My Beauty, My Say

The brief

In a series of campaigns over the years, beauty company Dove have highlighted how unrealistic beauty standards negatively affect young women's self-esteem, accelerating the use of image-altering apps and even cosmetic surgery. 

With new apps coming out every month, the image-altering capabilities that once were reserved for photoshop experts now readily available. The social pressure of always looking your best online has triggered more people – not just celebrities or influencers – to alter characteristics in our appearances that we believe are flaws. 

But the social pressure is far from just a western phenomenon. Across China, more and more young women would never think of posting an entirely unedited picture of themselves. Data shows 78% of women retouch or add filters to their selfies before posting.

Thru ”我的美，我说了算” or “My Beauty, My Say”, Dove highlights this problem in a documentary-style film following a number of young Chinese women who share their personal stories regarding their looks. They state that “posting non-beauty filtered pictures is like streaking online”, talk about their beauty anxiety and which parts of their face and bodies they prefer to alter before sharing them online.

When confronted with childhood pictures of themselves, the film takes an emotional turn when they realize that their younger selves didn’t need nor want any photo filters. When asked if they would like to be part of a photoshoot and post entirely unedited pictures of themselves, they’re initially reluctant but eventually agree.