Another day, another chunk of sanity down the drain. Literally. Unilever, which owns brands like Dove and Sunsilk, said on Tuesday it would no longer use the word “normal” on its products or in its advertising after a study revealed it makes most people feel “excluded.”
A spokeswoman said the beauty and personal-care company would remove “normal” from more than 200 products over the next 12 months, as reported by The New York Times.
SOAP NEXT: Unilever to Scrub Word ‘Normal’ from Dove, Other Products Because it ‘Excludes’ People https://t.co/Uf0Z0bHtOc
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) March 9, 2021
The London-based company also said it will no longer digitally alter the body shape, size, or skin color of models in its advertising as part of its “Positive Beauty” initiative.
“Shockingly,” Unilever promised it would also increase the number of ads featuring “underrepresented” people, without specifying which group(s). The objective, the company said, was to “challenge narrow beauty ideas.”
Nicely played by my RedState colleague Sister Toldjah:
.@Dove taking corporate wokeness to a whole new bizarre level –> https://t.co/2usZhPOcOC via @TwitchyTeam
— Sister Toldjah Le Pew 😁 (@sistertoldjah) March 9, 2021
Here’s a bit of background on the “study,” via The Times.
The advertising changes came after the company commissioned a 10,000-person study across nine countries, including Brazil, China, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
The study found that 56 percent of participants thought that the beauty industry could make people feel excluded, and that as many as seven in 10 people agreed that the word “normal” on products and in advertising had negative effects. Eight in 10 people agreed among participants age 18 to 35.
Seventy-four percent of participants said they wanted the beauty industry to make them feel better, not just look better.
OK wait. “Make them feel better, not just look better.”
How does removing the word “normal” from a box of soap or deodorant bottle “make” someone “feel better” about himself or herself? Not to nitpick, but sounds a bit superficial, wokesters. Not to mention, it occurs to me there must be some pretty fragile snowflakes out there if an “inoffensively”-labeled bar of soap can give them a fresh outlook on life.
But what do I know?
Au contraire, Sunny Jain, Unilever’s president for beauty and personal care, said in a statement. “We know that removing ‘normal’ from our products and packaging will not fix the problem alone, but it is an important step forward.”
Legit ad from Unilever. Not creepy at all.
What is Positive Beauty?
It’s brands that not only do less harm, but also do more good for people and the planet.
That’s why we’re saying #YesToPositiveBeauty, and our beauty brands are removing the word normal from ads and packs all over the world.https://t.co/mmHwMSFx8q pic.twitter.com/64g1mdufmQ
— Unilever #StaySafe (@Unilever) March 9, 2021
And Ateh Jewel, a “beauty journalist” and an advisory board member of the British Beauty Council said the changes were long overdue and “completely necessary” after the worldwide Black Lives Matter demonstrations last year, according to The Times.
“Saying the word ‘normal’ has been used to set you apart. I am normal. My dark skin is normal. My juicy West African curvy body is normal. Everything about me is normal.”
And there it is. Since “normal” means different things to different people (aside from the “exclusion” nonsense), where’s the beef? I’m being somewhat facetious — but not much.
In inclusivity push, Unilever to exclude word ‘normal’ from beauty products https://t.co/Er6m54Lpyd pic.twitter.com/V5Xw8AzN0l
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 9, 2021
Finally, Nina Davuluri, the first Indian-American to win the Miss America pageant and an advocate against “colorism,” said Unilever’s decision was “a small step toward more inclusive perceptions of beauty.”
“I grew up with very curly, textured hair. And all I saw that was considered normal in commercials and products was [sic] beautiful, straight, silky hair, primarily on white models, and that’s just what I thought was normal.
“Colorism is just so deeply ingrained and embedded in so many parts of the world.
“To see them making strides toward positive beauty with Dove in one part of the world and not seeing it in others, as a company I feel that there’s such a disconnect.”
Stop the world. I wanna get off. Oh, and I suppose “abnormal” is toast, as well.
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