Many years ago, I remember watching a video that was a time lapse of a women who was transformed from her natural look to a “billboard ready” look. It begins with her walking into the makeup studio free of any makeup or enhancements. Over the course of the video, pounds of makeup are added and her hair is done. Then, her images are taken to Photoshop where they elongate her neck and slim down her face. By the end, this woman was unrecognizable to me. And this makeup and Photoshop combination transformation is not as drastic as some of the other ads. The issue I have with this is that those women we see on billboards aren’t even real, and as a result, we set unrealistic goals and expectations for ourselves to achieve this perfect/ unattainable look. I understand that makeup and dressing up is part of the fashion industry, what bothers me more is the Photoshop. I would love for many of my own photos to be Photoshopped, but it upsets me to think this way because I should be proud of my own body with all of its flaws because it is was makes me unique. However, I feel that ads like these do not encourage individuality, but more flawless and perfect bodies that have in reality been altered on the computer.
Link to Video: Dove Evolution
More Before/After Photos of Celebraties: Celebrities Before After Photoshop
Image: https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/8175113_1280x960.jpg
I can totally relate to your feeling of wanting your own photos to be “fixed” at times. With our generation thriving on social media and the idea of trying to look like popular celebrities, it’s hard to feel secure with your body and your overall appearance. It’s upsetting that women are comparing themselves to these unrealistic standards created on a computer. I genuinely believe every person is beautiful in their own way, and I’m glad you spoke to the issue.
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I agree with you on this issue! I do feel that women (teenagers, especially) feel this pressure of always looking dressed up and presentable. To compare their bodies and appearances to the ones’ in the Photoshopped ads is so detrimental, because they will NEVER be able to achieve what society has made them believe is achievable: perfect, flawless skin, thin bodies, and the pounds of makeup done by professionals or by a computer. Like you said, IT IS NOT REAL. I think women can develop depression or anxiety over always trying to catch up and always having to put effort into looking “fake.” It is sad to see how normalized it has become to fantasize or even think it is possible to look anything like the billboards and advertisements that we are forced to be exposed to.
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I was very surprised and excited to see that you decided to make a post on this “Dove” video. I, as well, remember seeing this video many years ago. It is obvious that this video has made a huge impact on many people, due to the fact that you and I both remember seeing this video so long ago. I completely agree with what you said about wanting to have my own personal Photoshop experience for each photo I post on social media. I also agree that this frustrates me greatly. It saddens me that society has set such unachievable physical goals, for women in particular. However, videos like the one you discussed above give me hope that we can make more people aware of how unachievable these goals are. Especially since, as I previously stated, you and I both remember seeing this video many years ago.
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