Dove has introduced a new initiative called “The Code,” aimed at addressing the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on beauty perceptions and emphasizing the need for women to see genuine beauty in modern media.
The campaign highlights the increasing societal pressure to conform to specific beauty standards, which has been amplified by the prevalence of AI in media.
In its “The Real State of Beauty: A Global Report” for 2024, Dove revealed that 42% of women in Canada would sacrifice at least a year of their lives to meet their ideal beauty standards.
Despite broader inclusivity in beauty ideals—encompassing race, orientation, gender, and body size—the criteria for appearance continue to expand and become more unattainable, ranging from maintaining a healthy look (81%) to adhering to standards of slimness (74%), having a small waist (71%), and possessing curves (57%).
The report also found that a significant majority of Canadian women (84%) and girls (87%) have encountered damaging beauty-related content on social media. With predictions that AI-generated content will make up 90% of online material by 2025, AI poses a considerable threat to women’s well-being. Approximately 43% of women and girls feel pressured to modify their appearance based on online images, even when aware that these are artificial or AI-generated.
While AI can enhance creativity and offer new ways to explore beauty, nearly half of the women (48%) and more than half of the girls (51%) surveyed expressed concerns that using AI and avatars in video games and VR allows them to experiment with their identity but also negatively affects their self-image.
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To combat these issues and promote more authentic digital representation, Dove has developed the “Real Beauty Prompt Guidelines.” These guidelines provide straightforward instructions for creating images that better reflect true beauty, setting a new standard for digital representation.
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