Extensive editing in advertisements has caused the public to have faulty ideas of what is beautiful, handsome, sexy, etc. Therefore, society has set unrealistic standards to how they classify any other person to be attractive. Changes and modifications completed through Photoshop and additional editing leave children, teens, and adultswith a lifetime of pressure to fit society's set standards and ideals of perfection.
On National Teacher Day, meet the 2024-25 Kenan Fellows
Power of Pictures: Manipulated Beauty In Advertisements That Create Unrealistic Societal Standards
1. POWER OF PICTURES:
MANIPULATED BEAUTY IN
ADVERTISEMENTS THAT CREATE
UNREALISTIC SOCIETAL STANDARDS
Karlein Narciso
Art 160 – 1008 Student
Art Appreciation
2. BARBIE VS REAL GIRL
NICKOLAY LAMM
A study in body comparison by Nickolay Lamm
concluded what women would look like based on
Barbie proportions.
The average body
measurements
from a healthy, 19
year old woman
from CDC.gov
resulted in 163.3
cm(64.3 in) height,
85.4 cm(33.6 in)
waist, 35.8 cm(14.1
in) upper arm
length, 36.7
cm(14.5 in) upper
arm length, 50.8
cm(20 in) head
circumference, and
38.1 cm(15 in) neck
circumference.
Barbie, at 1/6 scale,
would be 175.26
cm(69 in) height,
91.44 cm(36 in)
bust, 45.72 cm(18
in) waist, 83.82
cm(33 in) hips,
55.88 cm(22 in)
head
circumference, and
22.86 cm(9 in) neck
circumference.
3. Toy dolls were made
for Nicokolay
Lamm’s project
based on what
Barbie would look
like in real life. His
model shown next to
Mattel’s Barbie
shows the evident
differences.
4. Mattel’s Barbie doll shown in
comparison to Nicolay Lamm’s
3-D model doll. One of America’s
favorite dolls lead a misleading
idea body type and can
negatively influence
impressionable audiences.
5.
6. These celebrity headshots show, in great detail, before and after Photoshop work
and why the public should not live up to an iconic face’s “beauty”.
7. Make-up and perfume advertisements
highly rely on their spokesperson to
act as a representation of happy,
perfect living, especially after using
their product. As shown here, make-up
clearly did not help enough and
Photoshop was necessary to have the
desired photo for the ad. Wrinkles and
natural creases were all smoothed over
to create a face that looks years
younger than the actual person.
8. Misleading photos are also released
internationally, for others around
the world to have a misguided idea
of what is attractive. Where some
may find beauty marks acceptable,
this industry immediately omits
them. These woman had their
bodies made slimmer. Their skin is
also smoothed to get rid of muscle
and natural body creases.
9. Men are also pressured to
have a great amount of sex
appeal.
Many published photos
can be seen showing a
more golden, tan
complexion, with larger
and defined muscles.
10. All these
woman
are proof
of the
sad,
drastic
measures
a
magazine
will
make to
create
covers.
They
have all
had their
skin tone
lightened
with a
lighter
glow
added to
their
skin.
11. Extensive editing can even
change colors in fabric and
what a person may be
wearing. As shown here,
Kourtney Kardashian’s head
was tilted up and forward,
along with belly slimming.
There is a clear change in
her white blouse to a
shimmering purple blouse.
Beyoncé had the same shot
on two different magazine
covers. Her natural skin
color is made to be fairer in
JOY and darker in
GLAMOUR. This editing of
her skin color shows how
great of a difference
Photoshop can make.
12. Even with teams of editors,
advertisements make errors.
Big faults show how much
can get removed and changed
throughout the editing
process. Do not believe
everything shown in
advertisements.
13. MEN AND WOMEN ARE
SUSCEPTIBLE TO HIGH STANDARDS
Societal standards of beauty and acceptance has led to pressures of
creating the “perfect image” for both men and women.
Photoshop has allowed artists to portray unrealistic beauty of actors,
actresses, and models in advertisements.
Through alterations such as airbrushing, digital enhancement, and
photo manipulation, “likeable” portrayals of a person or product or
idea are created.
General audiences are given increased expectations to look more like
their role models plastered in print ads, magazine covers, album
covers, etc.
The consumer is left blinded with the reality of all humans: natural
flaw.
