Target has managed to start a debate over body image after a botched Photoshopped image was uploaded to their site. The image is of two different teenage girls wearing this year’s newest swimsuit designs. However, whoever edited the photos did an awful job, and left noticeable eraser marks on the girl’s thighs, arms, and pelvis (trying to create a thigh gap).
Target spokesman Evan Miller called the pictures an “unfortunate error”, and said that they would be taking it down and putting up another one. “It was an unfortunate error on our part and we apologize,” Miller told ABCNews.com. “We removed the image from the site and we’re working to get a new image up there.”
On Wednesday, Business Insider reporter Ashley Lutz visited Good Morning America to chat about the controversy surrounding Target’s ad. “Target has put out these totally unrealistic images, and they’re really laughable,” Lutz said. “But at the same time you have to question what they were going for.”
Beauty Redefined creators Lexie and Lindsay Kite also talked about the images on their official Facebook page. The goal of Beauty Redefined is to help others recognized harmful messages about women’s body types. They focus on body image, women’s potential, and media influences.
Photoshopping, digital alteration, image manipulation, blah blah blah. Everyone talks about how so many images of women are “perfected” with technology, but we can’t just toss it aside as a non-issue everyone knows about. Whether or not you are aware of the possibility of image alterations, not all of us realize exactly HOW MUCH these images are changed to fit some seriously unrealistic ideals that we view over and over. And not everyone gets that it isn’t just fashion magazines featuring drastically altered images. It’s TV. It’s video. It’s your favorite brand online. It’s everywhere. And it distorts our perceptions of reality.
From Britney Spears’ digital slim down in her latest music video to Target’s new hack jobs, it’s all in this post. Beauty Redefined teaches that when we can SEE past the lies sold to us in media, we can learn to SEE more in ourselves and BE more than just bodies in need of fixing. Let’s see more and be more than what these companies think we’re capable of.
What do you think about Target’s ads? Leave your comments below.
Image via Twitter