Anneka Hannah

Today the news was released that an advertising watchdog has ruled against two pictures being used for make-up advertising, due to false advertising. The whole news article is here. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14304802

Sounds good, right? The adverts are unrealistic and so can’t be used – a victory for self-image and real beauty. But read the article again – sentences like ‘L’Oreal admitted retouching [the images] but denied that the two adverts were misleading’, and ‘Ms Swinson [Liberal Democrat MP who has been a big voice on this issue] said that while some retouching may be acceptable, the adverts were “particularly bad examples of misleading advertising”.’

It really annoys me that retouching and airbrushing images has to be ‘excessive’ before it becomes an issue. Jo Swinson admits that there’s a ‘big picture’, citing that 50% of 16-21 year old females would consider cosmetic surgery – and yet the ads were banned on the grounds of being ‘misleading’, because they were ‘false advertising’. It pays no regard to the effect that these adverts can have on the self-image of hundreds of women who will see them every day, only to the satisfaction of those who will actually buy the products.

A girl I was at college with recently told me that she wants to lose weight because when she looks at adverts and magazines she ‘feels fat’. She is 5’7″ and weighs less than ten stone, a reasonable amount of which is on her chest, not her hips or stomach. There is no way that she is overweight, and yet the standards of advertising would have her believe that she needs to lose weight because she can feel a slight (and I mean slight) line of flesh above the top of her jeans. Which is so small it’s invisible, by the way.

There is a culture of beauty in our society which insists that being outwardly beautiful is an excellent way to spend your time, money and effort, because it will make you happy. Whether it brings you confidence, love, success or money, it will bring you happiness. Look at those models – they all seem so happy. They can have anything they want – the world is their oyster. Maybe if you looked like that, you could have anything you wanted too.

I wrote earlier about airbrushing and retouching of images to make them look more alluring. No, I don’t agree with it and yes, I think it should be banned entirely. But, to be honest, whether these images have been airbrushed or not is not the major issue. The major issue is the pressure on men and women to look good, pressure which they will never feel like they live up to.

I applaud Dove’s campaign for real beauty, but it’s simply not enough, because it still focuses on being beautiful. As long as beauty is a focal point in this society, there will be abuse and hurt, eating disorders and cosmetic surgery which are unnecessary.

‘What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition.’ 1 Peter 3 (The Message)

I’m currently doing research into the link between self-image and self-worth, looking at how the physical appearance of a person can make them feel etc etc. So expect more blog posts along a similar vein sometime soon, and please comment below! I’d love to have your input – remember, all in the name of research =)

Peace,

Anneka Hannah =)