1. The Effects and Use of
Photoshop in the Media
Jessica Rowell
Cheyenne Ruiz-Lopez
Rachel Smarker
Madylyn Tapia
Thomas Terrones

2. Introduction
Over the years, society has been held with an expectation to look like the
celebrities that are featured on the covers of famous magazines. But what
society needs to realize is that those people on the covers are not how they
actually appear in reality. With the advancement of photoshop and the
advantage of having the power to change the way one looks at our fingertips,
photoshop has become responsible for creating unrealistically perfect
expectations of the human body. We will be looking at the use of photoshop
with celebrities, in advertising, and the effects it has on men and women.In
today’s society, a lot of men and women are often overly sexuallized; displayed
as sexual objects and not as people. So when people are being used as sexual
objects, merely to catch attention of a reader of a magazine, or a car driver, but
the point is that media often times puts enhancements on the male and female
figure to sell their product. A product sells best if its selling point is perfect,
which people are not, hence, photoshop.

3. Photoshopped Celebrities
Almost every image of celebrities society comes
into contact with is photoshopped to ensure that they
are “perfect”. In these published photos, celebrities are
almost transformed into different people.
No celebrity is safe from the editing of
photoshop, not even the FHM “sexiest woman in the
world” Jennifer Lawrence. In this example, we see that
there has been a significant amount of editing to the
already beautiful Lawrence. Her chin and neck have
been made thinner, as well as her arms. As well as her
rib, hip, and cheek bones being made much more
prominent.
The frequent and heavy use of photoshop
is promoting the idea of a “perfect woman” that is
unobtainable. Celebrities are seen as the most beautiful
people in our society; therefore, by saying they need
such extravagant editing, they are also implying that
“normal people” must need even more.

4. Photoshopped Celebrities
Besides making celebrities unnaturally
thin with photoshop, the media also removes all
“imperfections”. Wrinkles, scars, blemishes, and pores
are things that, quite literally, every single person has,
but the media sees as taboo. Photoshop is used to
remove them.
By removing these small imperfections, the
media is using photoshop to dehumanize celebrities.
They are taking away the things that make them human,
the characteristics that make them like any other person.
The use of photoshop makes celebrities more like a
perfect object rather than a perfect person. This makes it
even more impossible to fit into the mold of perfection
that society has created. No human can achieve the
perfection that is seen on the cover of magazines
because photoshop is used to make sure that the people
on those covers are not human at all.

5. Photoshop in Advertisement
Rolling Stone is a well known magazine that features well known artists and celebrities. One cover
that grabbed my attention was one featuring Katy Perry. The below picture shows just how much
the editors changed her original picture, just to create an image that was “worthy” to be on the
Rolling Stone cover:

6. Photoshop in Advertisement
When it comes to advertising for swimwear, a lot of photoshopping is done. We are given an
expectation to look like those models in bathing suits. But as shown in a recent Target
advertisement for swim wear, not even the models are original. As you can see in the ad below,
Target is known for its photoshopping fails:

7. Effects on Women and Girls
The use of photoshop creates bad body image for the female population. It
creates unrealistic standards and raises self consciousness. It creates a
“competition” between females to be better than each other. It also teaches girls
at young ages that they should look a certain way.

8. Effects on Women and Girls
When females see these photos of what they “should” look like, it can easily
lead to many outcomes. Depression and eating disorders are very common
among the teenage years. These thoughts that are put into our mind can even
lead to suicide and death.

9. Effects on Boys
While many people have a better understanding of how the media
and photoshop has influenced girls, research now is starting to
show how it is affecting young boys and teens as well.
Most boys don’t always talk about how their feel about their body
image, but many studies have shown that that doesn’t mean
they are not affected by the media.
“A 2008 study found that young men were more self-
conscious about their bodies after reading "lad
magazines" featuring photos of sexualized,
scantily-clad women, based on the belief that girls
would expect similar idealized physiques from
men as well.” (Aubrey, J. S., & Taylor, L. D.
(2009) in “ Body Image- boys”)
And other studies and research has found that an
increase in eating disorders in boys is on the rise,
and that boys are becoming more and more
obsessed with making their body more muscular
than ever. ( Body Image- Boys)

10. Effects on Men
● While young boys are being influenced heavily, so are
young men, if we take a look at just a couple of ads
with men who are all greased and buffed up and
photoshopped to no end.
● So how does that affect men, in similar ways it affects
young boys and teens actually.
● In fact, “ Magazines such as GQ, Men’s Health, and
Fortune often show men as wealthy, thin and
muscular. Even children learn this stereotype through
“Prince Charming” in classic fairy tales. Many times,
attractive women and men are led to believe that they
can be partners if they work towards society’s
expectations. Men have reported wanting to build
bigger chests and leaner abs in order to impress
women. As a result, men with muscular upper bodies
and lean stomachs have been considered by women to
be more attractive.” ( The negative side of the Media)

11. Conclusion
As a society, we must recognize that it is impossible to try to
reach these expectations that photoshopped has placed on us
through advertisements. We must accept that we are all
beautiful in our own ways without comparing ourselves to the
photoshopped celebrities.

12. Citations
1) Body Image. (n.d.). MediaSmarts. Retrieved July 6, 2014, from http://mediasmarts.ca/body-image
2) Men and Women Self image - The Negative Side of Media. (n.d.). Men and Women Self image - The
Negative Side of Media. Retrieved July 6, 2014, from https://sites.google.com/a/umn.edu/pstl-1281-007-group-
4/the-bar