Pictures That Lie

The picture I chose for this assignment is the image of a couple on the cover of a Newsweek magazine.  The

couple's names are Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey, and they appeared in Newsweek to tell their story about giving birth to septuplets. The photo on the left was edited to make Bobbi's teeth look straighter and improve her overall appearance.  I believe that that in this case, the photo manipulation was harmful.  This woman gave birth to seven children, and the magazine is concerned with "fixing her teeth."  I understand that as humans, we tend to gravitate towards a certain cultural standard of what is "beautiful," and that Newsweek can potentially grab more readers if the targeted audience perceives the cover star(s) to be particularly attractive.  But I believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and no individual (or company) can decide what people are "supposed" to look like.  I think they should have embraced the fact that Bobbi has an amazing story - not everyone gives birth to septuplets - and that people will want to read about something like that regardless of how the person looks.  And I feel like by not asking her permission to alter the photo, she was especially violated.  How degrading it must be for the world to know that Newsweek (or anyone) didn't think you were good enough, so they took it upon themselves to turn you into something more aesthetically pleasing.  American girls have enough self-esteem issues as it is - and making is seem like every woman in the world wears a size 2 and has perfect skin and a flawless smile does nothing to build a young teen's self-confidence.  I think that the photo should have remained unaltered because ultimately, it detracts from the Bobbi and her family as individuals and perpetuates the harmful body image illusion to girls that take it to heart.  

I feel like this video is particularly harmful to the self-esteem of young girls because it's sending the message that the current state of their appearance is not good enough.  I think that the media has led us to believe that as a society, we are growing to embrace individual differences - skin color, hair color, etc., and that is what makes women beautiful.  But if unique is beautiful, then why the emphasis on flawless skin, straight, bleached teeth, heavy makeup, etc?  And at age 13?