We have become so used to pictures of physical perfection plastered all over our magazines we sometimes forget these images are a type of fiction. No one actually looks like the airbrushed art that passes for photos.
However, the constant bombardment leaves many of us feeling at least vaguely dissatisfied with our bodies. Women usually wish for longer legs, bigger busts, fuller lips, smaller hips and/or no bottom at all. Men in general have a smaller wish-list: bigger muscles and a larger penis. You get the situation where half the household is trying to lose weight, the other half is trying to gain weight.
Some people feel more than a general feeling of dissatisfaction, and go to great lengths to try and change their appearance. Tummy tucks, Botox, liposuction - and various other cosmetic procedures I don’t even know about - are within the financial reach of more and more Aussies. I have even heard of young women having labial alterations to make themselves more attractive.
When we get to this stage, as a society we have more money than sense. We need to focus less on ourselves and more on the world around us. Of course we need to keep our weight in a healthy range, but as long as we do that, the fact we have an extra centimetre or two of fat on our bottoms pales into insignificance when you consider the problems more than half the world’s population has in obtaining sufficient nutrition.
We need to realise there is a wide range of ‘normal’. When people who are well within the norm spend megabucks trying to improve their appearance, it makes it hard for people who have serious disfigurements. These are the people who find that as society becomes more and more used to artificial faces and bodies, it becomes less and less accepting of people who look different.
This week the model Sarah Murdoch, columnist Mia Freedman and the Youth Minister, Kate Ellis, released proposals for a national strategy on body image.
The Government will consider recommendations calling for standardised sizing on women’s clothing sold in Australia and a voluntary code of conduct calling on the media to show more diverse body shapes. I for one am sick of anorexic models who bear no resemblance to a healthy body shape being lauded as attractive, when what they really look is ill.
Did you know some manufacturers deliberately mark women’s clothes that used to be size 12 as size 10? Apparently women feel flattered and are more likely to purchase if they can squeeze into a size 10, but it’s all an illusion.
Sarah Murdoch will appear on this month’s cover of the Women’s Weekly without airbrushing. In Wednesday’s Sydney Morning Herald, there were two photos of the blonde model, before and after airbrushing. When you look closely, the airbrushed shot looks fake and plastic. Ms Murdoch said it was sad her decision to pose without touch-ups was applauded as such a heroic act.
Some celebrities submit to the knife so often, nothing sags as they get older. Nothing may sag, but nothing much moves either. Hollywood directors bemoan the fact many stars can no longer show surprise, as their Botoxed face will not move.
It is natural to want to look our best. How we dress and present ourselves can show respect for people or an occasion, and it is an important part of attracting a mate. But if we try to measure ourselves against unrealistic ideals we will always come up short.
There is enough misery in the world without us being unhappy unnecessarily.
We need to keep it all in perspective.
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