I ran into a chemist the other day to grab a stick of deodorant. Dove is ok – or so I thought. They are the more socially progressive brand - notable for their 'Real Beauty' campaign that featured normal-looking women, and the retouching piece on YouTube. (check campaigns and find links)
I was so embarrassed to subsequently discover that I had bought a bloody “whitening” product!
WTF?!!! Dove sells the “whitening BS too?!!!! Just in case I misread anything, they even print explicitly on the label: this product “restores underarms’ natural skintone.” Just to be sure there is no misunderstanding. So, my underarms are not white enough now?
What a let down! What a schmuck I was to be duped by Dove's marketing. All that ‘natural beauty’ BS was clearly just BS. Advertising BS designed to tap into topical shallow marketing trends. Nothing more than BS. It is clear now they never really believed in anything remotely beyond making a quick buck from exploiting and perpetuating people’s insecurities. Dove peddles BS too!
Whitening products exploit and perpetuate the notion of ‘white is better’. They exploit and perpetuate the insecurities and low self esteem of thousands of women and men – especially those not born with ‘white’ skin. They sucker us into buying a shallow, offensive, and ultimately pointless ‘goal’ that can never be achieved. They poison and diminish us.
In Sweden right now, Dove is advertising to men with the tagline: “Be comfortable in your own skin.” Presumably Swedish underarms are white enough. You cannot get anymore hypocritical than that!
F*ck you Dove. You have less integrity than your competitors. At least they don’t pretend to be anything more than what they are. I will never buy any of your products ever again.
