retouching

Bloggers over at Jezebel have been tearing into Redbook. The reason? More photoshop retouching.

Before you groan - yes it is commonplace (even typical) for magazine images to be retouched (to hide blemishes etc).

Have Redbook gone a bit too far with this one?

Over a year ago I looked at the widespread practice of retouching photos. We used to call it airbrushing - but now the term photoshop has entered the vernacular.

For the most part, women have been the subject of retouching - but men are not immune either. Men's Fitness magazine have been scorned for their "enhancement" of tennis player Andy Roddick.

It seems Andy got some instant "22 inch guns" and a bulging chest.

How has body shape changed during the last century? What were the popular and glamorized body shapes of the day?

Everybody knows that every magazine cover photo is retouched - right? It's a never-ending quest to make the model perfectly pleasing to the eye - at least according to the editor or art director.

We may be aware of retouching, but that doesn't mean we are immune to the subtle feeling of self-loathing that may result from seeing these images every day of our lives.

Here is an eclectic and bemusing collection of links that demonstrate the phony art of retouch.

Email your friends, call your Mom, and tell your husband or wife. It's time to stop thinking "I wish I looked like that". It's time to start saying "Gee that retouch job is a bit overdone" - and then getting on with a life that runs deeper than a piece of celebrity skin.