“I’m hoping this highlights the beautiful imperfections we all have and makes that the new normal of women.”
#Show
Bethany
“Move through the world with belief that you belong and you are worthy.”
Choosing to start a family later on in life, Kimberly Brazier was fortunate to spend her 20s and 30s travelling the world. Describing herself as a spontaneous, adventure-seeking girl, Brazier wanted to see what the world had to offer and as a result, opened her mind to many different ways of living. Now in her 40s, Brazier has three children and decided to take part in the #ShowUs campaign when she was 31-weeks pregnant with her third child. As becoming a mother helped her to love her body, Brazier wanted to represent the cohort of women who are older, pregnant and feel like they are not depicted in the media.
Kimberly
At the age of 15, Bethany Tyson was involved in a major car crash, causing her to break her back at the T9 level of the spinal cord. This left Tyson a paraplegic and confined to get around by a wheelchair. Despite the repercussions of the accident, Tyson chose to “get on with her life” and is now a mother of two beautiful children. Standing proud of what her body has had to endure over the years, when Tyson was approached to take part in the #ShowUs campaign, she couldn’t refuse. Wanting to be part of a positive change in how women are perceived in the media, Tyson believes it’s important to change the mindset of girls from a young age so that they can learn to be confident in themselves.
VIC
Noting her biggest struggle in life as her lack of self-confidence, Kirsten Devitt was once a woman that constantly, unfavourably compared herself to others. A big contributor to her self-esteem issues was that she struggled to ‘see herself’ in the women featured in media and advertising. However, Devitt was raised by courageous parents who inspired her to take a leap of faith and start her own jewellery business. It was also this courage that pushed her to take part in the #ShowUs campaign, hoping to change the perception of beauty and stand as a role model to her son.
“I have learned to love my body through the solidarity of other brave women that have been able to break down stereotypes.”
QLD
NSW
Meet the six incredible Australian women who took part in the campaign. Each are breaking gender, race and beauty stereotypes, living their lives by their own rules and working to redefine the definition of beauty.
X
Growing up, Rana Hussain didn’t feel like she belonged. A child born to migrant Indian-Muslim parents living in a predominantly white Australian community contributed to Hussain’s struggle with her identity. While her confusion still affects her, she has realised there is strength in holding both identities, and working on self-acceptance has helped her propel forward. Now, Hussain works as a Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator for Richmond Football Club, helping to make AFL a more inclusive sport for all. It was Hussain’s internal battles that motivated her to take part in the #ShowUs campaign. She hopes media outlets will see the kinds of diverse beauty they are currently missing out on.
“I have no hang-ups whatsoever about my postpartum body right now. I don’t see my body in a negative way anymore.”
Naomi
NSW
At just 14 years old, Naomi Moran decided to quit school and take up an opportunity to work as a trainee receptionist at the Koori Mail — Australia’s only national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander print news publication. Now, the proud First Nations woman is the General Manager of the publication and has worked in Indigenous media for more than 20 years. Her working history is what sparked her interest in taking part in the #ShowUs campaign, wanting to proudly present herself as a First Nations woman. Leading up to the shoot, Moran was recovering from her second open-heart surgery and had just found out she was expecting her first child. Challenges aside, Moran wanted her images to convey strength and stand as a representation for Indigenous women.
we celebrate all women.
“Australia has such a rich heritage and I was very proud to bring the stories of these diverse Australian women to life. Project #ShowUs is a game-changing initiative for artists to unleash their creativity and truthfully depict beauty,”
#ShowUs
Join us at dove.com/showus
“I am so proud of the person I am inside and out, because the canvas that is my body, tells my story.”
Rana
Image credit Dove/Natalie McComas/Girlgaze
68%
75%
History in the making
67%
of women don't feel represented by everyday media images
of women wish media and advertisers did a better job of portraying diversity
of women say pressure from media drives anxiety around appearance and beauty
The turn of the new millennium saw Dove commission the Real Truth About Beauty study to understand more about how women defined their own beauty and how they felt about the way female beauty was portrayed in society. The results revealed only two per cent of women globally described themselves as beautiful, sparking Dove to take action and change its approach to marketing campaigns.
Kirsten
NSW
Dove continues to shatter existing beauty stereotypes in the media and advertising world and has teamed up with Getty Images and Girlgaze to create Project #ShowUs; the world’s largest stock photo library created and curated by women and non-binary individuals.
Evolution
2006
The Self-Esteem
Project
2004
Dove Girls
2010
Did you know?
Us
works as a Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator for Richmond Football Club, helping to make AFL a more inclusive sport for all. It was Hussain’s internal battles that motivated her to take part in the #ShowUs campaign. She hopes media outlets will see the kinds of diverse beauty they are currently missing out on.
As a part of the Self-Esteem Project, Dove interviewed girls aged 10-27 about their view of beauty, establishing self-esteem workshops to boost young girls’ confidence.
Dove launched the Self-Esteem Project in 2004 to help the next generation of women to grow up feeling happy and confident in the way they look.
Real Curves
2004
The Real Curves campaign for Dove’s new firming cream launched in 2004, proudly presenting women showing off their curves.
One of the earliest ‘viral’ videos, Dove Evolution captured how the beauty industry has distorted people’s vision of beauty through make-up, lighting and manipulation.
Hitting over 30 million views on YouTube, Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches short film showed the difference between how women view their own beauty compared to how others see them.
Real Beauty Sketches
2013
Image credit Dove/Natalie McComas/Girlgaze
Source: Project #ShowUs Factsheet | Edelman Intelligence, February 2019
Project #ShowUs features 5000 images of women from over 39 countries, including Australia. The images aim to portray authenticity and an inclusive representation of beauty.
– Natalie McComas, Australian Girlgaze photographer
jewellery business. It was also this courage that pushed her to take part in the #ShowUs campaign, hoping to change the perception of beauty and stand as a role model to her son.
Brazier has three children and decided to take part in the #ShowUs campaign when she was 31-weeks pregnant with her third child. As becoming a mother helped her to love her body, Brazier wanted to represent the cohort of women who are older, pregnant and feel like they are not depicted in the media.
wanting to proudly present herself as a First Nations woman. Leading up to the shoot, Moran was recovering from her second open-heart surgery and had just found out she was expecting her first child. Challenges aside, Moran wanted her images to convey strength and stand as a representation for Indigenous women.
Image credit Dove/Natalie McComas/Girlgaze
Image credit Dove/Natalie McComas/Girlgaze
Image credit Dove/Natalie McComas/Girlgaze
Image credit Dove/Natalie McComas/Girlgaze
Meet six women...
2004
2006
2004
2004
2010
2013
#ShowUs
Join us at dove.com/showus
– Natalie McComas, Australian Girlgaze photographer