In the day of the Romans the image was clean shaven, chiseled frame, and a stoic look. Those with beards were looked upon as oddities and potential threats giving light to “barbas,” the latin word meaning beard which eventually got transformed into our present day english word, barbarians. Then came the age of adorning purple colored clothes and jewlery to show off ones wealth and influence for being able to obtain such treasures from the far off east. Next came the style of fat-bellies portarying a man so rich that he doesnt even need to raise a finger to work but rather everything is done by a servant or a slave. Now the fat-belly look is out the window, same with everything purple, trending towards the Roman look but one far distant from it at the same time. No longer are the bodies chiseled and stoic looking but rather sickly looking as the current market fad is being too small to fit into your newest pair of jeans.
Fashion Moguls and marketers got this burning rage of “new beauty” by throwing Size 2 models and above out the window, turning a 6 foot healthy model into an instant twig. The beauty that they were striving for, however, ended up being a very harsh beauty, one that purges on eating disorders (such as Bulimia and Anorexia) and kills the body, sometimes even killing the individual. Jeremy Gullitzer a male model who all the girls loved fell into this trap slowly watching his body perish to a weak 66 pounds before dying because of the need for being too thin to funtion in today’s fashion eyes.
Besides the fashion industry this fad has grown too all areas including Hollywood, clothing outlets and numerous other industries. A number of actresses have fallen into this trap, notably Nicole Richie and the Olsen twins, while those who didn’t such as Jennifer Love Hewitt were lambasted for looking like a normal person. Clothing companies like Ralph Lauren have followed eagerly in suit portraying the super skinny to be the perfect size and today’s “normal.”
Is this extreme twist of reality being pulled by marketers and firms alike fair and ethical or should the real reality be shown to the public? Dove believes the real truth should be leaked and capitalized on. It’s a product that is a lone fish in an enormous ocean trying to revert us back to what “normal” actually is. I believe more companies should stop the lies and hidden truths of reality, degrading our human population as a whole, but rather follow in suit with what Dove is doing.