Women Are Hiding From the Camera and Their Own Beauty
TORONTO, July 5, 2013 /CNW/ - Women are missing out on some of life's most memorable moments because they are not happy with the way they look. Anxiety about their appearance prevents them from capturing precious memories, including photos of a beach vacation, their own wedding pictures, or even photos of the birth of their child. Sadly, 77% of women are camera shy, citing that they often feel self-conscious or uncomfortable having their photo taken because they do not feel they are beautiful according to new Dove global research.1 Dove is committed to creating a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety and in response created a short film, Camera Shy, to raise the question why women hide from the camera as an adult, but loved the camera as a little girl. Women should feel confident to smile for their next photo so they do not lose out on capturing their precious memories. Dove encourages women to celebrate their own beauty with tips to help them "say goodbye to being camera shy."
"We know that women are very self-critical when it comes to their looks and that this can have an impact on self-esteem, confidence and happiness," says Sharon MacLeod, Dove V.P. of Marketing. "This study shows that women, who are their own worst beauty critic, have anxiety that stops them from feeling confident in front of the camera and causes them to miss out on capturing important moments in their lives. We want that to change."
Women struggle to see the beauty in themselves. Dove wants to inspire women to reconsider their beauty and recognize that they are more beautiful than they think. Encouraging women and the next generation to develop a positive relationship with beauty can help raise their self-esteem and thereby enable them to realize their full potential.
Girls mirror their mother's behaviour about beauty, confidence and self-esteem. It is important that mothers recognize the beauty in themselves and set positive examples for their daughters. Dove wants to remind women to recapture the feeling they had when they were young and fearless in front of the camera, embrace their own beauty without reservation and pass those lessons on to a girl in her life.
The brand has set a global goal of reaching 15 million young lives with self-esteem programming by the end of 2015 and has reached 11 million so far. Together we can create a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety for women and girls of all ages.
Dove Global Research: Key Findings2
Beauty anxiety is the main reason why women are camera shy.
Women are missing out on capturing memories.
• Digital photos are even more likely to be destroyed than printed copies (55% vs 25%)
Digital photos are increasing women's sense of camera shyness.
Dove Wants All Women to Celebrate Their Own Beauty
Dove research confirms that women are their own worst beauty critics and will actively avoid situations when their appearance is brought into the spotlight, such as having their photo taken. When confronted with a photo of themselves over half of women (55%) only saw the negative, considering themselves "unattractive," "ugly," or "too fat."3
To help women say goodbye to a camera shy mindset, Dove Global Self-Esteem Ambassador Jess Weiner offers these tips:
View the Dove Camera Shy film at http://www.youtube.com/user/doveunitedstates and join the conversation at #MyBeautifulSelf.
About Dove and the Dove Self-Esteem Project
Dove, manufactured by Unilever, is the No. 1 personal wash brand nationwide. The Dove Self-Esteem Project is a global Dove initiative that was first established as part of The Campaign for Real Beauty. Its mission is to educate and encourage the next generation of girls to build a positive relationship with beauty and to help raise self-esteem, enabling them to realize their full potential in life. It is one of the only funds in Canada dedicated to the self-esteem of women and girls. Dove encourages Canadians to be part of the conversation at www.Facebook.com/Dove. For more information visit www.dove.ca.
About Unilever Canada Inc.
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with operations in over 100 countries and sales in 190. Working to create a better future every day, we help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. In Canada, our portfolio includes brand icons such as: Becel, Ben & Jerry's, Breyers, Clear, Degree, Dove personal care products, Hellmann's, Nexxus, Q-Tips, Simple, St. Ives, TRESemmé, Vaseline and others. All of the preceding brand names are owned or used under license by Unilever Canada Inc.
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1 Source: Camera Shy - Dove® Global Research, 2013
2 Camera Shy - Dove Global Research 2013
3 Camera Shy - Dove Global Research 2013
Video with caption: "Dove® Camera Shy Exposes A Universal Truth". Video available at: http://bit.ly/12duOLc
SOURCE: Dove Self-Esteem Fund
Melanie Filipp
Harbinger
[email protected]
416.960.5100 ext. 246
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