Coty's #UndefineBeauty Campaign Calls on Dictionaries to Rethink the Definition of 'Beauty'

In an open letter to publishers, Sue Y. Nabi, Coty’s CEO, said, “Seen through the lens of today’s society and values, the definition of beauty hasn’t aged well. Of course, not all people are impacted by, or feel excluded by these definitions.'
In an open letter to publishers, Sue Y. Nabi, Coty’s CEO, said, “Seen through the lens of today’s society and values, the definition of beauty hasn’t aged well. Of course, not all people are impacted by, or feel excluded by these definitions."

Coty has launched the #UndefineBeauty campaign that calls on major dictionary publishers to rethink the current English language definitions of the term "beauty," which the beauty giant describes as "outdated," "limiting and exclusive."

Particularly, the Coty campaign targets sexist and ageist elements of many definitions.

The associated petition is posted here.

In an open letter to publishers, Sue Y. Nabi, Coty’s CEO, said, “Seen through the lens of today’s society and values, the definition of beauty hasn’t aged well. Of course, not all people are impacted by, or feel excluded by these definitions. But the implicit ageism and sexism in the examples were born in a different time. We believe it’s time to bridge the gaptime to bring the definition to where society is today. By changing the definition, if more people feel included–feel beautiful–there will be a ripple effect which touches us all.” 

Nabi added, “At Coty, we believe that no one can control or dictate what is, or is not, beautiful. That is why the campaign to #UndefineBeauty aims to ‘undefine’ rather than simply ‘redefine’ beauty, so that no one feels excluded by the definition or examples that accompany it."

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