How many carats to empowerment?

Last year, while I was riding in a car with my best friend and her mom, her mother asked me "so Megan, you've been in school for a few years now, how come you haven't got a boyfriend yet?" I've been asked the question many times, as has probably any woman who has remained single for a long time and it can be frustrating for those of us who choose to remain single.

Although women have made great strides in the last few decades, breaking down barriers and challenging stereotypes, there still exists a very strong idea in our society that a woman, needs a man. This perceived need may not be financial as it once was but it is still there and is embodied in the question "so when are you getting married?" or "why are you still single?" I realize that these questions are also asked of men but it is still more acceptable in our society for a man to stay single. After all, a single man is a bachelor, a single woman is an old maid or a spinster.

This is probably part of the reason why I am so impressed by the Lazare Diamond right hand ring campaign. The copy of one ad in particular reads " Your left hand lives for love. Your right hand lives for the moment. Your left hand wants to be held. Your right hand wants to be held high. Woman of the world, raise your right hand." The message is a persuasiveness one that I am sure speaks to many single women who have encountered the same frustrations I have. Of course, I didn't realize I needed to buy myself a diamond ring to be independent.

Virgin Post

I am Meg, this is my blog. Kudos to Casey for the wicked layout.

In keeping with my blog title, I shall begin blogging with some thoughts on Dove's real beauty campaign. There are a few things about this ad campaign that bother me, not the least of which being that this promotion of so-called real beauty is being spearheaded by a company that sells, what else, beauty products. Of course, this kind of contradiction is not at all new in advertising and is last worrisome than say Shell's environmental campaign. It is not then the contradiction that is bothersome so much as many people's responses to is. A visit to http://www.dove.com will take you to, among other things, messages from people praising Dove for their actions. Ahh delicious irony. If only all people were as cynical as I, the world would be a better place.

The other thing I find disturbing is some of their choices of images. One particular ad shows a woman with a caption about plus sizes. The woman is no bigger than a size 12, the average size of North American woman. An ad that promotes the idea that anything bigger than a size 10 is plus-sized can hardly claim to be promoting real beauty.

These are the ads that disturb me the most because they seem so innocent on the surface that they fall under most people's radar. The message is a good one. It's the sender that's questionable.