The Viral Incident
Recently, a Photoshop fail involving Kendall Jenner has taken the internet by storm. It appears that she modified her Met Gala photo to make her stomach look flatter and more perfect. Thousands of outraged people on social media have expressed their lively disapproval regarding this matter.
Among the comments, one stood out:
”It’s her fault; she and her family have created these standards, and now she’s reaping what they’ve sown for years.”
The Bigger Picture
This incident makes me ponder: why does a woman with a toned, slender, and objectively slim figure feel the need to retouch her photo to appear even thinner? Why, if Kendall Jenner does it, she becomes a problem? It’s as if she has asked to become the guru or some sort of deity of perfection, dictating the mentality of young girls around the world.
Society’s Influence
It surprises me that no one has even remotely considered that Kendall Jenner, like many other famous and non-famous girls, is a product of a society where nothing is ever quite good enough. You will never be thin enough, fat enough, toned or muscular enough, tall or short enough, blonde or brunette enough, normal enough because trying to be perfect according to others’ standards…well, is strange. You get labeled, becoming a desperate attention-seeker who wants to sell their perfect life but is, in reality, just an insecure or unwell person.
Personal Perspective on Photo Editing
I edit my photos too, not to the point of making myself unrecognizable, but to make them more similar to how I see myself in the mirror. I don’t edit them to fit in or because I fear others’ opinions; I do it because I like to have memories of myself where I look the way I felt at that exact moment.
Often, the outcome of a photo is also the complex mix of lighting, angles, etc. Do I have to become a professional photographer to capture my body exactly as I see it? No, because I can add light or remove a pimple that makes me feel uncomfortable and isn’t part of my everyday life, or a scar I wasn’t born with and have often wished to erase throughout my life.
The Unjust Criticism of Celebrities
I don’t understand why some people’s hatred for celebrities becomes an excuse to attack them for the smallest trivialities, and yes, to me, the edit to her photo is trivial! Who says she didn’t have a bloated stomach that day or some other reason for her stomach being more “bloated” than usual? It seems silly to even discuss and have to explain such a simple concept as: If I want to edit a photo of myself, I am free to do so, and I don’t see why it should be a problem.
A Call for Empathy
Perhaps we should learn to appreciate the moment conveyed by the photo or the emotion, rather than judging others’ bodies or appearances at the first opportunity.
But after all, we are human, right? Judgment propels us forward and fills our sad and empty days.
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