We are so used to images all around us being Photoshopped that we usually don’t bat an eye at them. Sadly, usually, pictures of women suffer from way more editing than pictures of men. And again, we’re so used to this that we barely ever think about it. Well, until this Photoshop expert posted videos where she edited men’s images as much as women’s. And the difference made people on the internet realize what a terrible double standard there is out there.
More info:TikTok Part 1|TikTok Part 2
Image credits:caroline_in_thecity
She took magazine covers and removed as many “unattractive” features, such as blemishes and wrinkles, as possible – giving the man’s face the same treatment women usually get
Recently, videos of men being photoshopped the same way women usually are in magazines and other kinds of photos have been circulating on TikTok. Currently, the more popular one has 1.5M views.
The videos showed how much “smoother” men would look if their faces in photos endured the same editing that women’s faces and bodies do. In fact, it could be said that these heavily edited photos have a little uncanny valley feel to them – these faces are way too polished to be real! The sad thing is that women are edited like this on a daily basis.
Bored Pandareached out to Caroline and she shared some additional details with us.
She chose men because they are usually shown with wrinkles, pores, and expression lines, while women, especially those who are over 50 years old, receive extreme retouching to remove their age. And so, photoshopping men in the same manner shows a contrast in how the media portrays different genders.
Speaking of differentiating between real and retouched content, Caroline wishes that any type of media would require a disclaimer stating that the people in the media have been digitally altered.
Also, in her opinion, celebrities and influencers having photoshopped bodies can have a large influence on their content consumers. “I think celebrities and influencers need to recognize the impact that filters and digitally altered bodies can have on their audience. A celebrity boasting 10 million followers has significant influence, and retouching their body and face sends a powerful message to millions. Comparatively, when someone with 100 followers edits their wedding photos, the scale and influence are not equivalent.”
Watch the most popular video here
Just as Caroline implied, ever since itsfirst version’srelease back in 1988, Photoshop has been steadily becoming an integral part of our lives. Especially in the entertainment industry. For example, Photoshopping people’s bodies and faces to fit a certain trend of that time.
Women feel pressured to look a certain way, to have that “perfect body”, which can only be achieved with unnecessary plastic surgery or developing an eating disorder. And when these ideals aren’t achieved, women develop anxiety and insecurities about the way they look.
Or it could be understood the other way around. Showing the perfect image makes women feel bad about themselves, and so they buy more beauty products.
You can also look for more advanced aspects giving away that the image is edited, such as compression quality levels. Or simply useprogramsthat detect Photoshop on the image. So, be safe out there and don’t trust any perfect images you see – they’re more than likely not realistic anyways.
“This is terrifying”: the videos worked as a wake-up call for people online as they understood why men seemed to be getting more attractive with age, while women didn’t
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