Airbrushing and Unrealistic Ideals

Photography began from a desire to record things exactly as they were, and in a way that takes less time to do so than drawing or painting. Photography is now losing its immediacy and documentary qualities. A digital photograph now, rather than taking seconds, requires hours upon hours of extra work after the photograph is made to be considered print ready.
The altering of photographs has been happening since the 1860s, but are the photomanipulations currently used to sell products having a negative effect on the children in our society? Photomanupulation was not as common five years ago as it is now, because of the high cost. Now it is required on nearly every image put into print. In magazines and advertisements, models are airbrushed so intensely that photographers do not always recognize the model they are supposed to be photographing when they meet in the studio. In this digital age of photography, no public bound image is safe from the modern scalpel of Photoshop experts.

In the world of advertising and celebrities there is no such thing as a hair out of place, wrinkles, blemishes, or other skin problems, or imperfect teeth. No one is born without “flaws.” The removal of these such “flaws” requires heavy makeup, fashion experts, and many hours of digital manipulation. Real people are rarely seen in any form of media. The abundance of “fake” people we see every day gives many full grown people unrealistic expectations.

Parents have a responsibility to realize how the media affects their children and to respond to the issues it creates. The media images have a greater effect on children because kids are strongly influenced by the world they live in. Because of perfect body obsessions in our current culture, children as young as six, perhaps even younger, are feeling the pressure to be thin and “perfect.” While it could be an unsetteling idea for young children, they must be made aware that the photographs in magazines and advertisements most likely have been manipulated to make the model look the way he or she does. Children need to be taught to no longer view photographs as facts, but rather more as paintings that show an idealized version of the person. If this idea is continually raised with children throughout their most vulnerable years they may stop trying to live up to the images our society creates and be more aware of the real people in the world.

While adults are free to choose to diet, children should not be forced into a strict diet, or allowed to place themselves on one. Healthy eating and living should be promoted, but weight loss should not be encouraged at a young age. Team sports and other forms of exercise should be encouraged for entertainment options, and a limit placed on television viewing. A limit on television intake will create more active time and less time to be influenced by societal ideals.

As an interview from diet.com said: “Have we created unattainable image of perfection that is widely accepted as the standard of beauty?” I believe that question is answered with the fact that thirty percent of ten to fourteen year old girls in this country are dieting (webmd), and three percent of prepubescent girls are anorexic (http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/eating_Disorders/children_1.asp). If girls are influenced enough by the media to begin feeling fat and dieting at ten (some with serious eating disorders), their views of the media must be changed before this point. Media messages can be used as a srpingboard for discussing healthy versus unhealthy lifestyles. Models who look too thin can help parents begin conversations about the dangers of anorexia and other eating disorders. When the ill health (eating disorders, drug addiction) of models or celebrities is publicized, discuss this with your child. It can be discussed that the eating disorders and addictions of models are their response to pressures of society. Discuss how airbrushing can create an unrealistic goal for how much a person should weigh, even for models, and what a healthy person looks like, and that everyone has a different body type.

While talking to parents of various aged children, I was surprised to learn that many parents noticed their children being unhappy with their weight as early as six years if age. If kindergartners and first graders already feel they need to exercise and lose weight because they feel fat, what happens when their bodies really start to change and they begin dealing with the pressures of middle school? Parents must take this issue seriously, and deal with it early on. Parents need to be aware that teasing a child about their weight is unacceptable, and can be harmful to the child’s self image. If a parent suspects a serious issue with their child, it should not be assumed that they are too young for a specific problem. Many specialists, including psychologist and nutritionists, can be called on for expert advice.