Pretty pointless

The British Advertising Standards Authority ASA has now banned a couple of heavily airbrushed ads featuring Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington after a member of parliament,Jo Swinson,campaigned against them,because the ads were not representative of the results the products could achieve.

Hoardings and covers constantly bombard us with images of bodily perfection,images that no one can ever live up to because they are virtually created by post-production technology creases and shadows erased,bodies sculpted,hair perfected. And they have been fiercely fought for creating impossible expectations,by those within and outside the beauty industry. The American Medical Association has condemned retouching,and the Swedish health authorities have released online tutorials on the subject. As a former Jezebel editor put it,retouching may not be a lie on par with Iraq has weapons of mass destruction,but in a world where 8-year-olds go on diets and cosmetic procedures are routine,its a pretty damaging thing to do.

While these digitally altered images dont help insecure consumers,its debatable whether they actually spin anyones head with envy and aspiration. Were always exposed to unrealistic commercials over-the-top deodorant and car ads,for example without literally buying into them. Maybe one should aim to gently separate the images from any reality one can aspire to,and let the commercials remain a realm of silly fantasy. Kate Winslet famously dissed the GQ magazine airbrushing that made her thighs thinner by a third,saying,I do not look like that,and more importantly,I do not desire to look like that.