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

Sweat More, Eat Less

Our society today, as we all know, is overwhelmed with the amount of diet fads, workout plans, and different type of gyms that it literally gives me a headache from trying to understand them all. But throughout my own life, and im sure many others as well, when i think of going on a diet first two things that come to mind are...
1. Work out more
2. Eat Less

For a majority of my older teen/adult life, anytime i attempt to "get in shape" those were the rules. I would like to think I eat pretty healthily. Lots of fruits and veggies, plenty of water, variety of proteins, little to no junkfood. I also have a pretty slender build and have never been overweight. Yet anytime I wanted to start working out, i would cut back my caloric intake because thats how i believed diets worked. Sweat More, Eat Less.
Up until recently I have always hated working out. The thought of it made me miserable. All i could think of was a growling belly and being upset i couldnt run a 6 minute mile. The thought of a gym gave me anxiety. Due to this level of hatred for working out, i hadn't been to a gym in 2+ years. I was afraid of how hte gym made me feel so refused the societal pressure to get a gym membership and work out. But, this past March I decided that for my birthday in june, i wanted to be strong and fit again. Before when i went to the gym it was for everyone else and not for me. It was to fit into the societal norms, to keep up with the celebrities on tv, and unfortunately it was also for the members of the opposite sex. I know a lot of peopel go to the gym for a stress release, but for me it would tend to build more stress than it relieved. So in March, i decided it was for me. there were no pressures to workout and i felt really good about that. I wouldnt get mad that I missed a day, or that i didnt push it at the gym as hard as i should

So i signed up at a RowZone, a Rowing Studio in philadelphia. 12 weeks of unlimited classes to get me started. The first week went great. I was out of shape but it felt good to sweat again, but the 2nd week, my old habits of sweating more and eating less idea of a diet came back. I started cutting back calories here and there. No ranch on my veggies, no desserts, less carbs etc. I felt ok cuttingg back, but when it came to working out at the gym i was drained. I could barely finish the workout. After a conversation with a friend it dawned on me, i can continue to eat what i want, continue to work out, and still will lose weight/build muscle/look fit/feel strong/etc. This sounds liek a simple concept but for most peopel I feel like there is a lot of people who dont see it either.
The media hasnt helped with this concept either. you almost never see a diet being advertised without a workout plan that follows it. And more than likely that diet plan doesnt include carbs. They don't realize that not everyone is trying to lose weight. BUt, since the workout plan typically come with both the diet adn exercise, normally people tend to do both even when its unnecessary. Doing anytype of workout is better than nothing. if you continue eating what you are eating now and and start working out, your body will make changes (losing weight, losing fat, etc) If not trying to lose weight (which i am not trying to do), you are actually able to consume MORE calories than you were eating before. I was talking to my dietician the other day and she even was as bold to tell me that by eating MORE calories might actually cause me to lose weight....? i was shocked. she said that if ur body is working off limited calories, it will hold on to what it needs plus some just in case it needs them for later. But if you are eating a little more than what your body is use to, your body can start getting rid of the extra reserve calories since it knows it doesnt need to hold on to them (aka stored fats) so when you work out, those will be the ones to go first. EPIPHANY! lol

What i am trying to get at in this post is our society's thoughts of a diet is deprivation. Eat less so you can lose more. Although some people, usually those who are trying to fall into a healthy weight range, do need to decrease their caloric intake as well as include working out into their lifestyle, there are the people's whose weight falls in the normal range that dont need to follow this rule that has been set upon us by society. Working out and dieting shouldnt always be to lose weight. The scale can sometimes be our enemy rather than our friend. People focus so much on a goal number, but what I have learned recently is that someones self esteem/bodyimage/confidence should not rest so heavily on a number. What should matter is the image you see in the mirror. For example, i used to be set on the number 130. if i was 130 i convinced myself that i would like the way i looked no matter what. no matter if it was 130lbs of fat or muscle. but then i reached 130. and i didnt like it. my body looked like a teenager. being hispanic, my genetics are made for curves. i wanted curves, i wanted to look like a 22 year old woman. 130 no longer made me happy. luckily this coincidened with the batteries running out on my scale, and i have yet to replace them. Since working out, i have found an entirely new appreciation for my body. i dont even care to think about the scale. if i like the image in front of me, why should a scale matter? Societys pressure to lose weight does not take into consideration that not everybody needs to/wants to/ or should. Be happy with yourself and your body. Even if you are trying to lose weight to get to a HEALTHY weight, try not to focus on a number, whether thats the number on the scale or the size on your jeans, finding a certain level of contentment or happiness at ANY size i feel takes so much pressure off. you dont need a scale to see that youre slimming down and gaining muscle. I enjoy going to the gym now because im not trying to kill myself to lose 5 lbs. im going to the gym to feel strong, to enjoy my body, and to finalyl relieve the other stresses in my life. and i think that THAT is the message that needs to be more in the eyes of the public....hope u enjoyed.