Photoshop My Life
Authenticity. It’s a big word and it’s everywhere today. We want an authentic life with authentic friends, even down to attending church with an authentic preacher. But sadly, we, myself included, are often guilty of measuring ourselves against the impossible: the manufactured image of perfection we hear, watch, and read about. These works of populist fiction become our target in real life.
I must congratulate my fellow marketers in succeeding selling us plastic perfection but derailing us in our pursuit of an authentic self.
But no matter how philosophical I get, I find myself going back to the old adage “beauty is skin deep, but ugliness is to the bone.” So I try harder, run longer, hit the gym at 5 a.m. and pass up on the chocolate cake that beckons for me every time I walk into the kitchen. My insecurity demons emboldened by the latest picture of the shirtless, buff and photoshopped (as in touched up, enhance, beautified by software) Brad Pitt, have their way with me as I try, still unsuccessfully, to measure up.
I want authenticity from people around me, while I try to sell to everyone the Photoshopped version of myself.
Do you feel pressure to look, behave or become someone other than whom you believe God has created you to be?
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6 Comments:
This is a long one for me. I'm not sure I have enough time to open the can of worms. Suffice to say, I have never measured up to my parents' expectations. It has grieved me all my life.
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:34 pm
I think everyone does at some point or another. There are moments when I try hard to look my "best". Exersize. dress up. makeup. etc.Then there are other times (which prob. outnumber the looking my best moments) when I just think, who cares? I put my hair in a pony tail and go. But you are right. We are brainwashed into thinking the exact opposite of what God programmed us to think: that we are beautiful!
October 23rd, 2009 at 1:17 am
You know the odd part about the Dove commercials though? They try to show women as beautiful, important, and such. But, the very same company who makes these commercials owns the Axe brand which objectifies women through it's commercials through being blatantly sexual. I guess it's all about the marketing, eh?
October 31st, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Chris, You're right. In this case they're targeting the demographic with the brand message: Dove hits middle-aged women, while Axe teenage boys. My two boys think Axe spray = no need to shower.
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