In the Doyle Library, ground floor foyer

Opens January 14th, 2019
This exhibit examines some vintage grooming and beauty artifacts from the Jesse Peter Museum. The products of glamour are alluring and beautiful to look at, but there is a dark side to the world of glamour. One of the universal truths is that women in particular are unhappy with the way that they look. Unrealistic standards set by media and advertising are as one of the biggest problems.
 

In 2004, the Dove Self Esteem Project was launched, doing research and creating programs to help girls grow up with a healthy body image and self-esteem. Here are a few of the statistics that have come out of the project:

• Dove’s latest research found that just 4% of women worldwide consider themselves “beautiful”.
• By the time girls reach the tender age of 17, 78% will be “unhappy with their bodies.”
• 70 million individuals worldwide suffer from an eating disorder. 10% to 15% are men.
• 68% of Women say they feel worse about their appearance after looking through a women’s magazine.
• 19% of people with body issues have thought about committing suicide. 9% have actually tried.
  
  (Authentic Leadership https://boldermoves.com/women-confidence/)

So how do we reconcile our love of glamour with our need to be healthy and secure in our own self-image? If we don’t fit the unrealistic mold of what our society considers beautiful, is it still ok to idolize the beauty that we see in the movies and magazines?

I believe that we need to change the lens that we use to view the world of beauty. We just need to expand it- open our eyes and look at the beauty revealed in diversity all around us. What a dreary world it would be if there were not so many different shapes, sizes, colors, and styles of beauty. More companies are creating body-positive campaigns like Dove, to show the world all of the different faces of beauty. After all, glamour is just a concept created by humans. Enjoy the vintage products in this exhibit and then smile, because you are beautiful too.

Rachel Minor
Supervisor/ Curator
Jesse Peter Multicultural Museum