smart, logical way. You’re my hero!
Great response, Wendy. Regarding the white underwear in the ads: I don’t think it would have made sense for Dove to show “sexy” underwear in fun colors when their brand image is focused on clean, simple products. Their signature item (soap) is white. Their new product packaging is predominately white. The underwear fits the pure, clean, simple image… although I’ll grant that it’s boring underwear.
As far as not wanting to see beer-gut-sporting men on billboards (as mentioned upthread), we already see them all the time. Miller Beer, Dodge trucks, Cialis ED medication, Mountain Dew — all show average to moderately attractive guys, depending on the character portrayed and the target audience. The Visa identity theft campaign shows a paunchy guy in a tank top. Nobody comments or notices because that’s what we expect to see.
When the campaign first came out–and even now–I get a little thrill watching women react to the ads. There’s this startled jolt of surprise that runs through them when they first see it, as if they just don’t know what to do with what they just saw. Like, What the HELL? am I seeing what I’m seeing? At least, that’s what went through my own head when I first saw the ads. It is freaky indeed to see a girl with a body just like your own out there in her underoos for the whole world to see. You need a couple of viewings to get over the initial shock of it. After that, it feels pretty cool. A couple of weeks ago I watched as a woman stopped dead in her tracks, looked up sort of shocked, and then just stared at her. And Miss Dove, in all her life-sized half-naked glory, stared right back at us both.
When is the last time that an anorexic beer babe made a woman pause like that? If you’re like me, you don’t think twice. The same conventionally pretty, cookie cutter models wallpaper the streets and the TV and whatever else and I walk past them, looking at them without really seeing them. It’s like they aren’t even there.
I think what’s so unnerving for everybody probably has as much to do with that smartass expression as anything else. So maybe that’s really the problem. ‘Cause: there she is, effin half naked, hands on hips, standing and staring right back at you square in the face with a kind of self-satisfied gleam in her eye. Actually, it feels a lot more like they’re looking back at other women. These Dove people are pretty smart, huh? That might explain the “you GO girl!” that involuntarily sounds off in my head every time I see the ads. While I was waiting over at the Park Street T-stop the other day, I saw the words “THAT’S MY MAMMAS” scrawled in black marker above the heads of the girls in the group-photo billboard…
I love all this male crybabying that’s going on over the whole business. Most real men who get laid on a regular basis enjoy real women’s bodies anyway. And for the guys that dont… well its like you said Wendy. They aren’t the ones buying the firming cream. In the end if we like the ads, and we buy the product, they really can’t do a damn thing about it, except learn to deal, can they? HA!!
Awesome column! Thank heavens for a powerful voice to express the opinions that all of us are thinking, but are unable to put into words as eloquently as you.
If I had yo’ number I would call you and sing “you light up my life”.
I work at a certain clothing store where I am required to stuff the dove ads into customers’ shopping bags. The lovely ladies I work with and I, have but one question regarding the ad campaign, and it is this: “Where’s the jelly roll?”