20 years ago, Dove took pioneering steps to showcase real beauty with its Campaign for Real Beauty. In 2004, it revealed a startling truth; only 2 per cent of women considered themselves beautiful. Since then, the Campaign for Real Beauty has challenged society, media and the beauty industry to change its representation of women, be transparent about digital distortion and face-up to the harmful impact of unrealistic beauty standards on women and girls.
To mark 20 years of the Campaign for Real Beauty, Dove conducted a sweeping study of beauty around the world to understand how beauty impacts women and girls today. While some positive change has occurred, the Australian state of beauty in 2024 isn’t pretty.
According to the 2024 edition of “The Real State of Beauty: A Global Report,” commissioned by Dove, a staggering 44 per cent of Australian women express a willingness to sacrifice a year of their lives to attain societal beauty ideals, exceeding the global average of 38 per cent.
The study highlights an alarming trend where the checklist of beauty standards becomes increasingly unattainable, with statistics revealing that 80 per cent of Australian women and 78 per cent of Australian girls feel pressured to maintain a healthy appearance. Moreover, 75 per cent of women and 67 per cent of girls are under pressure to maintain a slim figure, while 68 per cent of women and 61 per cent of girls feel the burden of having a small waist. Adding to these figures, 2 out of 3 Australian women believe that contemporary expectations for physical attractiveness surpass those of previous generations.
One of the biggest threats to the representation of real beauty is Artificial Intelligence. Today, more than 4 in 5 Aussie women say they have been exposed to harmful beauty content online.
With 90 per cent of online content predicted to be AI-generated by 2025, the data shows that the rise of AI threatens women’s wellbeing. 1 in 2 Aussie women feel pressured to alter their appearance based on online images despite knowing they are often fake or AI-generated. Additionally, a significant majority recognize the prevalence of digitally altered images in the media, with 74 per cent of Australian women and 68 per cent of Australian girls acknowledging this reality.
“As someone who has fought to redefine beauty standards, I’ve seen the harmful effects of unrealistic beauty ideals. AI-generated content only worsens this issue, bombarding us with unattainable images. Dove’s commitment to real beauty, refusing to use AI-generated imitation humans in advertising and promoting transparency with the Real Beauty Prompt Guidelines are critical steps in protecting and celebrating authentic beauty,” said CEO Bella Management, Chelsea Bonner, who is working in partnership with Dove.
Dr. Phillippa Diedrichs, Research Psychologist at the Centre of Appearance Research at the University of West England and body image expert, said that while AI has the potential to foster creativity and access to beauty, there is still a need for greater representation and transparency. In Australia, 1 in 4 women and 2 in 5 girls find creating different versions of themselves using AI empowering. Yet, almost half of women (45 per cent) and over half of girls (54 per cent) believe it can negatively impact their self-image. Without these improvements, AI risks perpetuating narrow and unrealistic beauty standards.
“Despite 20 years of work to broaden definitions of beauty, women feel less confident in their own beauty than they did a decade ago. Representation is more important than ever. As AI technology continues to evolve, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between what is real beauty and what is manufactured by AI.”
In its 20th year of Real Beauty/in response to the data, Dove has pledged to accelerate its efforts to champion transparency and diversity and take action to shatter beauty stereotypes in new and emerging media. As part of this, Dove is announcing its commitment to never using AI to represent real women in its ads.
To help set new digital standards of representation in Australia, Dove has created its Real Beauty Prompt Guidelines – easy-to-use guidance for everyone on how to create images that are representative of Real Beauty on the most popular generative AI programs.
“Dove has always stood for real beauty, and our commitment to never using AI in our ads underscores our dedication to authenticity. By introducing the Real Beauty Prompt Guidelines, we aim to foster a more inclusive and transparent approach to beauty in the digital age. It’s our mission to uplift women and girls everywhere and ensure they see their true selves reflected in the media.” comments Tess Giordimaina Marketing Manager for Dove at Unilever.
Dove’s new campaign, the Code, reflects the impact of AI on beauty and demonstrates the impact real beauty has made to change beauty for the better, 20 years and counting.
The work Dove began in 2004 is far from over. Dove will never stop championing better representation, taking action to break beauty stereotypes, and standing up for the power of Real Beauty. We can’t drive change alone. Together, let’s change beauty.
