France May Put Warning Labels on Airbrushed Photos

Extra Credit Article

French parliamentarian Valerie Boyer is leading the way on pending legislation that would require a warning be posted on digitally enhanced advertisements in France.  I hope I’m not boxing myself in a corner on this one--because I  love the idea of beauty--but I tend to support Boyer’s conservative’s position.

I am taking this stand because currently in my Global Health class we are concentrating on the aspects of power and privilege. As a society, we  perpetuate the mythical and unattainable standards of perfection as the only acceptable and achievable way to live. We are sending  messages to our children that anything short of perfection is unacceptable; but sadly, we will never achieve it. The further we fall from our societal standards, the more feelings of angst, personal inferiority, and failure we experience.

We like the notion of living in a perfect world, because then we would have no problems. This is a myth that is unrealistic and unattainable, and until we accept it as such, we are destined for unhappiness. The article quotes Boyer so aptly, “It’s creating parallel worlds: one in which everything in ads and photos is gorgeous, slim, chic and what we aspire to, and our daily reality of imperfection, normality and frustration that we can’t be like those other people who—literally—don’t exist.”

Along with this article, we also received photos of historic images that had been previously altered.  The danger in this practice is evident.  We can conveniently alter history to our advantage by adding or deleting facts or individuals that compete with our message of reality.