That's the way Dove goes

Space, a British band from the Nineties once sang that “the female of the species is more deadly than the male.” Of course, that line is true. Now, women have become so empowered to the point that they are fun and fearless in achieving their dreams.

Sometimes we just can’t help but feel down thanks to PMS with bouts of insecurities that creep up. A typical and negative woman behavior is to compare ourselves with others wishing we were taller, whiter, sexier and thin as a toothpick all in the name of changing our appearance. Even God only knows when we can snag a Brad Pitt of our own.

But thanks to a brand that makes women feel beautiful every day, Dove widens today’s stereotypical view of beauty and continues to inspire women to take great care of themselves. And the cool thing about Dove is that the brand delivers on its promise because Dove is real without the unachievable, airbrushed images.

It all started with Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty with the Self-Esteem Fund to educate and inspire girls on a wider definition of beauty and to make them feel more confident about themselves. The truth is, models either wear a size zero or two and celebrities are sculpturally perfected leaving young girls with low self-esteem.

Putting silicon boobs aside, the brand believes that real beauty comes in many shapes, sizes and ages. In keeping with the mission to foster positive self-esteem in young women, Dove has partnered with the Hollywood flick, The Women which is the perfect medium to showcase friendship and a journey towards uncovering real beauty. At the short film screening at Makati Shangri-La, members of the press got to get a glimpse of real bonds among mothers and daughters, sisters and friends.

“According to a Dove survey, 75 percent of women say that having a close circle of friends is important in making a woman feel beautiful,” says Dennis Perez, Dove brand manager. “Dove and The Women remind us that a woman’s circle of friends is an influential and important factor in shaping her views of beauty and success.”

Dig this, The Women is a remake of a 1939 classic film, which is a fast-paced witty and emotional look at all things female, including loyalties, betrayals, careers, families and most of all, friendships. It features an all-female cast of Meg Ryan, Annette Benning, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, Cloris Leachman, Bette Midler and Candice Bergen, without a single man in sight.

The Women is written and directed by Diane English, the creator of Murphy Brown. Dove worked with English to create a short film called “The Women Behind The Women. This short film follows 16-year-old teen journalist Cammy Nelson behind-the-scenes of The Women to learn, first-hand, how Hollywood creates the images we see on screen, highlighting the work and people involved in making a major motion picture come to life.

On the set, the junior journalist witnessed the power of women bringing out the best in each other and working with a passion and expertise to bring a story to life. The cast and crew are made up of some of the most respected professionals in the industry who, despite their status, shared so much warmth and generosity while filming the movie. Plus, Cammy realized that the celebrities she watched on screen were not really that perfect in their every day lives. It took long hours of makeup and careful lighting to get them to look like A-list.

As Cammy interviewed the actresses on the set, she realized a lot about them. Like for Anette Bening, a sense of humor is a beautiful thing. Debrah Messing finds that beauty is about feeling confident and learning to embrace oneself. Jada Pinkett-Smith thinks that real beauty is the acceptance of who you are and for Meg Ryan, it is about real authenticity, which is as simple as that.

Staying true to its mission, Dove’s short film encourages women to challenge today’s beauty stereotypes and celebrate the opportunities for women to empower one another and explore the diverse definitions of beauty.

At the end of her on-screen visit, Cammy Nelson realized that “Each woman has her own unique beauty. And each of us recognizes different things as beautiful _ confidence, a sense of humor, wisdom, compassion and happiness. That’s what real beauty is all about.”

After all, “the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world”. And it took a man to figure that out.

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The Women movie will be in theaters on Nov. 12.