For this weeks blog prompt we were asked to center on the idea of digital truth and the presence or destruction that is has in the media. I chose to focus on the destruction of physical appearance that the media projects. Going a little deeper today, I personally have a problem with my my self-esteem and my body. I am definitely no size 2. I am curvy and I am very proud of my curves but compared to actresses or magazine covers I feel like a massive cow. I believe that the media and society put a lot of pressure on women to be skinny. I will agree that they pressure men to be muscle building macho men but it seems ok to have the token “fat” guy rather than a “fat” girl.
This brings us to the “truth” behind how we should look. According to the media basically the skinnier the better. For example these two pictures of Kate Winslet and Faith Hill were editted to change their appearance to make them look skinner.
Kate Winslet is known for her curvy womanly body and when I saw this picture I knew that her legs shouldnt be that skinny. Those legs are too skinny for anyone really. She also came right out and told people that the photo was in deed edited and she had nothing to do with that. I think that is absolutely insulting and rude. If I were an actress and the magazine editors made me skinnier to be more “attractive” I would be furious. If you look at the second picture, this is usually how she looks. She is curvy and not as skinny as she is in the first shot. I think that her figure in the second picture is a lot more attractive anyway. She looks absolutely beautiful. Even her legs look good. She is proportional and realistic. The magazine might think she is more attractive in the first picture with those long and extrememly skinny legs but the second picture is the winner!
Now this little editing job really makes me mad. As you can tell in the first picture on the cover of the magazine the editors edited the already skinny Faith Hill to look even skinnier. Dude! What is your problem. They also edited her face to look more clear and perfect. The singer also came out and talked about how angry she was at the editing job. I also think that the second photo (what she REALLY looks like) is a lot more attractive than the super skinny and perfect picture to the left.
These are only two examples out of many many other examples of the media manipulateing pictures to avoid the truth. Picture manipulation has been around for a long time and it is still continued. So that brings about the question of whats truth and whats a lie?
This also makes me think, why do I need to feel bad about my body when probably most of the images I see on magazines are lies and an unhealthy portral of how we should look. That goes for every woman out there too. I have slowly been realizing that no one should feel bad about themselves because who really knows the truth. And is there really a certain “truth” to beauty when it comes to body image. If every single person is different no matter of skinny or fat you are some people are going to think you are beautiful and some are going to think you are average. I understand though that it is super hard to come to grips with this ideal about loving yourself and being comfortable in your own skin when the media is telling you skinny is pretty. I also think that media is never really happy with people as well. With actors and actresses for example, they bash people for being fat (when they arent) and bashing them if they are too skinny.
I would also like to discuss the body mass index. Im not sure if that is a entire truth or not as well. I always thought that doctors calculated those charts but I am not so sure. I remember there was a point in my life when I lost quite a bit of weight and I got down to 140. I am about 5’6″ and a half or 5’7″ and according to a body mass index that a good weight for me but when I was that weight several people asked me if I had an eating disorder. It was also very hard to keep that weight and Ive definitely gained weight since then which was about 2 or 3 years ago. But now being heavier I have actually gotten more compliments of how good I look even though I feel like a fat cow because according to the body mass index I’m considered over weight or even obese with some. I just dont understand. I also feel like a fat cow according to the scale but people keep reminding me that the number doesnt matter and its all according to how you look. Im not saying I’m super skinny but right now I can see my ribs and according to the BMI I need to lose like 20 pounds I can only imagine how boney and gross I would look then but I still want to lose weight. I dont think I will ever be able to live by how I look instead of a number and I dont think I will ever be able to not let the media influence me and how I view my body, but I can control who I look up to.
I am trying to look up to woman who have my body shape instead of look up to woman who are super skinny. I look up to people like Beyonce, Kate Winslet, and most of all Sofia Vergara. I think they are all beautiful and have wonderful body shapes. They are curvy and like the definition of woman. I think Sofia is the perfect role model for me to look up to. I strive to look like her. I am kinda close I just need to tone but I need to learn how to be confident and proud of my hour glass figure, like her.
Overall, I need to look up to myself and be happy with myself and realize that the media lies. Everyone has that mindset that if its in the media it has to be true but in reality the media is totally fake most of the time. All you can do is defend yourself against the lies and believe in yourself. Thats totally cliche and cheesy I know 
but its true.