And so it begins...

The most difficult part about the first essay assignment is chosing an argument to analyze. Being titled Everything's an Argument, the book obviously leaves you with a lot of options. After browsing through the table of contents, looking over all of the essay titles, and reading a few that caught my eye, I settled for one in Chapter 21: Who's the Fairest of them All? The essay is titled Those Unnerving Ads Using "Real" Women. The author, Meghan Daum, gives her opinion of ads such as those used in Dove's "Real Women for Beauty" campaign. She shed light on a new perspective for me, and made me change my opinion on such ads. I used to think nothing of the ads. I thought it was great that normal, "real" women were finally portrayed in advertisement. In reality though, "real" women don't want to waste their time on such shallow practices. Everyone knows that the women in magazines and on billboards are airbrushed and as fake as can be. It's better to laugh at them than be jealous of them. Do you really think they're happy starving themselves and striving for a flawless body? Before the airbrushing, I am sure they look at the proofs and are filled with disappointment over some part of their bodies. No one is perfect. Women must strive to be comfortable and happy in their own skin, not to look like the fake bimbos we see in everyday advertisement.