Thursday, August 13, 2009

Unrealistic ideals expected from women

I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to have lines under my eyes; no one is — and I don't even mean wrinkles. But everywhere I look, even in the mirror, it seems the natural look of a face has subtle scoops, bags or lines.
I'm not supposed to get shiny, so I carry powder foundation wherever I go in case — God forbid — I perspire. My skin should also be flawless, pores unnoticeable, without moles or freckles and definitely sans acne or other hideous imperfections.
I know my hair should be silky, shiny and without fly-aways, so I hang my head in shame when my naturally ringletty hair gets a bit poofy.
I am aware that I can never lose enough weight. I should never have a "muffin-top" (access skin hanging over my pants) and should work hard to stay at society's ideal size of 0, including excessive dieting and exercise beginning at the age of 12. I should also be toned and my arms should never jiggle when I wave at someone, no matter what how vigorous my greeting.
And, above all else, I know I am not supposed to age; I should cover, dye and hide any signs that show I am not 19 years old.
I learned these unofficial rules of beauty from magazines and other print ads so prevalent in our world; they are ideals I will never live up to because they are not realistic.
So what has caused me and millions of other women to become so shallow, to care so much about our appearances that we primp, cut and change our bodies to live up to standards decided by someone else?
Well, situations like the following don't help: on Aug. 13, Dove's Self-Esteem Fund released a statement.
"This month, Kelly Clarkson joins a long line of celebrities — including Kate Winslet and Mariah Carey — who have seen their images altered to meet the media's unrealistic standards of beauty, as a heavily Photoshopped Self magazine cover featuring Clarkson hit newsstands.
"While the magazine's editor-in-chief Lucy Danziger admits 'Did we alter her appearance? Only to make her look her personal best,' the magazine made dramatic changes to Clarkson's physical appearance."
Kelly Clarkson is a pop singer who made it big after winning the first season of American Idol. She's probably below average weight but, it seems, magazines don't agree with her rounder figure and constantly change her appearance.
This is the latest in retouching "scandals" that made news, joining Katie Couric's slimmer figure for CBS and Faith Hill's even thinner look for Redbook.
Digital photo retouching is commonplace in the graphics industry, but how far artists can change a photographed subject remains up for debate; come call it "beauty" retouching or digital surgery and others call it destructive manipulation.
Sometimes they take an already skinny model and make her even skinnier. Or erase Beyoncé's tummy. Or smooth Kim Kardashian's cellulite.
Humans seem to gravitate toward perfection, maybe because it's something no one could ever attain for themselves; but when society begins to see perfection as the norm, there's trouble.
Unrealistic ideals can attribute to eating disorders, unnecessary plastic surgeries and low self-esteem.
Those with physical imperfections, even minor ones, are looked down upon by others and are considered weak. When you see photos non-famous Myspace chicks have taken and retouched of themselves, they adjust the contrast so that it lightens their faces to hide any imperfections — sometimes even flooding out their noses.
If you think I'm overreacting, just watch one episode of America's Top Model; the artists who deal with the photos after the shoots blatantly manipulate the girls' features, without shame — it's just an accepted part of the industry.
So what does that mean for us regular gals who don't have a team of makeup artists and photographic retouchers at our disposal?
We gotta toughen up, accept what we have and not give any excuses to the contrary.

Check out these sites for examples of celebrity retouching. (True or not, they're interesting to view):

http://iwanexstudio.com/
http://www.flzine.com/photo-retouch-for-magazine-like-beauty/

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