The aroma of spray tan and hair spray fill the air. A camera clicks rapidly and lights flash sporadically. One woman strikes a pose, gazing intently into the camera’s lens. Layers of makeup mask her natural beauty. Her flattened stomach churns, longing for a single bite of food.

A week goes by, and the woman’s image covers magazines across the nation. But she is now unrecognizable. Professionals used electronic software to shave inches from her waist, elongate her neck, lighten her hair, smooth her complexion, whiten her teeth and brighten her eyes. Photoshop transformed her into a stranger, with no resemblance to her genuine appearance.

I believe the media has altered the definition of beauty. Women cannot escape the images of tall, tan and thin models promoted by the media. The falsified perfection of women negatively impacts what girls aim to look like, leading to eating disorders and destructive self-body images. Unflawed women do not exist, and the media has painted the illusion that they do. 

David Hume once wrote, “Beauty in things exists merely in the mind which contemplates them.” But, it seems to me that the minds contemplating such beauty have been corrupted by media influence. Distorted pictures of women have a lasting impact on perceptions of the female body.

However, a computer program should not be the deciding factor in defining true attractiveness. Beauty should not be defined as a pant size, number on a scale or flawlessness of a complexion. There is a strength that lies behind natural beauty that should not be covered by a façade of perfection that is unrealistic and unattainable. The media does not have to control the definition of beauty. Society has the power to alter what the world sees as beautiful by ignoring the images the media forces onto us. True beauty is not created by Photoshop. True beauty does not have to be retouched. True beauty is naturally perfect.