Do Photoshopped Images Promote Unrealistic Expectations Of Beauty And Body Image

Photoshop has many uses. It is used to design posters and create art. However, it has negative uses too. For example, manipulating images. Manipulation using Photoshop to alter model’s bodies in the media negatively impacts society by creating an image that imposes an unrealistic body standard and is the root cause of recent adolescent eating disorders. Peoples of all genders are impacted by the modification of model’s bodies. Whether it be one is not skinny enough or one does not have enough muscle, it generates a frequent belief that one’s body is not good enough.

The media has become a powerful source for changes in our society. There are so many factors and reasons for our society changing. Today I find most people obsessively worried about their body image. We all have a body and at one time or another, we worry about it. Women and men are both being affected by media sources such as television, advertising, magazines, music, and video games; not to mention the photo manipulation that goes along with it all. Questions can be asked; such as, “Is this the way our society should be leaning [obsessing over our bodies]? What could happen from here? Are there any solutions?”

Photoshop, is almost always used in today’s media but many people refuse to see or believe it. The more photoshop the media uses the lower the self esteem, higher the depressions rates and an increase in eating disorders and mental illnesses. So why does the media still use photoshop when it is so harmful? How does it really affect girls and teenagers? What can prevent these effects of Photoshop? Photoshop has harmed high school girls to the point where 30% of them have an eating disorder (Vaynshteyn).

Kover, A. (2009, April 30). Effects of the Media on Body Image. Retrieved March 21, 2017, from

In the article “Never Just Pictures,” Susan Bordo acknowledges how the cultural perception of body image of both men and women has been increasing in viciousness exponentially. The societal views of the models in advertisements, on television or in magazines, have proven themselves to be “fabulously” horrific throughout the last few decades. However, an incredible amount of commercial funding, euphemistic language, dietary support groups and other lifestyle changes are merely thought up, created and shipped out door-to-door to virtually all people who cannot simply stand being a kind soul towards others who are apparently suffering, in the medias (blind) eyes. This terrifying phenomenon is especially shocking since there have been articles

For example, the images and celebrities in the media set the standard for what we find attractive. As a result of, leading people to go to dangerous extremes to have the biggest biceps or fit into size 2 jeans. Today, more than 66 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. In the American body, the media idealizes images of the male and female bodies. But, at the same time the media in the form of television, the internet, movies, and print publications is more powerful than before. “We live in a day and age where people make it IMPOSSIBLE for women, men, anyone to embrace themselves exactly how they are. Diversity is sexy! Loving yourself is sexy!” (Strecker, 2015, para. 2).

Photoshop is known to fix even the slightest imperfections. This sets impossibly high standards for what women expect for themselves. Photoshopped images are destroying America’s body image. The media sets up high beauty and body standards for women. The media takes beautiful women and tells them they are not beautiful enough. Being beautiful nowadays is having a face covered in make-up, being “skinny” is having a thigh gap, and to be perfect is to have no flaws. Women need to start realizing they are beautiful with their flaws, but it’s a hard process to love your flaws and imperfections. Dove made a commercial about loving something as simple as your curls. A handful of young women (ages 5 to 11) were asked about how they feel about their

Zoe Lawrie, Elizabeth Sullivan, Peter Davies & Rebecca Hill (2006) hold the view that many factors affect the body image that women create for themselves, however, they do emphasise in their work that the media is a significant contributor to the image of the percieved ideal female body in

As defined by Merriam-Webster, the definition of Photoshop is as follows: “to alter (a digital image) with Photoshop software or other image-editing software especially in a way that distorts reality (as for deliberately deceptive purposes)”. Even the definition states that Photoshop distorts reality, yet girls still think that models have the ideal body image. The real reality is that models set an unattainable and unrealistic way for girls to look like. In “No Model For Girls” by Fiona Bawdon, the author explores how models and Photoshop can negatively affect adolescent girls body image. The author states that, “magazine images are routinely airbrushed: thighs slimmed, wrinkles smoothed and blemishes removed” (29). How are adolescent girls not supposed to feel self-conscious and compare themselves to models when, in with a touch of Photoshop, models can look skinnier, have a flawless face, and appear more beautiful? Another startling statistic that was in the same study conducted by Marium Javaid and Iftikhar Ahmad, was that “actresses and models had 10-15% less body fat whereas the average body fat for healthy women is 22-26%” (30). This displays just how extremely thin and unrealistic these models are. The body fat for a healthy woman is 22-26%, yet girls still see themselves as fat and continue to try and lose weight. This trend is growing more popular in today’s society, however, girls need to understand the importance of not comparing their own bodies to other people. It is an unnecessary and potentially harmful comparison to

As technology editing tools have become even more prevalent, many feel the need to excessively use photoshop before they share an image online. In a pervasive world where images of unrealistic standards fuel the media on how one should look, social media has one of the most significant impacts on body dissatisfaction. Throughout the last decade, social media has become one of the most common and favored ways for people to communicate, connect, and share. Thus, there have been many debates and discussions on whether the media has a positive or a negative impact on the way an individual perceives him or herself. As the rapid growth of smartphone usage among adolescents and adults has increased, social media has become an essential part of one’s daily life. In today's society, when most adolescents and adults turn on their smartphones, often times, the first thing they will refer to is a social media site. It has become a place where they are exposed to news, images, and expectations. Often times, these images, ideals, and expectations are ingrained in their brain and bombarded with what is considered to be beautiful. Moreover, these unrealistic standards will often lead to a form of comparison, influencing them to take extreme measures. Although social media serves as a platform where people can connect, communicate, and share, it has a negative impact on one’s body image, because it can lead to a lack of self confidence and severe

Studies show that young girls are more afraid of becoming overweight than they are of a nuclear war, cancer, or losing their parents (Self Image/Media Influences). As we grow up, we learn to absorb everything around us like a sponge. We see the skinny Barbie doll and muscular action figures, and naturally begin to believe this is what a normal body should be. Today, everywhere you walk you will see footprints of the media shouting out the newest fat-blasting secrets and daily weight loss tips. What is unnoticed is the people affected by these ads. They are the ones suffering from extreme self-consciousness, and who spend their time crying in front of the mirror because they are embarrassed by their appearance. As the media continues to shatter

America is obsessed with body image. In today’s world, you can't go through the day without seeing the television, advertisements, magazines, or really any type of media portraying women's bodies. Due to the immense societal pressure that women should have the “perfect body” to be accepted, the nonstop reminders to change what they look like, struggling with body image has now become a major social phenomenon- and it's time for women to challenge that narrative. Women of all ages are facing face increasing scrutinization over their body image through media influence leading to invasive surgeries, increased depression, and eating disorders.

Body image has become a primary focus for individuals and in some instances is resulting into an obsession, especially in women. Media instills in men and women an ideal body standard causing unrealistic expectations, some resulting to the extremes to obtain the perfect body that is being perceived in order to conform. More and more people are aspiring to become media’s “ideal body image” to be considered attractive. The American media is becoming detrimental to individuals as it is negatively influencing the perception people have of themselves and their bodies.

Ever done something that caused not only the person to be hurt emotionally but yourself? Photoshop is altering images on a software picture program (random picture). You can easily photoshop another face or picture etc. on anything or anyone inappropriately and not think about how it would affect someone. Usually the victim of it ends up getting hurt emotionally or physically. Everything you do on a computer affects someone in a specific small or huge way.

I believe that photoshop is wrong, in which the photoshoper manipulates an image to make the person look worse. Also, I believe that it's wrong because they're making the image into somehting it isn't and that's the same thing as lying. In a March of 2014 article on BeautyRedefined.net, an image of Kelly Clarkson on SELF Magazine was photoshopped to make her look a lot thinner than she actually was. It was proved that the image was photoshopped when Clarkson appeared on Good Morning America just a few days later, and looked nothing like the image on SELF.  Photoshopping an image is editing an image, thus making it a different