Dove, a leading toiletries brand owned by Unilever, has recently partnered with Zyanha Bryant, a controversial Black Lives Matter (BLM) activist, for a “Fat Liberation” campaign. This decision has sparked significant backlash from various sources.
Zyahna Bryant is a 22-year-old community organizer and former DEI intern who graduated from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. She is known for her lifelong antipathy towards police.
Bryant’s controversial reputation stems from an incident where she allegedly destroyed the reputation of a fellow student, Morgan Bettinger, over a misinterpreted comment. Bryant claimed Bettinger had made derogatory remarks about protestors, but upon investigation, it was found that the comment was innocuous and had been misheard by Bryant herself.
Dove’s partnership with Bryant supports the work of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance and the Fat Legal Advocacy Rights and Education project. Bryant stated, “My belief is that we should be centering the voices and experiences of the most marginalized people and communities at all times.” The initiative aims to “strengthen legal protection against body size discrimination and shift cultural conversations around a broader definition of beauty through education, advocacy and social responsibility.”
However, critics argue that Dove’s campaign dismisses the health risks associated with obesity, focusing instead on the likelihood of experiencing name-calling or bullying. Furthermore, this partnership is part of Dove’s broader pattern of supporting radical groups and social engineering. Earlier this year, Dove ran an ad celebrating a plus-size video game character rejecting thin armor as part of a campaign “to eliminate beauty stereotypes.”
In addition to promoting body positivity, Dove has also been at the forefront of promoting radical gender ideology. In 2017, they featured a transvestite pretending to be a mother in an ad titled “#RealMoms,” showing their support for LGBT activism, not just during Pride month but every single day.
