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1 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Nov 29, 2013 3:17:55am

It’s really sad that 40+ yrs after we discussed this issue in the women’s movement that it’s still going on, but we have fashion and cosmetic marketing, Hollywood PR, the porn industry, and all of that working against us. While a few people may win the lottery genetically and fit the image of the current “perfect” body and/or face, everyone has life working against us and no one keeps that perfect body forever.

Even though National Enquirer/Star “exposés” of famous stars’ cellulite and imperfections are public criticism of how women look. You don’t see them doing the same thing with men’s bodies—only their behavioral dysfunction involving drugs and alcohol, for instance, gets any publicity and “rehab” and more discretion can cure that. Men can still “earn” their gray hair and wrinkles and still be considered quite handsome and distinguished, not old and used up.

2 FemNaziBitch  Fri, Nov 29, 2013 3:30:50am

I love a lot of the changes tho. Adele, Beyonce, JoLo and others are changing the perception of beauty—at least as far as body type are concerned.

Still haute-couture runway models look like cadaverous children.

3 ObserverArt  Fri, Nov 29, 2013 6:41:50am

Just want to mention that touching up or cleaning up of photographic images is nothing new. It used to be called photo retouching and was done by artists with tempera paints or other water-bases media/paints like inks and dyes and airbrushes before digitized images and Photoshop came along in the early 90s. And before airbrushes was done with paintbrush techniques. And airbrushes were around since the late 1800s…so there have been many years of image manipulation.

I still have my airbrushes. I never did much as far as touching up human images, but all that nice electronic equipment and products that crossed my desk when I was younger got some glitches removed, or that scratch or an extra highlight or two. Photoshop sure makes it easier and you don’t have to start all over if you screw up like you had to with analog material. Not with the ‘history’ function, or layers with progressive changes, or images saved in steps.

And I sure understand the complaints about women’s issue concerns and how the ‘ideal’ look is fantasy.

But, body image issues are also is in the male realm too. There are ideal male body images and I wouldn’t trust an image of a male model or movie/rock star either.

As a matter of fact…anorxeia nervosa is also seen in young males more and more now too. It is historically higher in females, but as long as we push ideals and there are careers built around it and young people and even adults are pushed and bullied for their body type/size, etc. it is always going to be a problem.

Face it, ladies have their David Beckhams and Adam Levins to look at too. And I would bet anyone some of those images have been photoshopped too. And there are young guys looking at those images and trying to reach that look too, no matter the fact their body types will never get that look.

And when did Playgirl hit the racks at the magazine stands? Whoa…1973…right at the height of the women’s movement and before Photoshop.

Yeah…it is all a mess.

I hope the ladies understand my comments. It is not an “oh yeah, women do it too” thing. Just that we all have issues with image and as long as so much emphasis is on image, it is not going away.

4 calochortus  Fri, Nov 29, 2013 9:00:16am

re: #3 ObserverArt

I understand your comments and agree, although as a woman I’m pretty sure that the visuals work a bit differently for most men and most women. Playgirl was more a “see, we can do it too!” kind of thing (and is probably at least as popular with gay men as with straight women.)

I recall way back in (I think) the 80s seeing a piece on TV about computer manipulation of images relating to women’s bodies in ads where they could lengthen, say, the legs by 10% or whatever. I have to admit that while I was familiar with retouching and airbrushing and whatnot, I was astonished to see what sort of manipulation could be done even back then.

5 Interesting Times  Fri, Nov 29, 2013 12:06:15pm

This is from years ago (one of the first videos to “go viral”, as it were), but remains just as relevant today (if not more so):

Dove - “Evolution”
Youtube Video

A more recent version showing the same thing on an entire body:
Youtube Video

6 ObserverArt  Fri, Nov 29, 2013 12:39:58pm

re: #4 calochortus

I understand your comments and agree, although as a woman I’m pretty sure that the visuals work a bit differently for most men and most women. Playgirl was more a “see, we can do it too!” kind of thing (and is probably at least as popular with gay men as with straight women.)

…snip…

I’m glad you understood. It is one of those areas that can be tough to comment on in a public forum with limited time.

7 wrenchwench  Fri, Nov 29, 2013 1:52:38pm
Photoshop is just another tool used to distort not only our perceptions of their beauty, but more importantly, of our own.

No one is immune to the beauty propaganda we come in contact with every day. And while we can try our best to change our individual perceptions, the responsibility shouldn’t fall on our shoulders.

Photoshop is not the problem. The problem, if there is one, is inside someone’s head.

Even if all photos were unretouched documents, some people are going to look much better than others. People need to decide for themselves what’s important. Kids should learn what’s important from adults with proper perspective on what’s important. Too bad such adults are so rare.

8 RealityBasedSteve  Fri, Nov 29, 2013 8:27:08pm

I was playing around with a product a year or so ago called “Perfect Portrait” (or something like that). It was a very easy way to do retouching, the basics like clearing up wrinkles and adding a “glow” to the skin. The part that I didn’t like was that they also had the ability (including a bunch of presets) to basically ‘reshape’ the whole face. Bigger eyes, fuller lips, higher cheekbones, face slimmed, narrowed, nose reshaped. They were telling photographers that this will get you increased sales.

I have a mixed feeling on digital retouching. For News / Editorial content it should be pretty much ‘from camera’, much beyond simple cropping or maybe an exposure adjustment is going beyond the line. There was a lot of controversy about one of the World Press Photo pictures of the year, that it was overly modified in post production. It’s the Gaza Burial and while it wasn’t “created” or faked in photoshop, it’s true that the original RAW file (think digital negative) did receive some heavy processing to bring the light out the way it is.

RBS

9 FemNaziBitch  Sat, Nov 30, 2013 3:24:59am

Basic, like they do on school pictures (blemishes, fly away hairs, yellow teeth, etc. _I have no problem with. Major changes that make a person 25 lbs lighter or a different skin tone —yeah that is rather fraudulent, IMHO.


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