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

#anorexia #bulimia #instagramproblems

First let me share my excitement with everyone. I officially have an interview with Monte Nido NYC. for those of you who are not familiar with it, it is one of the most prestigious Eating Disorder Treatment Facilities in the nation. It has been my long term goal to become apart of Monte Nido so I am beyond crazy excited that I even have an interview with them.  They just opened Monte Nido NYC this month, so it will be great to be apart of a brand new branch. So please, send lots of positive vibes my way!

As you can see from the title, this post has to deal with my recent realization how instagram unknowingly allows hundreds and thousands of individuals to expose their eating disorder and even get supporters on their quest for thinness. Individuals are posting pictures of their emaciated bodies, asking for support and motivation to starve themselves, and helping to cheer them on when they skip dinner. It is really sad.

This was not the only picture of its kind.  People would post "one like=one day of not eating". It made me so angry and sad to see so many likes on someones picture and the comments cheering them on. As discussed in my previous posts, Thinspiration is a big part of the pro-ana world (pro anorexia).  People will use images of emaciated bodies as motivation to get thinner.  What Instagram does now is create an entire library of #thinspiration photos that eating disordered individuals are using as "goals". A main concern with so much #thinspiration available, is that it may also create not only unhealthy goals, but create competition between individuals, trying to be the thinnest, or trading ideas on how they got to a certain weight. This is dangerous because the wealth of information that is out there is not just how to recover, but how to maintain the eating disorder, which makes it a lot easier for an individual new to their disease to learn a lot of negative information very quickly. too quickly. 

#anorexia is another support group (both good and bad) that creates a community for those suffering with it.  a mixture of cries for help, pictures liek the one shown above, and quotes saying "nothing taste as good as thin feels". A lot of negative self-talk is most apparent. Its scary that there are so many people out there who are PRO-ANA (pro-anorexia), and they are able to group together to help support each other maintain their eating disorder instead of trying to overcome it. This type of behavior just reinforces their harmful behavior.  Especially since Instagram is not really monitored and parents and family might have a hard time accessing a loved ones IG page, there is no one to tell these Pro-Ana supporters to stop. It is also hard to tell if these Pro-ANA people are also suffering or if this is just another form of bullying; others taking advantage of someones vulnerable state and using it to take control and tell someone else not to eat or tell them that starving themselves is the right thing to do.  I think i spent about an hour just looking through different hashtags of all these pictures and it is hard not to feel heartbroken for these beautiful individuals.  As much as the internet has provided so many resources for eating disorder recovery and recovery groups, negative support is almost as prevalent.  Thank goodness there is a report button, and I think I spent half an hour just reporting...

I thought it was GREAT that instagram has this option. Not because I think reporting the picture will cause a great deal of change, but that might create one less "PRO-ANA" picture for those suffering from an eating disorder. Its sad how engulfed these individuals are by their eating disorder. Another great thing that Instagram has done is to put a warning notice anytime someone tries to search #bulimia #anorexia #eating disorders, etc

This made me so happy to know that there are others out there working towards the cause! The internet and social media is a great way to connect, but we never think people are connecting for these types of reasons.  #Suicide was really depressing as well, and you would think people would be using this to help them out of suicidal ideations, but there are people out there telling them to do follow thru with their suicide. I think in the future of social media, there needs to be more being done about bullying, abusive/offensive statements, and harassment on these sites. A task force or an entire department should be devoted to the cause.  Maybe that could be a prospective venture for me in the future, who knows. lol

What I want everyone to take away from this post, is to be aware of what is out there.  BE aware of what is going on in the world, and as for parents to realize what is out there.  Especially now teenagers have a lot more privacy when it comes to social networking, they can see a lot of things due to the internet and smart phones that was not accessible 10 years ago. This is one of them.  Especially if you have a teen with ED, monitoring all of this is important to make sure they are getting the RIGHT type of support, and not learning tricks of how to hide their eating disorder, or having people support their purging habits.  

to all those who are fighting through their eating disorder, keep fighting, you are strong enough, i believe in you. 

 Pro-Living > Pro-ANA