Racial discrimination is nothing new and is probably one of the most common social ills gnawing our society today. Sometimes displayed openly in public through remarks or even actions. It is widespread across social, political and economic setups across the country. Sometimes it is subtle and unintentional, and other times not so much. Sadly, this also happens in companies from employment to general treatment around the office and even in the marketing of their products, case in point, beauty products. About two years ago, Dove, a personal care brand under Unilever, posted an advertisement on Facebook, promoting their body wash. The advertisement starts with a black woman wearing a brown t-shirt, and underneath is a white woman wearing a light pink t-shirt, who then removes her top to reveal a Middle Eastern woman in a slightly darker top.
The advertisement, for the most part, targeted a specific demographic, in this case, women of all colours and races. The message was that the product could be used by everyone, in line with the core beliefs of Dove as a company, in the diversity of real beauty. It may have also been intended to create an emotional appeal of inclusivity into their beauty products, something that is not as common as it should be in the beauty industry. A line was crossed, however, as the advert seemed to connote the idea that the body wash would transform your skin colour into a lighter shade, which in essence, is “better”. Not Dove’s intention, as the Middle Eastern woman follows the white woman, but there was an overlooked subliminal message nonetheless.
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The advertisement, in this case, was not the problem, rather the way they portrayed the message. The company has in the past tried to be very inclusive, judging from the Real Beauty campaign (CFRB) that aimed to debunk stereotypical definitions of beauty promoted by the media and advertising industries ( McCleary, 2014) . This, therefore, was not intentional as it would go against what they stand for as a company. They have in the past been called out for another ‘racist’ advertisement back in 2011 that featured three women of almost the same script as the recent one. Some critics would argue that had the reverse happened, and the white woman turned black, there would be no issue, and that is where the problem is. The whole point is that black people are judged based on their skin complexion, including what is considered beautiful in the industry and country as a whole.
Dove’s intentions were inclusivity, not offence, but the subliminal message brought to light the bigger issue, which is discrimination by race. The advertisement was pulled down, but there was damage done. For a very long time, as far back as slavery, black women were devalued. Their bodies constantly violated by their masters for both profit and pleasure, viewed as extremely sexual “Jezebels” who deserved to be exploited and “bred” like animals for more slaves. Fast forward to today, where mainstream culture glorifies the European aesthetic and selectively accepts minorities based on desirable characteristics coupled with the white aesthetic.
This idea, so socially engraved in people’s minds, that black women engage in practices like skin bleaching and skin lightening, plus extensive hair care, all in a bid to conform to the stereotypical standards of beauty. Even on the Dove advertisement, the woman has straight hair, a trait not common in black women, which means she was trying to appeal to the European ideals. This eventually culminated to colourism, where individuals with lighter colour shades get favoured over their dark-skinned counterparts (Sekayi, 2003) . This is especially present in media, films and advertisements and all over social media creating beauty-shaming even amongst black people.
The bigger issue is the devaluation of black people, especially women, and the various issues that affect them. Most girls grow up reading magazines and seeing women on television with unattainable standards of beauty, from being extremely thin and athletic to hair and makeup. Most cosmetic products promoting the idea that being lighter is better and even base some of their product campaigns on this concept. This leads to black women believing they are not worthy, or the products aren’t for them, or that they don’t conform with the idea of standards of beauty. Not all is lost as more and more companies embrace inclusivity. The narrative is changing, but there is still insensitivity to racial bias and minority groups. Even Nivea had an insensitive incident with one of their antiperspirants, where they used the tagline “White is purity” which had a woman with a white top looking outside the window. The poor choice of words, however innocent, and the fact that it targeted the Middle Eastern market had racist all over the advertisement. This could have easily meant being white is pure, as opposed to being of a different race or even having traces of a different race as being tainted or impure.
This stretches to as far as major issues affecting the black community like the black lives matter movement. Amid the growing protests, Pepsi, using celebrity Kendall Jenner, did an advertisement where a can of Pepsi saved the day on a stand-off between the police and protestors. This undermined the point of the protests that raised awareness on real issues affecting the black community.
The Dove advertisement also pointed to the fact that black features are only attractive on the face and body of a white woman. It is fashionable to get a tan and wear cornrows trying to look black and cool, portraying black beauty as a costume that can be tossed aside at their pleasure. She still had to have qualities of a white woman to be considered beautiful, like having straight hair so as not to be “too black” to meet the standards.
In general, hair standards have long been shaped by gender and racism, favouring the most groomed and feminine hair. This resulted in the investment of money by black women on their hair to maintain a more relaxed and straight style. Those who wear their hair naturally have fewer opportunities for employment or even fear for rejection from opportunities. The narrative is slowly changing as more women embrace their uniqueness and keep raising awareness, but there is still a lot to be done.
Lighter skin still maintains a higher status as it is linked to Europeans and is synonymous with beauty and often used as social capital (Sekayi, 2003) . This may reduce the self-worth of darker women and their confidence and often predicts their education, income or ability to get a spouse.
In conclusion, it is still a work in progress, but there is progress in the fight for equality and awareness, and more and more companies and people are being held accountable in such instances. Dove might have considered a different approach and maybe had the reverse happen to be conscious of everyone and more so marginalized communities they were trying to represent, or altogether do something that cannot as easily go out of context. This could be done by simply having diversified voices on the team, or engaging your client base for feedback like Fenty Beauty by Rihanna did.
References
Business, C. N. N. D. (2017, October 9). Dove's Controversial Ad. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4OreEdwaAM.
McCleary, C. M. (2014). A not-so-beautiful campaign: A feminist analysis of the Dove campaign
for real beauty.
Sekayi, D. (2003). Aesthetic resistance to commercial influences: The impact of the Eurocentric
beauty standard on Black college women. Journal of Negro Education , 467-477.
