Photoshop: Distorting Body Image for Youth

Does Photoshop Provide False Body Images For Children and Teenagers?

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of photoshop? For most people it would be either models or the general idea of being “fake”. For some photographers it is a key tool to enhance images and for celebrities their demands to get rid of their flaws are made possible. After a photo is taken the computer begins to work its magic by “erasing wrinkles and blemishes, airbrushing a flawless, perfect look”. This, unfortunately, provides a distorted image of the “perfect body” to society and causes many psychological problems.

Originally, when photoshop was invented, it was used to bring a subject or item from a photograph into more focus and not to create “a

work of fiction” that society have come to envy. It is no secret that editors abuse the tool to alter celebrities bodies to ensure the photograph sells. The editor can manipulate the body by enlarging breasts, lips and eyes or making legs and the neck longer in females. For males, usually abnormal muscles are added.

With an average female model weighing 120 pounds and the average American female weighing 166.2 pounds, it is no wonder that many consider themselves to be overweight. In fact, 50% of girls as young as six believe they are overweight and a quarter of children under the age of 18 have tried some form of diet. Due to the fact that so many children have been exposed to the “dangerous terrain” of photoshop, many of them suffer from eating disorders and low self esteem.

In spite of that, many believe that photoshop can be used in ways to create funny effects or internet memes. The tool can be used to alter a photograph humorously - for example: you can make a person have a ridiculously disproportionate body and post it online with the caption “haters will says it photoshopped”. This is currently an internet trend that sarcastically pokes fun at over photoshopped models.

In her article titled “Photoshop Isn’t Evil.

There, I Said It” Elizabeth Perle states that she “is certainly not part of the pro-Photoshop campaign” but she does not believe that photoshop is fully responsible for some of the problems in society. Not only are children and teenagers looking up to the “unrealistic expectations of [the] appropriate body” of celebrities, but also to their friends or parent’s body. Perle is of the opinion that even without photoshop, body issues would still prevail in adolescents and children. As true as this statement may be, it does not explain the dramatic increase in anorexia cases since the early 1990’s when the tool was first

released.

Having considered that argument, the downfall is the fact that there is no “getting rid” of photoshop now that the world has been exposed to it.

Even if the app was to be taken down, somebody would create another version of it to bring in profits for themselves. Even when knowing the wider consequences of using photoshop, people still continue to use it and magazine companies continue to sell the photographs of the unnaturally thin models. Even though it is true that younger children may look up to older siblings or parents, there is a guaranteed link to photoshop somewhere in the desires to be thin or “buff”

A perfect example of the use of photoshop is Justin Bieber’s photoshoot for Calvin Klein. It is noticeable in the before and after pictures that the outlines of his tattoos have been enhanced and his muscles enlarged This just shows that it is not only females who suffer from lack of self confidence. There is an insane amount of pressure on males to be “ripped” and this has caused a third of males under the age of 18 to believe they are “not good

enough”.

In another article by Vivian Diller, she states that photoshop cannot be held responsible for causing teenagers and children to have eating disorders and self esteem issues. “If it is obvious that picture has been altered, people should not try to change themselves to match the unrealistic model”. In opposition to this, it is hard to ignore a model who has a desirable body. People saying photoshop is not responsible for causing anorexia and low self esteem should consider how thin these models can appear to be.

Brad Pitt and Kate Winslet were two of the first celebrities who made the groundbreaking choice to have a photographer take pictures of them with no added effects or alterations before they were uploaded to social media. The photographer, Chuck Close, known for his extremely detailed portraits that expose skin flaws, helped society to see that not all celebrities are made of plastic.

There is very little doubt therefore that photoshop is one of the main causes for anorexia and self esteem issues in children and teenagers. But nothing can be done about the matter. Photoshop is inevitable as we have already been exposed to it. The only possible solution is to attempt to change the perception of “beauty” back to the way it was prior to photoshop - an aim beyond reality. Cindy Crawford once said that she wished she looked like Cindy Crawford - meaning models know themselves that they are not as “perfect” as those portrayed in photoshopped images.