Beauty

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye." - Miss Piggy.

Beauty is an odd thing when you think about it. Many years ago women of larger size would have been a man's number one choice when it came to marriage. They were beautiful. Then came the corset, which in my opinion, was one of the first main contributors to today's body image problems. I am sure everyone who knows me knows how much I detest the way women are portrayed in the media today - what with all the retouching and editing, it is simply disgusting. It is hard enough trying to live up to the standards of beautiful women strolling the streets, but to now have to live up to completely edited and retouched ones on the magazine covers makes things so much worse. Even the stars portrayed on the covers can't do it.

Kelly Clarkson appears on the September cover of Self Magazine a significantly slimmer version of herself, see image on left. She has fought with her weight in the past and even within the pages of this magazine, she declares that she has come to terms with her weight and likes her curvy-self, see image on right. This photo had created an uproar and was even on Canada AM this morning. Lucy Danziger editor-in-chief for the Magazine said “Kelly Clarkson displays self-confidence, and she is a role model for today’s women, regardless of their sizes and ethnicity. Kelly Clarkson is a strong and healthy woman and is working out regularly, and all our magazine did is to display that confidence, self esteem and beauty. We love this cover and we love Kelly Clarkson.”. Now, even the critics are saying that magazines such as this one aren't really photo-journalism but really just images used to sell their magazines and therefore lean more towards creative art, I still don't think there should be a highly edited photo on the magazine cover when inside that same person is quoted saying things like "When people talk about [it], I’m like, ‘You seem to have a problem’ — I don’t, I’m fine!’ ” the pop star says of her larger size. “I’ve never felt uncomfortable on a red carpet or anything.”. If this is the article you wish to write and have in your magazine, then the images shown about it, should portray the same message.

Those who know me, know I have a weight problem. I will be the first to admit that I am overweight and need to do something about it. But unlike others, I am trying to do something about it and I believe I am going about it in a healthy and mature way. There are no diet pills involved and no unrealistic goals to achieve. I am not saying I am perfect in my weight loss, trust me I am far from it, but I am doing the best I can while still enjoying myself along the way. But to be honest, images of 'perfect' women do not help me. I get frustrated and angry that I cannot look like them and I am a 25-year old woman who knows a great deal about Photoshop. Think about those 13-year old girls who might actually think that these women look like this, or at least close to it. The expert on Canada AM this morning said that eating disorders are the third most prevalent disease in teenage girls, which worries me greatly. I personally have never had an eating disorder (I love eating food too much to be anorexic and hate throwing up so much that being bulimic never really crossed my mind), but have known girls who fought these issues and the hardships they went through to overcome them.

I realize that my blog and those of other angered people out there aren't going to stop the extensive editing done today. And in all reality, it may never end. Technology is so great, and you can make the people look so wonderful, why would it stop? Companies can make so much money selling magazines with stellar people on the covers and then have weight loss ads within, why would these money hungry people want to discontinue their outlandish incomes? But I can do something about it in my own photography. Since I started I have never edited someone to be a smaller size than they were and I like to think I will never be swayed to do it. In classes we have learned how to decrease one's age or figure and I have learned that these are things I do not want to do. I believe there are better ways to capture and portray a persons'best-self. At most change lighting or angles, at least then you are still capturing that person as they are and not how you or someone else wants them to be. Go ahead and get rid of that pimple, it is not a permanent feature of anyone, but leave most everything else.