By Marianne Beach
We've all heard the stories of magazines coming under fire for slimming down already skinny models with the aid of Photoshop. But one British magazine has admitted going the other way entirely--actually Photoshoping weight onto a model they felt was too thin.
The editor of Healthy magazine--a publication that promotes "health and wellbeing" said during a panel discussion that when their April cover model, Kamilla Wladyka, walked into the studio for her shoot, she was so thin, they felt they needed to radically retouch her photos, adding the equivalent of 15 to 20 kilograms--approximately 33-44 pounds--to her slender frame, making her appear to be a British size ten instead of four.And according to The Sunday Telegraph, they're not alone. Many fashion magazines are now feeling the pressure to make models appear fuller figured with the help of computers--to deflect criticism that they promote unhealthy body images.But is packing on the computerized pounds any better than taking them off? The public is still being manipulated--still being fed the idea of an unrealistic benchmark of beauty. And a beautiful woman is once again being told she doesn't look good enough without a little computerized help.So what's the solution to all this manipulation madness? Should magazines be required to disclose when they Photoshop? Or should they be choosing models who actually look healthy to begin with? After all, there are plenty of real life girls out there that get their picture perfect shape from a gym, rather than a computer program.
What do you think? Are models too thin? Should this model have been on a health magazine cover? Let us know your thoughts!
Marianne Mancusi Beach is a freelance writer and author of books for teens. She lives in Austin. You can find her online at www.mariannem.tumblr.com.
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