Abstract

This chapter considers the meanings of “real beauty” that are produced by a corporation (Dove) and negotiated by its targeted female demographic. First, I provide a feminist media studies analysis of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty (CFRB), arguing that this branding strategy communicates problematic messages of beauty and feminism to audiences. Next, I consider the ways in which CFRB utilizes social media to engage users with its “real beauty” messaging, paying attention to their interpretations of “real beauty.” Do audiences view it as a liberating beauty philosophy that resists the dominant ideology of beauty, or do they see it as an oppressive media strategy? In considering the production and consumption of “real beauty,” I address their alliance with “a postfeminist sensibility” (Gill 2007), illuminating the positioning of “real beauty” at the nexus of contemporary meanings of beauty and feminist politics.