By Cheryl Mattox Berry
During a recent layover at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, I decided to engage in my favorite kill-the-time activity, checking out the magazine covers and tabloids at newsstands. To my chagrin, I discovered that celebrities are looking less and less like themselves. For example, Beyonce graced the cover of Harper’s Bazaar, but her razor-sharp jawline and skinny legs made her look like a Barbie doll. What happened to the shapely legs that pranced in the video, Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)? Then, there was Katie Holmes on the front of Marie Claire, looking like she could be her own younger sister. Even talk show queen Oprah had managed to lose a little face fat and a lot of body fat on the cover of her magazine.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for erasing little things so that you look fresh and your picture pops, but not so much that your image is distorted and you don’t look like yourself. When First Lady Michelle Obama started making the covers, one magazine took so much character from her face that she looked like a character in the movie Avatar. A photo from Prince William and Kate’s wedding showed her waist whittled so much that it resembled an emaciated child in the Sudan. Why do the magazines do this?
The fashion and beauty industry wants you to buy into a standard of beauty that is impossible to attain – perfection. Seeing pictures of digitally enhanced celebs is supposed to make you want to look like them, and run out and buy all the products they used in their photo spread. Keep in mind that the picture you see on magazine covers comes from a click of the mouse.
In real life, celebrities have body issues like the rest of us. Have you seen your favorite stars without makeup? They look like ordinary people with zits, wrinkles, no lips and dark circles under their eyes. Look closely at untouched photos, and you’ll notice that Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears have cellulite.
Several years ago, actress Jamie Lee Curtis did a magazine spread showing how she looked without makeup and undergarments that sucked in the fat. Surprisingly, she didn’t look gross. She looked normal – lumpy and bulging in certain places like most women her age.
So, don’t beat yourself up if you don’t look like the latest picture of your favorite singer or actress because chances are they’ve been photo shopped. I’ve always wondered why celebs allow their pictures to be altered so drastically. I suspect that many of them have underlying self-esteem issues and want to be portrayed as having perfect bodies when they obviously have normal ones.
Look within for your own standard of beauty. Learn to be comfortable in your body. Stand in front of the mirror and take a long, hard look at yourself. What are your best features? If you don’t know, think about what people compliment you the most on. Is it your hair? Eyes? Legs? Whatever it is, play up that feature.
Here are a few other suggestions to give you confidence:
- Walk tall
- Square your shoulders
- Smile
- Make eye contact
- Speak to people
Also, be honest with yourself. Are there some areas you need to work on? If so, get active. Start playing a sport, join a gym and eat natural and nutritious food. Engage your parents and friends in a plan to make you a healthier and happier person.