Whos to blame?

Society has an extreme obsession with idealism, so far so that perfection is expected to be the norm. People are competing with not just themselves but everyone around them to achieve the expectations of beauty they come across day to day in magazines and online.

As were pressured into a self-absorbed generation where the most important thing seems to be our exterior appearance, were introduced into many ideals of what a woman should look like. The typical long soft hair, petite hourglass figure and natural beauty. And unknowingly, we follow it as we have been brain washed into accepting society’s idea of normality.

The pressure to look a certain way derives from many aspects, whether it be runway fashion, where the models are size zero to celebrities on Instagram who post perfect airbrushed pictures daily. And with such extreme and persistent exposure to idealism, it is forced upon us to strive for exactly that. 

so who’s to blame here? I’d put money on two main factors, celebrities and photoshop.

Celebrities and Models

Celebrities, the first port of call for the latest trends and expectations we have to live up to.

Raise your hand if you’ve gone a day without seeing a half-naked celebrity plastered online… no one? Well there’s no surprise there.

Kurvy Kylie poses in her own brand bikini.

We are so very easily convinced into thinking ‘This. Is. What. A. Woman. Should. Look. Like.’ Especially with the Victoria Secret catwalk just gone, we’ll have stick thin, gorgeous models dressed in heavenly lingerie and angel wings on our timelines for the next few months. You know, JUST INCASE we didn’t already feel shit about our appearances, those girls are unreal.

Celebrities present on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat have created a constant cycle of unrealistic body and gender expectations. With the amount this generation is on their phones, it’s inevitable to stumble across celebrities, such as Kylie Jenner, in a bikini showing off their impressive 0% body fat ratio and wonder to yourself, HOW? Social media takes a major part in this, although we cant solely blame it on that because without models and celebrities, we wouldn’t have anything to compare ourselves to.

We forget about the disposable incomes these celebrities have. With enough money to pay for a personal trainer and a chef to help them with an extreme (but still somehow tasty) diet, there’s no doubt they have incredible bodies. However, there’s also no doubt they have enough money for a little nip and tuck help too. Were potentially striving for figures that can only be achievable with the help of a scalpel.

Photoshop

Photoshop is used in the majority of promoted pictures you see on a daily basis.

http://https://youtu.be/lUF2zbgBXwE

You may think nothing of it, because most of us know nobody can be this perfect. However, many girls do think something of it. Mental disorders are directly linked to the way women are portrayed in the media. Photoshop is actually incredibly damaging, and does lead to very real, and negative consequences. By producing an artificial illustration of a woman without what our society sees as “flaws,” the media is encouraging young girls to fear cellulite, curves, and stretch marks.

And all the while many readers of magazines despise the idea of altering images of beautiful women already, it’s unfortunately very unlikely that Photoshopping will ever go out of style. So don’t be fooled by bodies and flawless skin that is only attainable with the help of photo editing software’s.

 

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