“Dove Evolution”, the viral video directed by Tim Piper and Yael Staav, sparks a number of questions about attractiveness and the media. The video shows a number of cosmetic changes being made to a woman’s face before she is photographed for an advertising campaign. Once the photograph is taken, it is computer edited to make additional changes to the woman’s physical appearance. Though a myriad of questions raced through my mind as I watched the woman’s appearance change, two questions stood out. I repeatedly found myself asking “why” after each alteration was made to the woman’s face. Why were each of these changes made? Why did cosmetic artists choose to paint the woman’s face in that way? Why was her hair curled and made to look larger and “wilder”? Why was the woman’s face thinned, her eyes moved and widened and her lips enlarged?
In addition to asking questions regarding the rationale for the changes made to the woman’s face, as a viewer, I found myself wondering about the societal implications of having “altered” images in the media. The question of societal implications is a broad and challenging one. However, before it can be addressed, it is important to dig more deeply into the rationale for the cosmetic and digital changes made to photographs used in advertising.
When the woman in “Dove Evolution” is being photographed, she is not smiling. According to Christina Kotchemidova, open smiles are characteristic of twentieth-century snapshots (Kotchemidova, 2005) . However, the advertising campaign simulated in “Dove Evolution” does not use a photograph of a smiling woman. A 2004 study by Trumble suggests that people started to say “cheese” in order to imitate movie stars (Kotchemidova, 2005) . If this is the case, why have the creators of an advertisement asked their model not to smile? It seems that smiling is both a common practice in snapshot photography and in popular cinematic media.
One possible explanation for the neutral, or even slightly sad, demeanor of the model in “Dove Evolution” may be found in a 2004 study done by Jennifer Fortman. Fortman’s study explored the manner in which facial expressions impacted the way an observer perceived an unknown individual and established attributions of the individual’s credibility and attractiveness. In the Fortman study, participants filled out a questionnaire after viewing slides with photographs of people displaying the six basic emotions (happiness, sadness, surprise, disgust, anger, fear). A portion of the questionnaire focused on the perceived physical attractiveness of the people in the photographs. The results of the study showed that “happiness and sadness were the only expressions that were actually considered physically attractive” (Fortman, 2004) . According to Fortman, sadness was also found to elicit an “approach response” (2004). It is possible that the neutral or slightly sad facial expression was chosen for the model because it would elicit both a perception of physical attractiveness and an “approach response”. There also appears to be an element of intrigue or mystery associated with a less clear or definable facial expression.
Once there is a slight understanding of the non-smiling behavior of the model in “Dove Evolution”, the subsequent elements of the evolution of her photograph can be addressed. One of the first changes made to the model’s face was to cover it in make-up. A possible explanation for this cosmetic covering is that the cosmetic artists were trying to achieve facial symmetry. The model had some blemishes on her face and uneven coloration under her eyes. The makeup used achieved an even cover and increased the symmetry of the model's skin. A study by Rotem Kowner showed that in older adults, facial symmetry made a significant impact on attractiveness (Kowner, 1996) . Facial symmetry is also viewed as more attractive than asymmetry in younger people (Saxton, Kohoutova, Roberts, Jones, DeBruine, & Haylicek, 2010) and may be a factor in decisions made by cosmetic artists in “Dove Evolution”.
In addition to adding a large amount of makeup to the face of the model, many digital changes were made. It is possible that some of the changes, such as the slimming of the face, were made because of the way thin appearance is correlated with attractiveness (Chung & Bissell, 2009) . A 1986 study by Michael Cunningham also explains a great deal of the digital alterations made to the photograph. Through extensive study, Cunningham found that males were attracted to women possessing the “neotate features of large eyes, small nose area, small chin and widely spaced eyes” (Cunningham, 1986) . These findings help to explain why the model’s eyes were enlarged and chin was thinned by the computer program prior to the advertisement publication. Additionally, Cunningham discovered that males also found “wide cheekbones and narrow cheeks, and the expressive features of highly set eyebrows, wide pupils” to be especially attractive in females. This gives extra explanation for the slimming of the model’s face as well as the accentuation of her eyebrows. The decisions made by the photograph editor helped to make the model’s photograph align better with what has been scientifically proven to be seen as attractive.
With an understanding of the myriad of changes made to photographs before they are often presented in the media, one must begin asking questions about the societal impact of “doctored” photographs in the media. Chung and Bissell explore this question in their 2009 paper “Global Perspectives of Beauty and Attractiveness: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of American and Korean College Students’ Mental Images of Beauty”. The researchers found that repeated exposure to the “ideals” in the media lead to “an increased internalization and fantasizing by women and girls to obtain the body shape and the facial attractiveness of what’s been seen in the images” (Chung & Bissell, 2009) . Though “Dove Evolution” clearly demonstrates that media images of beauty are not achieved naturally, most women are unaware of this fact, and continue to pursue “perfection”. It has been shown that girls and young women are influenced strongly by mediated images which show exceptionally thin female models. Women influenced by these images may struggle significantly with low self-esteem, body image dissatisfaction, anorexia, bulimia and depression (Chung & Bissell, 2009) . It is difficult to process the information regarding the impact of mediated images on our society because it is so wide-reaching and varied. Though research helps to explain that images may be altered to more closely fit what western cultures already perceive as “attractive”, we must begin to ask questions about whether it is healthy to portray artificial achievement of attractiveness.
Chung, J. Y., & Bissell, K. (2009). Global Perceptions of Beauty and Attractiveness: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of American and Korean College Students' Mental Images of Beauty. Conference Papers- National Communication Association (pp. 1-22). Communication and Mass Media Complete.
Link to Article: http://web.ebscohost.com.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?hid=111&sid=d21ab144-9a59-4004-bbca-7d6b8f9b35ae%40sessionmgr113&vid=4
Cunningham, M. R. (1986). Measuring the Physical in Physical Attractiveness: Quasi-experiments on the Sociobiology of Female Facial Beauty. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 952-935.
Fortman, J. (2004). The Role of Facial Expressions of Emotion in Attributions of Personality Characteristics. Conference Papers- International Communication Association (pp. 1-39). Communication and Mass Media Complete.
Link to Article: http://web.ebscohost.com.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?hid=111&sid=b43da6c3-04c3-4620-9e5d-5135cb0c5fae%40sessionmgr114&vid=2
Kotchemidova, C. (2005). Why We Say "Cheese": Producing the Smile in Snapshot Photography. Ctritical Studies in Media Communication, 2-25.
Link to Article: http://web.ebscohost.com.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?hid=111&sid=0641f6b2-15ff-4ccd-be3c-8c4e15cc3aa0%40sessionmgr115&vid=2
Kowner, R. (1996). Facial Asymmetry and Attractiveness Judgment in Developmental Perspective. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 662-675.
Link to Article: http://asia.haifa.ac.il/staff/kovner/Kowner-1996.pdf
Saxton, T. K., Kohoutova, D., Roberts, S. C., Jones, B. C., DeBruine, L. M., & Haylicek, J. (2010). Age, Puberty and Attractiveness Judgements in Adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 857-862.
Physical attraction is an important element within the work place and socially among our peers. Physical appearance within the social environment benefits the person who is found attractive. Physical attraction does not mean you’re sexually attractive to the person but something about the individual sparks our interest. Guys may find huge FAKE!!! However, some men may find large breasts attractive and some may just like females with blonde hair. Some may like both large breasts and blonde hair. This is an example of a woman in the media who demonstrates the image of an “attractive” large chested, blonde woman. Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock are media icons.
