Straight Men Repulsed by Displays of Average Womens’ Bodies on National Television
Washington, DC (Rueters)
According to a newly-released poll conducted by the Consumer Trends Research Institute (CTRI), the vast majority of heterosexual men would rather view Victoria’s Secret commercials rather than Dove “Real Beauty” commercials. The Dove Real Beauty Campaign, launched in 2004, and its associated Self-Esteem Fund (begun in 2006), are aimed at highlighting the intrinsic “beauty” and natural variation among average women, in contrast to the idealized and stylized female form typically seen in advertising media. According to CTRI spokesman Harrison Darnelian, however, “this recent poll has shown that, while such advertisements are popular among women, the men polled have reacted strongly against such ‘naturalistic’ depictions of females.”
During polling, CTRI kept track of both the gender and the sexual orientation of the respondents. According to Darnelian, “Our findings suggest that most women—about 94%—support Dove’s efforts to highlight more realistic depictions of the female form; these findings are consistent for both heterosexual and lesbian women. When men were polled, however, the results couldn’t be more different.”
The CTRI results suggest that the vast majority of heterosexual men react negatively to the Dove advertising campaign. While 86% of homosexual men support the Dove campaign, 94% of heterosexual men indicated that they were either “turned off”, “disgusted”, or “repulsed” by the Dove models. When asked whether they would rather see Victoria’s Secret ads or the Dove “Real Beauty” ads, a resounding 100% of heterosexual men indicated a preference for the Victoria’s Secret ads.
While the poll seems to indicate that men prefer viewing idealized female forms in advertisements, male sentiment becomes much clearer when individual comments from the polling are taken into account.
“We gave the male respondents a chance to comment upon their poll choices,” says Darnelian, “and many of them echoed the same general feeling.”
According to Darnelian, some comments given by heterosexual males include:
- “Women that look like that shouldn’t be so comfortable with their bodies.”
- “When I was younger, I knew that when I’d turn on the TV, there would be attractive women with nice bodies in the commercials. Now I’m watching TV, and I see this shit?”
- “Listen, when I watch TV, I want to see something special. Like that Miranda Kerr? Look at the body on her. That’s what I want to see when I turn the TV on, not the middle-aged flab that I already have to see at home on my own wife.”
Says Darnelian: “The general consensus among heterosexual males is that these commercials suck.”
As mentioned, however, male homosexual responses to the ads were largely positive, with many respondents noting the empowering feeling such advertisements were likely to give women of average appearance.
“Gay male comments, in stark contrast to those given by straight men, were highly affirmative,” explains Darnelian. “Examples of comments from homosexual males include ‘Not every girl has got it like Gisele, but that don’t mean you still ain’t beautiful!’ and ‘You rock that body, girl!’.
“Obviously, gays feel a strong sense of camaraderie with women, and empathize and identify with them.”
It is unclear whether Dove plans to incorporate any suggestions from the CTRI polling into future ad campaigns; efforts to reach a Dove spokesperson were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, according to Darnelian, the results of the polling are conclusive, and indicate a prevailing sentiment among heterosexual men that he himself shares. “I know that whenever those Dove commercials come on, my wife always mentions how great they are, and I just smile and nod,” he says. “Of course, I’m just waitin’ for them Angels to come on the screen so I can get a glimpse of that booty!”
