Beauty & Body Image

Celebrities look great don't they?  They appear to be flawless with perfect skin and body types.  Why can't I look like that?

If you go behind the camera you start to realize that images on magazine covers are unrealistic and very difficult to attain.  To get the effect they desire, they need professionals to help them with makeup, hair and wardrobe.  During the photo shoot special lighting is set up to enhance the shot.  After the shoot, images are manipulated on the computer to remove imperfections.

Jamie Lee Curtis

The "after" shots create an impression especially with girls and young women.  Unfortunately, striving for this type of perfect beauty can lead to low self esteem and body image issues like anorexia and bulimea.

Can you see the differences in the before and after celebrity photos below?  What do you think?

Alicia Silverstone

Britney Spears

Calista Flockhart

Cameron Diaz

Christina Ricci

Daryl Hannah

Drew Barrymore

Heather Locklear

Rene Zellweger

Kate Moss

If it seems like the "before" pictures could be anyone that you see on the street, you're right! This set of photos reinforces the message that the media is masterful at creating illusions and when you look at a photo in a magazine it is just that, an illusion.

The illusion extends beyond beauty to body image as well.  The media celebrates thinness and condemns anything but.  Leaving the majority of women, outside of the waif minority feeling inadequate.

Girls or women who try to attain the perfect body type based on what they see in magazines are fighting an uphill battle sometimes with dangerous consequences.   

Unfortunately, the pressure to be thin and to look good in the media can also affect women in the public eye.

Isabelle Caro

Isabelle Caro, a well-known model in France, died on Nov 17, 2010 because of Acute Respiratory Infection after she finished working in Japan and back to France. A designer told her she needed to lose ten kilos (22 pounds) if she wanted to model when she was only twelve, and she suffered from Anorexia since thirteen. In 2006, she strived for healthy lifestyle after escaping with bare life. Since Isabelle’s body has been badly damaged from Anorexia, she got only 42 kilos when she died.
Articles:

Beauty and Body Image in the Media