Retouched Photos Exemplifies Perfection

I came across a recent article in Marie Claire asking if retouching photographs is a bad thing? Personally, I think retouching photographs of celebrities conveys two equally destructive messages. The first message is that celebrities are born perfect! They transcend from the humanly possible boundaries, to an almost god-like existence, where perfect skin, perfect size zero body proportions, perfect face symmetry, and perfect talents reign supreme. The second message dictates that the legions of fans following the retouched celebs' photos are deceived in believing that they, too, must attain the very god-like characteristics which would place them on the same par as their beloved celebs.

Celebrities aren't perfect. Let's face it, they are humans like us, and subject to similar fallacies, errs, and misfortunes. However, because they are under the constant scrutiny of the cameras and at the mercy of the greater public's insatiable greed, they must look, act, feel, propagate, and perpetuate the myth that they were born perfect. Thus, airbrushing out skin imperfections, slimming unwanted layers of fat, defining face contours, adding sparkles in the eyes are pretty much aspects of their jobs. In addition, in order to play along and live up to the public's expectations of ideal beauty, celebrities are hard pressed to maintain and monitor their shrinking physiques according the desired dress size that is in vogue. The amount of strain placed on celebs to constantly personify the ideal beauty cannot be underestimated. However, their eagerness and compliance in following and perpetuating the myth of 'ideal beauty' and perfection cannot be equally under emphasized.

Secondly, if celebs are pressured to fit into the mold of perfection, what about their fans? What undue pressure and strain is heaped upon the fans to conform to their beloved idols' images? You come across numerous articles showcasing young pubescent girls' experiences, at times intentionally, destructive eating disorders, never-ending trips to the plastic surgeons to cut and contour their bodies to ideal standards, and struggles with hating their own body images. In their quest to look more like their favorite celebs, young women are more susceptible to distort and mutilate their own image. I have, personally, seen many young girls fresh in their early teen years, already starving themselves in order to acquire the same physique as Miley Cyrus, Hillary Duff, etc. Furthermore, these young kids have picked up the notion that their darker hues aren't desirable to their male counterparts.

So is retouching wrong? Yes, I think it is. Celebrities are celebrities because of their striking talents and skills, of their ability to reach out to people distant and near and connect, of their ability to exemplify the angst and anguish of a particular generation, mind set etc. It is imperative that their fans know that beyond the screen time, celebs are typical humans like Tom, Dick, and Harriet, but just with better incomes. It is equally pivotal for celebs and their fans to teach each other that attaining and complying with transient ideal beauty standards and images is difficult, exhaustive, and an injustice to both of them.