We all know that the models we see on the front of magazines don't actually look that good in real life. However, a lot of us can't help but feel just a slight pang of jealousy/resentment while we're in line for the grocery store check-out. Even though we can all acknowledge that this reaction is irrational, we continue on staring at the Kardashians and then criticize them when they put on an extra five pounds.
Not only are the tabloids and fashion magazines obsessed with building celebrities' profiles up for the sheer sake of tearing them down, they seem to have no problem distorting reality. Many suspect that these forms of media are having an adverse affect on people's self-images, especially those of teenage girls. I'm incline to agree. The fact that we idolize a body type that isn't obtainable without a heavy dose of photoshopping and unhealthy dieting doesn't say many great things about our society.
The impacts of constantly being exposed to images of skinny little people who we've decided to worship can be far-reaching and devastating to certain people. Consequences range from low self-esteem to eating disorders, and those aren't paths we want to see anyone stroll down; and certainly not due to the acts of an industry trying to exploit them, reaping the profits from the sales of their new diet plan (available for a limited time only.) Who knows, if we buy one, they might even throw in another, absolutely free.
There are a lot of people who say that it's simply part of the industry, that photo manipulation will always be present in media. After all, who doesn't want that perfect beach body viewable on the cover, in just two months. I'm not saying that we al need to go watch some more Dove commercials (Dove, by the way, is owned by the same corporation that owns Axe, which has some of the most blatantly sexist advertising campaigns of all time.) No, what we need is simply some basic regulation on the practise.
Vogue, go ahead and alter the brightness settings a bit. Play with the contrast level, I really don't care. However, there's no reason for magazines to perform heavy alterations of a model's body parts or appearance. No matter what people say, we're heavily influenced by the media. They play a major role in painting our view of the world. The least they can give us is the truth.
What are your thoughts on this issue? In what ways do you think the media affects us? Is it a good thing or bad? Please share your ideas in the comments below, and don't forget to stop by Contemplations' Google+ and Facebook pages.
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