This debate about retouching photos in magazines and advertisements has been around for a long time, and as editing increases, I don’t see this debate slowing down anytime soon. Magazines photo shop women to make their heads and eyes bigger, waist and legs skinnier, and faces pore-less. We know that no one is this perfect in reality, yet the human mind continues to long to appear like the models we see. Although, most publications and advertisers abuse the use of retouching photos, I think it’s necessary to a certain extent.
By no means am I saying I agree with drastic editing practices, but make up and good lighting never hurt anyone. Think about it, if the models in magazines didn’t wear any make up, they were out of shape and their hair was a mess, then this debate would be about how terrible models look. Truth is, a lot of these women are beautiful with out all the extra touching up, but make up and editing is used to enhance their beauty. Now, I feel that these models are small enough, so it completely blows my mind when they edit photos to make them skinnier.
From the provided text, I mostly agree with Tara Moss. “But airbrushing in general is rarely a problem of ethics. It is, in most cases, an issue of aesthetics– the aesthetics of what we as consumers demand.” She believes that retouching can be good when used sparingly, and I completely agree. She uses the term “plastic-skinned aliens” and that’s what editors should avoid when photo shopping images.
She also points out that these fantasies are produced before the models are even involved. The ads for perfume show beautiful women on a yacht, but is that what we receive in reality just from buying the perfume? No, we get a bottle of pleasant smelling water. Advertisers sale fantasy experiences to consumers and we buy into it for just a piece of that lifestyle.
These are things we demand. I mean, look what happened when the un-retouched photos of Beyonce with acne surfaced the Internet. Fans went ballistic! I mean someone contacted the FBI because of it! So yes, we ask for real life women with flaws, but when we get it, many are upset.
I believe that Aristotle’s mean, “Moral virtue is the appropriate location between two extremes,” works well with this topic and my views. Aristotle emphasized moderation and I believe that’s what should be emphasized with this topic. Retouching photos is necessary but with moderation.
Stanzza Patterson 