A recent Ralph Lauren advertisement that displays model Filippa Hamilton striking a pose has come under fire for two points: one, Hamilton looks gaunt to the point of being unhealthy, and two, the image is presumed to have been digitally retouched.
Retouching photos for magazines is not a new phenomenon by any means. Photographers and page designers have been doing it for decades. Modern retouching applications such as Adobe’s Photoshop program have made the process much easier and offers greater tools for the retoucher. However, the general concern from body image activists is that it presents readers with unrealistic expectations of their own appearance at best, and at worst engenders a sense of shame in those who are unable to cultivate the look espoused by such magazines.
I won’t speak here about body issues; that’s a much larger and more in-depth topic than I want to cover. But I will say that it’s really important that we learn to cast a discerning eye toward any image we come across in a magazine or online. It’s all too easy for us to presume that what we’re being presented is reality, when it’s safe to say that nine times out of ten, it isn’t. And if we ourselves can’t tell the difference, how can we expect our children to know? Teaching a child to treat life with a healthy dose of skepticism is not only good for the psyche, but cost-effective over the long term. Who knows how many products were bought with the expectation that they will enhance the buyer’s life? That’s money well wasted, and it’s time for that to stop.
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