SheKnows Media, a women’s lifestyle digital media company, recently hosted the #Femvertising awards in honor of brands that empower women in their ad campaigns. Dove and Always are just two of the brands that received awards for their campaigns “Speak Beautiful” and “Like a Girl,” respectively. It might, for a second, seem as though with such an award in existence all is well in the area of pro-female advertising in most geographic areas. Not.
This move to celebrate the work of global brands that are making significant effort to challenge gender stereotypes and promote positive behaviors among women and girls is quite remarkable. In a FAQ section of the SheKnows corporate site that highlights details of the awards, it states that the company is “committed to its mission of women inspiring women.” Beautiful.
What would be revolutionary on this side of the world, though, is to see a shift in ad campaigns by African brands as well as global beauty brands in Africa to empower women and girls by communicating real truths in their ads. It is quite disappointing to see tons of money being spent on billboard advertising for skin lightening products that glamorize skin bleaching, and yet young girls sit at home with no hope for getting an education. What is the dark-skinned 10-year-old African girl going to aspire to look like?
Black women need to experience advertising that speaks truth to beauty, campaigns that empower women to be confident in themselves and be secure in their skin, whatever color that may be. It’s about time more empowered African women stood up against misleading advertising that hurt to force beauty brands to promote true beauty that inspire healthy behavior among women and girls.