No More Photoshop

Hi Sparklers, Michelle here. This past year a fellow classmate of mine wrote a short essay on her personal thoughts about Photoshop and how it sets unrealistic expectations for young women. I immediately asked her to share it with our sparklers and today is that day. I asked Rosa why she chose this topic and here is her response. "I came up with the idea as I was having a conversation with my daughter on the way home one evening. We talked about how one of her favorite singers, Megan Trainor, had pulled a music video when she found out it had been altered and re-released it the next day without the changes that had been made. As we were talking, I realized how strongly I felt about this and how happy I was that she looked up to a singer that was happy with her body." 

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Look at pictures in magazines, department store ads, on the internet, or on television, they likely have images that are altered by Photoshop or a comparable tool to make the celebrity or model look slimmer than they actually are. These altered images give the illusion that one must be thinner than average to be attractive. This is not the message we should be sending to young people. Photoshop should not be used to make celebrities and models look thinner because it sets unrealistic expectations of beauty, could influence the development of eating disorders, and is dishonest.

The ideal “perfect” body is dictated by the media. When pictures are digitally altered, the standard of beauty is altered as well and becomes an unattainable goal.  “Our media’s increased obsession with the thin-ideal and industry promotion of a “perfect” body may contribute to unrealistic body ideals in people…” (What Causes Eating Disorders?). When this standard is set it can lower the self-esteem for boys, girls, men, and women, making them  feel unlovable because they cannot reach the standard of beauty that they have seen every time the turned on the TV or looked through a magazine while waiting in the checkout line.

Those influenced by Photoshopped images may develop eating disorders. In June 2011, the American Medical Association announced, “A large body of literature links exposure to media propagated images of unrealistic body images to eating disorders and other child and adolescent health problems.” When someone is dealing with poor body image, they may feel the only way to look “perfect” is to starve. This issue was addressed in a November 1990 episode of “Full House” when the oldest daughter, D.J., starves herself because she wants to look good in a swimsuit at an upcoming party. When her father asks her why she has been starving herself, she shows him pictures from magazines that depict her ideal body. This continues to be a problem in impressionable girls and will be if the images they are bombarded with continue to drive this expectation.

Critics may say that the retouching done in these images are only used to refine the pictures. This would be true if it was being used just to change the color of a dress or remove acne; however that is not always the case. In October 2009 when  ads were printed of  the same woman appearing to be two drastically different sizes, Ralph Lauren admitted to being “responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body” (Lexie Kite). The image in which she appeared several sizes smaller was not just refined, it was altered to depict her at an unrealistic size leaving those wanting her body type feeling inadequate.

The use of Photoshop to change a person’s size is dishonest. Some people look at those pictures to help them decide what clothes to buy. When an already thin model’s picture is altered to make her appear even smaller, as it did with the Ralph Lauren model, the public is deceived into believing this is the ideal body type. If a teenage girl purchases clothing to look like the model in an advertisement, she may be set up for disappointment when the clothes do not fit the same as they do in the altered photo. This could cause her to be ashamed of her body, especially if she read that the model used in the ad was the same size as her.

The use of Photoshop and the like have been used for many years and yet it sets an unrealistic expectation of beauty. This needs to be stopped. People often compare themselves to these images and are willing to do anything to live up to the standard of beauty they see in all forms of media. When comparing themselves to the phony pictures, they may feel inadequate and unlovable while sliding into the dangerous pit of eating disorders. 

Rosa Mitchell-Vinding