I know you wouldn't feel "complete" without a last blog for our class! So, in watching "NBC Nightly News" tonight, I noticed a story about how French lawmakers are concerned over the image photographs of "perfect" female models ingrains in young women. The link to the clip is below:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#34265345
Let us all know what you think after watching the clip.
You may notice that the title of this blog is "The Conversation Continues..." I know that many of you (as expressed both in class today and at other times) have enjoyed our discussions on-line. While it may not be every day or every week, I do hope that we will keep the conversation going about contemporary issues that arise involving race, gender, and class in the media. I'll try to post occassionally, so check back, and also please send me ideas and/or complete blogs that I can post. In other words, to the extent that you can and want to do so, keep following the conversation, not for a grade (obviously), but out of interest.
Again, I want to reiterate how much I have enjoyed having each and every one of you as co-learners in what has been a rare, perhaps even unique, open forum on an important topic for us--as journalists and as citizens. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3:30 will always remind me of our class and each of you.
All the very best,
Dr. Silvia
I think that this "fight between image and reality" can be harmful to young girls. With so much focus on being beautiful, or looking a certain way, it is hard for a young girl to ignore these types of "role models." I remember when I was younger my friends and I very rarely watched tv or looked through magazines. There was an emphasis every where for young girls to be sporty, or to develop career goals. We would see this through the types of toys hitting the market. (Barbie and her many many many careers, rollerskating dolls, dolls in sports uniforms, gymnastics toys, hula hoops.) These things were all we saw as what girls were. When we did watch tv most of the time the shows were animated, like pepper ann. If they weren't animated we were watching shows like Full House, which didn't feature the ridiculous idea of beauty present today. If we did pick up a magazine, we had NO idea that photos were altered. We looked at the images and took them for what they were. But I would argue that there was less stress of looking and fitting into this "unattainable, harmful ideal" back then. Things have changed so quickly and I can't believe how much 8 and 9 year olds (sometimes as young as 6 even) care about how they look and dress. I tutor at an elementary school. I also have family friends who have young kids. One family in particular has a 9 year old daughter. (She just turned 9 in October,) and she always complains about how the other girls in the class have Coach bags, and no one will ever like her if she doesn't have coach bag. She watches gossip girl, and she idolizes one of the characters. She talks about it like it is real life and I just can't believe that her role model isn't like someone from the Disney channel. I think these types of changes contribute a lot to the pressure young girls face when trying to fit in. I think the idea of containing a warning is a good idea, but some disagree that it will mess with the artsy image. I think that art and photos are different things. All though I think photography is an art and captures a moment or image forever, I think that photo should speak for itself. No matter how much retouching is done to an image of a person, there are still people that will find that person ugly. It just does not make sense to me for an image to be retouched to something that misrepresents the person. That person is going to have people that like and idolize them and people that don't either way. We see a lot in the media about celebrities messing up or making mistakes. People thrive on this stuff, and one of the reasons is because it makes them human, and real. I do not think that retouching a photo should be the norm, so I think the label or disclaimer is a good way for young girls to realize that everyone has imperfections. I do not think it will solve the problem, but I do think it will recognize it. As I said, I would argue that these 9 year old girls have NO IDEA that these images are retouched, and they are taking the image to be reality. An article from 2008 called weighing the facts on blogspot.com says that 90 percent of women with eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25.
ReplyDelete12??? That is crazy. The article featured different stats for girls overweight and that binge eat. So the 90 percent being between 12-25 means that there are 12 year olds out there with anorexia and bulimia. That is intense and sad. I can't believe that there are young woman who care so much about their looks. Not that they shouldn't focus on health, but I just cannot believe the way it has shifted to young kids needing material things and keeping up with trends. It is almost sickening, so maybe the media needs to start somewhere, and maybe being realistic in these images of beauty can be the first step.
I think that is an excellent debate, not only with fashion and actresses/ actors, but with imagery photos as well. What you see is rarely what you get now. The retouching it takes to make a "perfect image" is largely due to making whatever it is that they are advertising appealing to the eye...to the reader as well. In order to try and make people want the product, they have to like what the product does. If the product is clothing, such as in the fashion industry, they make an eye-appealing add by touching up the model's bodies. Who wants to see something ugly? No one. This is just the unfortunate reality of advertising and marketing.
ReplyDeleteI also want to add that I completely agree with Gabby in that it is extremely harmful to society and females of all ages.
ReplyDeleteI think that as a young female i have experienced the pressure of fitting the "perfect" female image, and I know many of my friends feel the same way. Even at a weight that is considered very healthy, and what some people would consider pretty small, I always think about being thinner, and I think that the media probably has a large role in the way I think.
ReplyDeleteConsidering I am 22 years old and realize that all of the images in magazines and on TV are not real or obtainable, I can only imagine the effect that these images have on young girls who believe that this truly is reality. It is frightening, but, unfortunately, it does sell products until advertiser's wallets are effected, I do not see this changing any time soon. Hopefully there will be more "healthy" role models in the future for women to look up to.
I am thrilled that the French government has taken notice of the dangers of promoting unattainable beauty and is trying to do something about it. I know a few people who base their self-worth on how closely they mirror our society's definition of beautiful, which is constantly changing. What saddens me is how they continue the quest for perfection when there are so many blatant examples of photo retouching, like the Ralph Lauren incident featured in the story.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to promoting awareness, I really liked that NBC interviewed a Dove Beauty campaign spokeswoman. Years ago, Dove released a commercial called "Evolution" that showed you the process of photo retouching and it really moved me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U
After watching this I realized I that had to more careful about how deeply I read into the the body and beauty images that advertisements hurl at me daily. With over 9 million hits, it's clear that people are starting to awaken to this reality, but there is still a long way to go.
I laughed when I saw the interview with a woman in the hairdresser’s salon. She was a “natural” beauty railing on the techniques and application of Photoshop. Maybe she should get some of the “unattainable” beauty by having a new haircut Photoshopped in. The beauty machine is indeed dangerous. When weight is altered or other physical properties are changed for image sake, it could lead to mental and physical trauma. It can lead to repercussions in the political arenas.
ReplyDeleteNot only the French government, but worldwide governments should post an alteration disclaimer.
When's the next blog?
ReplyDeleteREST IN PEACE AARON MOE. YOUR COMMENTS WERE ALWAYS INSIGHTFUL AND CORRECT. NEVER DELETE THIS PAGE.
ReplyDeleteMATT