beentaughttothinkaboutbodiesandhealthif
wewanttoprovideaffirmingandaccessiblecare
foreverybodyinanybody.”
BeautybrandDovehasalwaysaimedto
showcasediversityinitsadvertising,butwhenit
launcheditslatestproject,SophieGalvani,the
company’sglobalvicepresident,acknowledged
that“thisisnotenoughandwecannotmakethe
systemicchangeweneedalone”.
Tothisend,Dovehascollaboratedwithphoto
agencyGettyImagesandcreativeagency
GirlgazetocreateProject#ShowUs,a libraryof
over 5000 stockimagesforuseinmediaand
advertising.Photographedbywomenaroundthe
world,theimagescapturea diverserangeof
women.Somehaveskinconditions,othersare
transgender,somearelivingwithillnesses– a
welcomechangefromthetypicallythin,white,
cis-gendered, able-bodied type seen in stockimages,andina largeproportionoftheworld’s
advertisingandmedia.
ItalianparalympianVeronicaYokoPlebani,
whocontractedbacterialmeningitisasa
teenager,causingscarsandphysical
impairmenttoherbody,isoneofthose
featured.Noneoftheimageshasbeendigitally
manipulated,a movementwhichisalsogaining
momentum,withGilletteVenusannouncing
lastyearthattheywouldnolongerretouchany
modelsintheiradverts.
DovequotesProfessorPhillippaDiedrichs,
bodyimageexpertattheCentreforAppearance
ResearchattheUniversityoftheWestof
England:“Whenwomenandgirlsexperience
bodydissatisfaction,theyexperiencenegative
consequencesacrosskeyareasoftheirlives,
includingtheirhealthandwellbeing,their
relationships, and their aspirations in education“Weneedtounlearnwhatwehavebeentaughttothink
aboutbodiesandhealthifwewanttoprovideaffirming
and accessible healthcare for every body in any body”
SmashingstereotypesThispageandoppositetop:ImagesfromProject#ShowUscelebratea diverserangeofbeauty.
Oppositebottom:SonyaReneeTaylorofTheBodyIs NotAnApologybelievesin“radicalself-love”;modelSophiaMalthus,a former
jockey and tetraplegic, wears a Jimmy D top, available on All is for All, a shopping website for people with access needs. PHOTOGRAPHYGetty, Madeleine Brighouse(Sophia Malthus).MAKEUPSarika Patel at MAC(Sophia Malthus).