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What does it actually feel like to be airbrushed?
Wednesday 16th October 2013 | Joss
Yesterday the BBC published a story about the effects of extreme airbrushing on young girls. BEAT, the primary charity for eating disorders in the UK, advocates the ban of extensive ‘touch ups’. It’s not just the photos that are warped; young girls’ perceptions of beauty have also shifted in the direction of unrealistic. Holding themselves to such unattainable standards, young women’s self esteem and mental health is at threat. The article “What does it feel like to be airbrushed” is just one woman’s opinion, and she isn’t necessarily representative of the younger demographic at threat.
We put some of the girls at Guestlist through the same process and then asked them, “what is it like to be airbrushed?”
Participant number one was unhappy with her original, pointing out her frizzy hair and under eye bags. She was, however, happy with her full length picture. Participant number two was not pleased with her portrait, also picking out particular flaws and saying that the photo was unflattering.
We showed the girls the work-in-progress edit with skin and lighting touch ups as well as the final edit, with facial reconstruction. The responses were the same: “That doesn’t look like me!” Neither girl was happy with the edited photograph, but at the same time, less happy with the original photo. The work-in-progress edits were the favourite and complimentary to the girls’ natural faces rather than unrecognisable or artificial.
The full length image was perhaps more indicative of BEAT’s fears. Participant one remarked, “I would like that shape in the future, but in real life – not just in a photo.” The girl in the original photo, which she had been happy with at the start, now looked ‘fat’ and ‘unshapely’.
What can we take from this? Girls want to look like themselves! But – and there is a but – they would like to look like ‘improved’ versions of themselves, without blemish, with a more defined waist, with thinner legs. Isn’t this the problem? Pictures of celebrities are always of the ‘improved’ version. But that isn’t enough to support BEAT’s argument. Touch ups are fine – they can help put the best foot forward. The only problem is when that foot is no longer recognisable.
Let us know what you think.
Joss Wyatt
