So how do YOU think you look ?

I recently came across an advertisement by Dove , “Real Beauty Sketches”. A brilliant hard hitting ad, which is a must watch for all women. It really brings out all the insecurities a woman faces about herself and how she really views herself.

The concept of the ad is very simple, women are made to describe how they look , from their perspective to a sketch artist.The artist then draws his interpretation from that. Neither of them are allowed to see each other. Next, the lady is made to meet a perfect stranger and have a 5 minute conversation with him / her. Now comes the twist, the stranger then gives a description of the lady to the sketch artist who then draws the stranger’s perception right next to the sketch as described by the lady.

The difference is so remarkable , majority of the women , view themselves as somehow less than perfect , they think they look older, closed and highlight all their real or imagined flaws. The sketch ultimately looks a like the ugly step sister version of how they really look. The description of a stranger highlights this as they describe the women perfectly and the sketches bring out the real beauty of these women. They are perfect as they are. When the women see the difference , the expression on their faces is priceless, all the inherent insecurities come to fore and they realize how they really look to people they meet.

Culturally women are supposed to be obsessed with their looks and their real or imagined flaws. Then there are the more philosophically inclined who believe that beauty comes from the heart but this does not manage to convince most of the women out there. Inner beauty and all that is fine but how they look is directly linked to how they perceive their self worth. There is no denying the fact that beauty gives you the confidence to tackle the big bad world out there. There is a saying in the Arab world which loosely translates to- A thing of beauty should always have a flaw, that way it is protected from evil eyes. If most of the women incorporate that into their thinking then they can conquer the world. It’s unnatural to be perfect, our physical flaws make us more human.

Enjoy the ad !!