THE PERFECT SPECIMEN

A war has existed for a long time between marketers and female consumers in the United States -- a war over the objectification of women and the distortion of body image. Advertisements have traditionally targeted women by telling them that they are not good enough: hips are not narrow enough, breasts not perky enough, pores not small enough, eyelashes not long enough, teeth not white enough... and the list goes on and on. Advertisements create these insecurities in women so that they will go out and buy products to correct their supposed shortcomings. The cynical way to look at marketing is that it's all about profit generation.

So how do marketers communicate to women about the fact that they are vulgar, fat, ugly, and need help? Why with supermodels and a little help from Photoshop, of course. When women look at glossy magazines full of perfect human specimens, it is aspirational. As Clotaire Rapaille mentions in his book, The Culture Code, beauty is the American code for salvation! It is hard to attain, but when you get there, the angels will sing and a shaft of heavenly light will break through the clouds and shine on you. But no human being is really perfect, so Photoshop has to do the bulk of the work.

Recently, I saw this youtube video attempting to dispel the myths behind perfect magazine models:

It is a very entertaining clip, but I think in this tech-savvy age, everyone pretty much knows that Photoshop is often involved in creating images of perfection and beauty. But does knowing prevent poor self-esteem and negative body image? To me it seem like knowing the truth doesn't matter because people will always be after the idea of perfection, whether or not it exists in real life. Humans are social animals that will always seek approval. This drive for societal acceptance and need for praise may continue to feed the exploits of marketing.