Dove. And Beauty. And Judgey judgey judge judge.

So. Everyone by now has probably seen the whole Dove doors thing.

And - I hope - you've also seen some of the responses.

LE SIGH.

My first reaction was, 'Really?! REALLY!'

My second was unprintable on a work blog.

As you may have seen before, *we* don't have a position on everything but this is something we talked about here so I think I can say what I think, knowing that the team broadly agree.

I don't know what you thought but for me it was just so tiresome. REALLY. We have to judge our external appearance - just to get into a building? I don't know what the building was (just googled - it was a shopping centre) but even if it was full of FREE cake and sweets and ice cream and chips I'd rather smash a hole in the wall with a digger than judge my appearance and pick a damn door to get to them.

I appreciate the aims of the campaign are about making women feel good in their skin* but they are still therefore predicated on the fact that IT MATTERS IF WE ARE BEAUTIFUL and that we probably don't feel like we are. For heavens sake why can we not start from the principle that women are alright just exactly as they are and it doesn't matter what they look like?

I've seen some people suggest that the be doors marked 'kind' or 'strong' or other positive qualities. These are genuinely great alternatives but can there not just be DOORS? Do we always have to live up to *something*?

I honestly believe that every single one of us is alright just exactly as we are. There is no-one better at being me than me, no-one better at being you than you - and we all bring our own special qualities, abilities and idiosyncracies to the world. Difference is what makes the world fun, interesting. It's why we're curious - because there is so much we don't know. Our value is not determined by matching up to some cookie cutter ideal of appearance, ability or anything. We all deserve love and respect and happiness and to be accorded our rights just because we;re here. Simple as. And if we weren't - and generations of women hadn't been - bombarded with 'helpful' articles like 'how to lose 7 pounds in 7 days' every damn week, thereby constantly reminding us that we're never quite right at all, perhaps women wouldn't feel like they are constantly being judged, that they ought to judge themselves. Perhaps then women would be able to just get on with BEING WOMEN and not wasting time, effort and energy worrying if they deserve to walk through a door marked beautiful. We don't have to be or to feel or to want to be seen as beautiful to be valuable.

Yes this made me angry. I am TIRED of being told, a billion times a day,in a billion tiny ways, that no matter what a women is, does, knows, makes, grows, achieves - it's what the meat suit she is wearing looks like that matters. It doesn't. There is so much more to women - people - than that.

We're still looking at how we can show images of women in pants without sexualising or objectifying. We have some lovely volunteer models now and we're going to be contacting them soon to do *something* - not sure what yet but this is a work in progress. I can promise you though that no-one has to judge themselves beautiful to be allowed to play.

*smashes all the doors down*

*just googled that, It was apparently to try to 'change the instinct to settle for average'. That marketing speak drives me mad. LEARN ABOUT STATISTICS. Average is a maths word, it does not mean 'rubbish'!