Outrageous Photoshopping
Today, I am full of hope. More and more, the media – even mainstream media – is picking up stories about outrageous photoshopping, about fashion images who were so heavily manipulated that they present a disturbingly distorted, unrealistic image of the female body.
The more widespread criticism of these images becomes, the easier it will be for me, when my kids become teens (one of them is a pre-teen, and yes, she’s already worried about her weight), to place such images in the right context – not as something to aspire to and emulate, but as something to ridicule and laugh at.
If we keep doing such a good job of pointing at such images and criticizing them without worrying about outrageous attempts at shutting us up through legal threats, maybe – just maybe – the fashion industry will finally start changing.
Ralph Lauren’s apology is certainly a step in the right direction, although allegedly firing model Filippa Hamilton for being too heavy is not. I am looking forward to seeing less hatred of women and more acceptance of the natural female form, with all its different shapes and sizes and ages, in the fashion industry. It might take several more years, but after seeing how widespread this recent media backlash has been, I am feeling truly hopeful – for the first time since I started writing this blog.
PS. Thank you to reader Barbara Swafford who offers useful blogging tips on her blog “Blogging without a Blog,” and to Linda Abbit, who writes about elder care, for emailing me with this story.
Comment of the Day: “Great photoshopping job, guys. Especially the woman on the right. Lookit the size of her HEAD compared to the body. (Snicker). Not to mention her arm length and size of her hands, compared to her hips. (Ring! Ring!). Hey, that was ET just calling. HE wants his body back.” Friar, The Deep Friar.
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Stephanie - Home with the Kids responds:
Posted: October 20th, 2009 at 10:19 am →
Those pictures are just awful, and the firing was ridiculous. I’ve also been loving the coverage of it all.
My daughter is 7 and sometimes already worries about her weight. Not often, but once in a while. I tell her it’s better to be fit than thin, and that there is a difference between the two. I’ve never been into fashion or women’s magazines, so her exposure to this is less than it is for many girls.
I hope that whatever her figure, she can learn to have a good attitude about it. I’ll be there to help her with that.
RC - Rambling Along... responds:
Posted: October 20th, 2009 at 11:25 am →
I see those pictures and all I can think is, “and people say Barbie is unrealistic?!?!?!?”
Carla responds:
Posted: October 20th, 2009 at 11:57 am →
Wow! Are these Photoshopped photos even real? I mean photos (especially magazine) are manipulated all the time, but I wonder if these photos are exaggerated to get a rise out of people.
Jannie Funster responds:
Posted: October 20th, 2009 at 12:38 pm →
Ralph Lauren certainly got a lot of publicity out of this but I won’t be buying anything of his, even if it were something gorgeous in my size and color that I could get at a yardsale for two bucks.
Linda Abbit responds:
Posted: October 20th, 2009 at 4:16 pm →
I think it very important that these issues be raised and that the new generations of women made aware of them from childhood on. I wish I knew models’ photos were retouched back when I was a teenager. It would have saved me countless hours and loads of frustration trying to look like them, thinking they were naturally that beautiful.
From what I observe, Vered, you are doing an excellent job of raising awareness both as a mom and as a blogger. Keep up the great work. Thanks for the hat tip, too.
Barbara Swafford responds:
Posted: October 20th, 2009 at 4:28 pm →
Hi Vered,
I can see how this gives you hope – mainstream media is finally talking about photoshpped photos. Although this is just the tip of the iceberg, it at least brings the story to the forefront – temporarily.
What I find sad is these photos are so drastically altered, even if someone wanted to emulate one of these models, it would be next to impossible. But young girls could literally die trying.
Vered, I commend you for your continued devotion to this topic. What you’re sharing is truly making a difference.
P.S. Thank you for the mention.
Marelisa responds:
Posted: October 20th, 2009 at 6:48 pm →
She’s considered fat at 120 pounds when she’s 5’10″ ? Wow. My target weight is 125 (almost there) and I’m 5’3″.
Lance responds:
Posted: October 20th, 2009 at 8:06 pm →
And these pictures just look “wrong”. I’m not sure why someone would want to look like that – so what’s the real purpose of the photoshopping, anyway? It’s sad to see, what we’ll (we as a society) do to generate profits…
Squawkfox responds:
Posted: October 20th, 2009 at 8:39 pm →
I look just like the women in these photos — when I view myself in a FUNHOUSE of MIRRORS!
Yikes.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: October 20th, 2009 at 9:37 pm →
Thanks everyone for your comments. I agree that the photos look so distorted, it makes you wonder why someone would think they were beautiful or something to aspire to.
Carla, these are for real – the Ralph Lauren company tried to get blogs to take the image down saying it was a breach of copyright to post them, even though it’s classic fair use.
Marelisa, weight standards for models are outrageous. It’s no wonder so many of them suffer from eating disorders and resort to smoking to keep their weight down.
The Lawyer Mom responds:
Posted: October 20th, 2009 at 9:54 pm →
“I am looking forward to seeing less hatred of women and more acceptance of the natural female form, with all its different shapes and sizes and ages, in the fashion industry.” Me, too. While I’m not holding my breath, I remain hopeful.
Kelvin Kao responds:
Posted: October 20th, 2009 at 10:21 pm →
I’ve been reading a blog called Photoshop Disasters (in fact, one of the blogs asked to take down the image). Some of the images they posted are just goofy mistakes, but yeah, there’s a few like these too. I understand wanting to have thin-looking models (not to say that that’s wrong or right) but these simply don’t look human.
Friar responds:
Posted: October 21st, 2009 at 5:50 am →
AHAHAHAHHA!
Great photoshopping job, guys.
Really great!
Especially the woman on the right.
Lookit the size of her HEAD compared to the body. (Snicker). Not to mention her arm length and size of her hands, compared to her hips.
(Ring! Ring!).
Hey, that was ET just calling.
HE wants his body back.
Dr. J responds:
Posted: October 21st, 2009 at 6:26 am →
I have a pretty accepting view of the range of human shapes, but these are just crazy!! No one ever looked liked that!! Maybe some abstract sculpture in the MOMA, maybe…
Dot responds:
Posted: October 21st, 2009 at 6:47 am →
All intended to make us feel inadequate because we’ll never reach the goal of looking like them, so we’d better redouble our efforts at losing weight and reading those women’s magazines! What’s next, bone stretching so you can have 8-foot legs? Geez.
I’d also love to see somebody take on the fashion industry’s sizing “standards.” I once bought three pairs of slacks, same size, from the same store. One fit, one was too big, and one was too small. Do they do this to men, too? Why can’t women stand up to this so that we can trust that if it says it’s a certain size, it’s that size?
janice responds:
Posted: October 21st, 2009 at 8:08 am →
Thanks for keeping this issue prominent, Vered. Luckily, my daughter’s sensible and healthy, but the whole world of Photoshopping, computer game porn-like imagery and CGI movies freaks me out.
Kim Woodbridge responds:
Posted: October 21st, 2009 at 9:51 am →
Those photos are really creepy – they look aliens. It’s terrible photoshop work.
My daughter recently said that she needed to lose weight and she is underweight! I don’t think it came from the media – unfortunately, I think she picked up on my dieting and exercise. It made me think about my words – that I need to say that I am doing this to be healthier rather than saying it’s to lose weight.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: October 21st, 2009 at 10:01 am →
Thanks again everyone for your comments. I sometimes worry that you would tire of me talking about these issues so often, but I can’t help it. It’s really important to me, not just as a woman but also as a mother of two young girls.
I agree – whoever did the photoshopping on these photos tried to make these women look attractive, but they simply look scary and alien-like.
Patricia responds:
Posted: October 21st, 2009 at 3:09 pm →
Vered,
Thank you for your good posts and sharing your funnies and your hopes. It is hard work to share life with all children these days. Young men need to figure out that females are whole people and real people…as do they need to figure out who they are as whole people/real people….and celebrate the diversity.
I just voted and we have an initiative on the ballot here that promotes HATE against some folks that are different from the “norm”…..or the media people. I think it will be defeated as it is so obvious…
We have one woman running for City Council who I believe is going to win because she looks so “good” – if she were blond she would be considered an ” air head”. She wants everything to be pretty and to get buses off the road and more parking spaces….has never been to a city hall meeting….but I am sure she is going to win….her mind has been air brushed. To me she is as obvious as the pictures above…but apparently not to others. Hmmm do we really have such a long, long way to go?
Friar responds:
Posted: October 21st, 2009 at 5:32 pm →
But you know what?
These magazines are out there, and they sell well. So there’s obviously a demand for them.
But who BUYS these magazines?
It’s certainly not us guys, I can assure you.
In fact, name any normal guy who finds those anorexic stick-figures attractive.
So who’s actually perpetuating this myth of beauty?
Who’s feeding into this industry?
The big bad media? Or uninformed knuckle-dragging males?
Or…(God Forbid), is it possible that WOMEN themselves have a lot to do with it?
Ladies, just stop BUYING this crap!
And the problem will go away.
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach b responds:
Posted: October 22nd, 2009 at 7:14 am →
You mean those photos AREN’T real?
You’ve just destroyed my illusions. WAH!!!!!!
Luckily, I’ve made certain to raise my kids by reality standards (ie, here’s what’s healthy, here’s what’s not). But I have heard from other parents that’s very difficult to do at times….
Lori Hoeck responds:
Posted: October 22nd, 2009 at 8:29 am →
Bobbleheads on elongated stick figures. Not my idea of beauty. If they keep this up, I can see the talking heads in the animated television show Futurama being all the rage.
Michelle @ Find Your Balance responds:
Posted: October 24th, 2009 at 5:35 am →
Wait – those are REAL ads? Get out of here. I wonder if flipping casually through a magazine if anyone even notices how obvious the photoshopping is. It’s much more apparent flat on the screen.
Cath Lawson responds:
Posted: October 26th, 2009 at 11:19 pm →
OMG Vered – those are the most hideous photoshop pics I’ve ever seen. They don’t even look normal
megan gilbert responds:
Posted: October 27th, 2009 at 6:51 am →
The shape and sizes are unreal! But what message do you think they are sending to the consumers, especially the young? So when your teen is freaking out in front of the mirror she had plenty of inspiration.
Nurit responds:
Posted: November 2nd, 2009 at 9:58 am →
“Fashion victims” comes to my mind again, but here it’s not funny at all. This is really bad and sad. Tragic!
Thanksgiving « Rambling Along… responds:
Posted: November 25th, 2009 at 12:56 pm →
[...] disclaimer, which I know Vered, blogger at MomGrind, will appreciate. Yes, this picture has been slightly altered. Circles were removed under everyone’s eyes [...]
International Women’s Day 2010 | Blogger For Hire responds:
Posted: March 8th, 2010 at 11:11 am →
[...] themselves with plastic surgery; because until I started educating myself, I never realized how heavily manipulated those media images really are; and because if we don’t know they are heavily manipulated, and [...]