I wish the picture was better because I swear, I know both these actresses and like them both yet didn't recognize either of them from the covers. They were air-brushed so completely that those things that make them both interesting were gone completely.
I felt disheartened. I especially like Zooey Deschanel because she's quirky and cute but on the cover of Glamour, she's a fucking Barbie. And Seyfried? Any other Hollywood starlet. All the life brushed right off of her and she looks boring.
Is this what someone thinks sells? If they'd put Z.D. on the cover in bunny pajamas, I'd be more inclined to pick it up. And Seyfried as pretty as she is, belongs natural.
But it got me thinking about what women (you know, the ones who buy these magazines) really think of beauty. I know my own ideas are not so out of the ordinary. I admire a truly gorgeous woman (Elizabeth Taylor, Angelina Jolie, Catherine Zeta Jones) but I wouldn't go out of my way to pick up a magazine or read an article about them. Whereas Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, Zooey are women I think are pretty but not gorgeous and interesting and would read more about them.
I know Madison Avenue has been trying to sell a certain type of beauty forever. I just wish we'd stop buying it and demand that they recognize beauty comes before airbrushing.
Let women look like women. Let stars be natural. Don't tell me that Barbie is the pinnacle of pretty. You might get some of my money. Then again, probably not. I'd rather read Better Homes and Gardens and look at pictures of kitchens.
Oh well.
I adore Zooey - she and Ginnifer Goodwin are my current girl star crushes (in a non L way of course lol).
ReplyDeleteYou're right - photoshopping/airbrushing is wrong, no too ways about it. With all those young girls out there with eating disorders you would think they'd be more careful. Seems not.
Instead all we get is more of the same - the 'perfect' model of what we should all look like or aspire to. It's doing nothing but harm. We're all made up differently and what's good for one isn't always good for the other.
Kids are killing themselves or doing a great deal of damage, and all in the aid of being considered beautiful and acceptable. I've been there and finally got to the point where I figure I'm never going to be acceptable to a lot of people with my looks, so fuck 'em. The people who count accept me and that's good enough.
It will never change though, despite the protests. 'Ugly' doesn't sell and it all comes down to the money in the end. Shame the people who run these magazines or make the movies and the like don't realize that not everyone is as shallow as them.
I'd happily go and see a big blockbuster or buy a magazine with someone less than perfect on it - if I was given the chance. It should be about the product, not the packaging.
I read somewhere that if Barbie was real, with those proportions, she'd have to get around on all fours because she wouldn't be able to support herself because of her top half. I'd rather be short, round and Hobbit like, thankyouverymuch!
You know, it's a shame we can't photoshop/airbrush ourselves every day before we left the house. I'd love to take off a few inches here, add a few there, color the hair a little this way...
;P