Advertising doesn’t just sell us products. It tells us who we are. It tells us what’s desirable. What’s NORMAL. So says Jean Kilbourne who is internationally recognised for her pioneering work on the image of women in advertising. Her award-winning Killing us Softly films look at the image of women in advertising .
I have been known to bang on a bit about body image, photoshopping andretouching. And I never intend to stop. Watch this clip from Killing us Softly 4 and then watch it again. Now send it to everyone that you know and insist that they watch it too.
[youtube PTlmho_RovY 640 390]
[Thank you Nik Howe for sending me this]
*UPDATE: For those men who genuinely don’t understand why women like me and Jean Kilbourne bang on about this stuff and wonder why we can’t just ACCEPT that magazine images are re-touched and get over it, read this. It may help you to understand where we’re coming from.
Top Comments
It's important to keep talking about this. Intellectually I know things are photoshopped but I forget sometimes, because it looks so REAL. Keep reminding us.
I think clips and articles like this are good for people who don't understand the whole photoshop thing or who are affected by the way the media presents 'beauty'. I wish that they would include men that have the same issues though.
I'd also like to make the point that I grew up in this photoshop culture reading teens/ women's magazines with braces and acne and have somehow grown into a confident and happy adult and I don't think it had anything to do with knowing things were photoshopped or media. Sure I get down about my looks but I can easily snap out of it because I know that I am responsible for my happiness and I choose to put my worth and value into my intelligence and the way I treat others. I dunno where I learnt it but there needs to be more of that in the world.