Cara Delevingne: the “it” petite framed twenty two year old British model taking the fashion world by storm. She works for extraordinary designer houses including Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Fendi, and Victoria Secret. Yet, in her Spring Summer 2014 campaign shoot for lingerie brand La Perla, she appears to be bustier, curvier, and her notably famous “Don’t worry, be happy” tattoo under her breasts has been digitally removed to reveal flawless skin.  Models are unique and exceptional on their own. They are hired to look good on the runway and in magazines. But when photoshopped, they become seemingly flawless. A sense of unreachable perfection.  We can’t expect ourselves to look like that, yet THIS is when teens, with their impressionable minds, succumb to what is supposed to be the “perfect body type” and attempt to achieve the impossible.

The younger generation is oblivious when they see these “subtly” flawless photos in fashion magazines. Photoshop, the so called modern version of airbrushing, is changing the looks of models and celebrities by making them look thinner, taller, unblemished, unwrinkled, cellulite-less, and the list goes on and on. When kids hit their teenage years, that’s when their social and emotional values are defined. So imagine their minds being manipulated into thinking that they have to look a certain way.  Photoshop techniques negatively affect teens and young adults as the product of the photo shoot defines unreachable goals and defines how an ideal individual should look. Five to ten percent of male teens that feel the need to obtain an Adonis figure use steroids and non-steroid muscle enhancing products.   Dennis Freedman, creative director of W Magazine stated, “There’s no question that images have been altered so significantly that, at times, it’s so apparent it’s transparent.”  Readers do not get to see what happens behind the scenes when and where these photo prints are digitally altered so heavily that “even the models portrayed in them are not as thin as they appear to be,” only the final product.  “It’s sad because it’s not real - ninety percent of girls in magazines will have been airbrushed. But a fourteen year old wont realize that.”  Young adults are yearning to look like an image that is not achievable, therefore wanting “bodies that defy the natural boundaries of human anatomy” or in other words, a fictional human being.  In a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine “teens who perceive themselves as either very fat or very thin are two times more likely to attempt or think about suicide than those who do not worry about their weight.”  Comparing the unreal to the real self can lead to an unhealthy and harmful lifestyle with photoshop exaggerating the human body that distorts reality.

With countries like The United Kingdom, Israel, Italy, and Spain banning excessive use of photoshop, it is “further evidence that the United States needs to begin further regulating photo alteration as well.”   Les magazines de mode are purely using photo alterations to showcase how well their product works, to advertise to readers who may potentially buy the product, yet they don’t realize that “processes like Photoshopping can contribute to unrealistic body image expectations, eating disorders and other emotional problems.”   Making each shoot authentic is enough  so that individuals don’t feel the need to conform. Even though fashion magazines strive for exquisite beauty in each month’s edition, we need to find a solution. Because in the end, it is impossible to truly ban photoshopping as editors will go to different means to achieve what they are looking for.

Lets face it. Perfection appeals to everyone. But who defines one’s perfection? I am not shaming thin petite bodies. I have my own body type just like you have yours. There are thin models and there are plus sized models. There is an unequal representation of how the population should look like and a disproportional body type being shown in the media. Models should be of all shapes and sizes so the public can see more realistic people in ads and magazines. We shouldn’t strive for today’s so called model perfection, because modifying authenticity to look like an unrealistic retouched photo is a deception to the true beauty and perfection fit for you. It is up you to not be brainwashed!