Magazines' Twist on Body Image

Magazines’ Twist on Body Image While magazines may be fun to read, there is more to them then just information and pictures. All of the pictures in and on magazines are all usually photo-shopped. The faces are thinned, bodies are trimmed, blemishes disappear, body images are enhanced and appearances are dramatically changed. Believe it or not this can make a huge impact on someone and it may change their lifestyle forever. Editing and photo-shopping human beings on magazines can make a dramatic impact on us as human psychologically, mentally and physically. Magazine readers may stare at models’ bodies and they may even desire to mimic the models’ appearance. In today’s world this means that young women and some men may go to extremes such as anorexia, bulimia, diet pills and exercise to become like the models they see in magazines. Men do go though some of the same struggles, but they do not have a high percentage of eating disorders as do women. Ten percent of men suffer from eating disorders mainly to fit into a certain weigh class for sports. Why would someone go to all of these extremes just because of a picture in a magazine? The answer may vary from person to person but in our society young women and men are bombarded with images of people looking picture perfect. These photographs portray thin and flawless models; the images seem to exude perfection and happiness, when in reality that is exactly what the photographers would like for the viewer to believe. This leads to some other perspectives that I don’t necessarily agree with. Some photographers and advertisement companies believe that pictures of people who look perfect and have a perfect lifestyle are a great marketing ploy. For example, when we see a video or a picture of a product, the people are normally positive, confident and attractive. This is because the marketing companies want you to think that when you buy their product, you will feel and/or look a certain way. It is obvious to me how