09.28.2007
Real women have curves
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Cover courtesy of Glamour magazine. |
As a fan of comely and curvy America Ferrera, star of the ABC hit series “Ugly Betty,” I nearly choked on my arroz con pollo when I saw the photo of her on the cover of the October issue of Glamour magazine.
Ferrera’s arms, waist, neck and face look as if they’ve been shaved down a couple of inches. Her head seems strangely out of proportion to the rest of her body; it also appears to be a different shade.
Photoshopping is a common practice these days. Redbook perpetuated a controversial “cover-lie” in July when the magazine tinkered with a shot of country singer Faith Hill — who, let’s face it, is all that to begin with.
Back in 2005, Newsweek put lifestyle guru Martha Stewart’s face on a professional model’s body to show what she might look like when she got out of prison.
When GQ magazine made Kate Winslet’s thighs as thin as twigs in 2003, she spoke out against “excessive” digital manipulation.
And how can we forget the outrageous TV Guide cover that spliced the head of talk show host Oprah Winfrey onto the bodacious body of actress Ann-Margret?
The practice isn’t reserved to women.
Men’s Fitness inflated Andy Roddick’s biceps to the point that the tennis star questioned his “22-inch guns.”
Don’t get me wrong. If I were going to be on the cover of a magazine that was going to be on newsstands for the world to see, I wouldn’t mind a little tush toning or hip reduction. (Be honest, you wouldn’t, either.) But I want the photo to look like me.
The media constantly criticizes stick-thin models and actresses for sending the wrong message to young women, only to turn around and Photoshop the ones who look just fine.
My friends and I saw Ferrera last week, when she won an Emmy for best lead actress in a comedy series. She looked fabulosa in that cobalt blue gown.
She is a wonderful inspiration to women everywhere. She has built a following on the idea that every body is beautiful just the way it is. She often says in interviews that it has taken her years to accept and love her own body and become the self-confident woman that she is.
If Glamour magazine digitally manipulated her image to sell more magazines, I’m sure it backfired. You don’t have to be rail thin to be sexy.
They would have sold many more magazines if they had put Ferrera and her curves on the cover. Women are tired of seeing pictures of practically emaciated women on the fronts of magazines. They want to see attractive but average-sized women like themselves.
Like Pancha said in “Real Women Have Curves”: “There’s no better dressing than a little meat on bones.”
Let me know what you think about this photo manipulation practice.