It's one thing to know it, but it's another to keep it from affecting how we view ourselves.
By now, most of us are well aware that the girl in the magazine doesn't actually look like the girl in the magazine.
But seeing those Photoshopped images over and over can affect us in ways we don't even realize.
Even though we know the images are Photoshopped, it's important to remember that we begin seeing these images when we're very young. And while some lucky kids will make it to adulthood unaffected, many others are negatively affected.
If we already know that these images are unrealistic but also know they affect our brains, what can we do about them?
We can keep pushing back against advertisers and magazines. We can demand that people look like, well, people. And we can celebrate our real selves. No matter our size — thin, heavy, or anywhere in between — our bodies are good.
She's right. We look at real, human people every day as we move through the world. We just don't look at real, human bodies "on paper," aka in the media.
Consider the rest of this post your paper.
Seven women volunteered to talk about their bodies and to be photographed in their underwear and tank tops. They were totally on board with doing it makeup-free and knew the photos wouldn't be retouched.
You might not be surprised by the results, but keep scrolling to remind your brain what un-Photoshopped human bodies look like "on paper" and hear what these women have to say.
On unrealistic standards of beauty:
On learning to figure out what's been Photoshopped:
On rewriting the message:
Remember that you're real and you're good. Focus on what you like about yourself. Those clichéd sayings about the power of positive thinking really do apply here.
Now watch these women practice what they're preaching.
The video is worth the watch. We need to keep hearing the message and talking about this. We deserve it.