It’s Always Been Photoshop

With any small foray into Instagram, it is not difficult to come across bodies or faces that look nothing like our own.  The pictures that we consistently look at present unattainable images.  This issue may seem new, though, photographs have consistently been touched up and reformed since the late Victorian era.  With all the money that photos cost, wealthy Victorians expected their finished products to look their best.  The definition of ‘best’ has never been our true selves, which makes it even more interesting that there was and currently is such a wealth of misinformation being spread about the way we are able to attain the bodies and face structures we can realistically never reach.  

When looking at old Victorian photos with the knowledge that they are not realistic, it makes it easy to point out the places where the subjects were made to look more ‘presentable’.  Though this way of analyzing photos may very well continue the cycle of photoshop, it creates an interestingly healthy way for us to lift the weight of perfection we once felt the need to strive for in our daily lives.  

The incessant cycle of photoshop begs the question of whether we should just start expecting all photos to be photoshopped, or if we should advocate for celebrities to utilize less to no photoshop in order to normalize our natural bodies.  Although photoshop does not seem to be going out of use any time soon, it is much healthier to accept that our natural bodies are all different and beautiful in their own form.  

However one looks at the photoshop situation, more celebrities and influencers need to make it clear that the images they are presenting to us are curated and do not reflect real life moments.  Celebrities have the money and resources to look and dress according to current beauty standards, whereas many normal people do not.  It is much healthier to be aware of and point out the unrealistic standards these celebrities are constantly pushing, rather than to act like what we are viewing is real and attainable.  Celebrities should also make it clear that what we are seeing is highly curated and not exactly a portrait of what typical people look like.  

Paige Paulsen