REVERSE PHOTOSHOPPING

A few months ago I had come across an article via Facebook that took me by complete shock. The term I learned in this article was called "Reverse PhotoShopping".  Essentially this phrase means that retouching photos is not used to make models look thinner, but is now being used to make models look fuller and healthier; no ribs or bones protruding from their skin.

This took a minute for me to process that it was actually a real thing that was happening. In our society, there is so much pressure for models to look extremely slim; collar bones showing, hip bones showing, and the infamous thigh gap. The models are trying to hard to fit this look that some are making themselves sick in order to achieve it.  Unfortunately, the editors are able to cover up the ill-side of models by now plumping the models back up to a healthier, yet still slim figure via Photoshop.

The former editors of Cosmo, Healthy Magazine, Vogue, and British Vogue have all admitted to having to photoshop models to make them look not so thin. These are fashion magazines that have a huge influence over the female population, specifically how we as women are supposed to replicate. As I have previously written about, media has a large impact on female's perceptions of their own body, and it can be correlated with a higher percentage of eating disorders. In a recent study I read:
"A meta-analysis of 25 studies involving female subjects, examined the effect of exposure to media images of the slender body ideal. Body image was significantly more negative after viewing thin media images than after viewing images of either average size models, plus size models or inanimate objects. "
-essentially this means that girls feel worse about their own bodies after seeing the bodies of the models in magazines. We are buying the magazines that are making us feel inadequate. I admit to buy Cosmo, Vogue, etc, unknowing that even if I am aware of how the media affects me, I am still buying into the falseness of the images.  It is hard to continuously remind yourself when you are looking at a beautiful editorial of Gisele in Vogue to remind yourself that, "yes she is gorgeous, but she is photoshopped to further enhance her 'beauty' (which can be defined as clear skin or a small wasit) and it is almost impossible to look like that without the help of photoshop". That is not an affirmation I want or will remember to tell myself each time i pick up one of these magazine. The intense use of photoshopping needs to be regulated and its heartbreaking that something this emotionally damaging has not yet been banned.
THANK GOODNESS SOMEONE IS DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT! I was so happy as I was researching articles for this blog that two congresswomen were in the midst of trying to regulate photoshopping. Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Democratic Rep. Lois Capps have co-sponsored a bill entitled H.R. 4341: Truth in Advertising Act of 2014, which calls for photoshop regulation in media and advertising. Essentially this bill will try and create guidelines for photoshopping, so as it does not continue to promote unrealistic body images. YAY! I will continue to follow this as I think its fantastic. (SIDE NOTE: this is the link that talks about the bill, you can actually voice your opinion to your local congress member about your support so hopefully it can get passed! https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr4341/text)
However, as I was writing this article is dawned on me, I dont have to wait for a bill to pass to regulate photoshop. As a model, I have signed numerous contracts allowing others to photoshop me for use in their editorials. What most independent models such as myself dont do, is create their own contracts. Usually they are used to protect their own rights of publication and such. What I have decided to do from today forward, is to have my own contract for those who i work with stating that they are unable to use photoshop to manipulate my size, shape, or proportions. If they are unwilling to sign it, I will be unwilling to work with them. I would love for this idea to catch on among other models in my community, and possibly further than that. I will be developing a contract within the next week or so, and if you want a copy to use for your own modeling PLEASE EMAIL ME! I think that waiting for major corporations such as Vogue and Cosmo to decide to start regulating photoshopping is going to be a LONG battle. I think starting with the models is a better way to fix the problem sooner. Just imagine is Gisele or Kate Upton prevented the use of photoshopping to manipulate their size, how much support they would get from others. This may be a pipe dream, but I like to dream big :)

here are some of the links to the articles I found my information on if you want to look further into this topic <3 you are all amazing and thanks again for reading

http://jezebel.com/congresswomen-introduce-bill-to-regulate-overzealous-ph-1564436575
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2792687/
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr4341/text

Blame it on Barbie?

http://m.refinery29.com/2014/02/61795/barbie-designers-body-image-issue?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=post

I read an interesting article last week on Barbie's potential influence on body image (post above) on children as well as adults, and as growing up playing with barbies I was curious to see, is Barbie really to Blame?

The argument of the article is: do the unrealistic proportions of Barbie affect the mental health of the child? As we have all heard, if Barbie was real, her proportions would have her walking on all fours because she would be so top heavy.  Galia Slayen, a former student at Hamilton College, was the first to really show what Barbie would look like if she were real.

Barbie does lok ridiculous when we use her "real-life" proportions (everything besides her head). Definitely not as attractive as when she is in her normal toy form. As adults, we are aware that she is not how people actually look and as adults we are aware that Barbie is only a toy, but as children, do they know what we as adults know? Im leaning towards no. The article made a good point that at the same age they are playing with Barbies is the same age they still believe in Santa Claus. They dont see Barbie's "flaws" the same as adults see them. Barbie is whatever the child makes them out to be, one day she is playing mommy to Skipper, one day she is rescuing puppies as a veterinarian, one day she is your buddy in the bath tub, and one day she is your very best friend. Barbie is never casted as the blonde bombshell or the hot girl at the club. Barbie seems to just be the vessel of childhood imagination, not someone who dictates it. I find it hard to believe that Barbie can be responsible for childhood low-self esteem, low self-worth, poor body image, or promoting eating disorders. Not that I rule out Barbie has zero influence, but i find it to be minimal. What I think is more important is the people surrounding the child and how they foster a healthy image of how people should look, behave, and think. If  a child has parents or guardians that are promoting individuality, self-worth, and positive body image, they are going to be less likely to be influenced by the societal pressures of being Barbie. We as a society tend to find reasons to blame external uncontrollable factors for things that occur, instead of trying to focus on what we can do right now to make the situation better. I think this article is a perfect example of the struggle of who's to blame. 
As parents, guardians, brothers, sisters, FRIENDS etc we can have a great influence on the ideals of a child, regardless of what society is pressuring them to be. If we help to create a strong sense of self, the child is less likely to be influenced on what others have told them they need to be ( read this in one of my psych books, cant find the source, will post when i stumble upon it so for now take my word for it). We all have the power to positively or negatively reinforce someone, and compliments are always free, so we should use them more often. Although we cannot control all the outside influences on what society shows us to be ideal, we can help to influence others in our own way and it can be just if not more powerful. 
Thanks again for reading!