Photoshop and The Unrealistic Body Standard Today

I recently wrote a research paper on the program Adobe Photoshop and the effects it has on society, and how it should be used. I thought this is a very prevalent issue, and the discussion of image altering along with self esteem and body image should be more open. The more we talk about it the more we can make a change. There is also a brief history of the company Adobe and how Photoshop became a program as well as the initial intentions of the software. Adobe Photoshop was intended to be a creative editing tool, not a tool to use to alter people and damage millions of peoples’ self esteem, even though that it what it has become today. The goal is to use less Photoshop and less image altering in advertising and bring the program back to its roots of creativitiy on an artisitc perspective. 

After reflecting on the many different media outlets, I use on a daily basis I decided to pick the company Adobe, specifically the Adobe Photoshop program. I chose to do my research on Photoshop for some reasons. I love photography and currently run a small portrait photography business while being a college student. I do use photoshop to edit portraits, but I use it mainly to enhance colors and fix any imperfections the client has requested I edit. Even though I use Photoshop sparingly in my own work, I was very curious to know how the use of the program is used today in society and social media. I am someone who started being affected by altered images and comparisons of body types at an early age as well. This experience drove me to want to know data on the issue of Photoshop and identity/self-image as well. Photoshop does have many benefits to photography and editing, but today it has caused people to try and look “perfect” and has lead to an onslaught of insecurities and desires to change their bodies.

The company Adobe was created in 1982 in San Jose, California by two men whose names are Charles Geschke and John Warnock (Adobe). Both of these men had previously worked at a Xerox research center in Palo Alto, which ultimately leads them to create their own technology company. Geschke and Warnock were inspired by a product they were working on at Xerox, which was a photographic and digital printer. They both came to the common goal of wanting to be able to translate words and images from a computer screen onto a printed page (investintech). Adobe started off strong as they released their first product in 1984, which is their program called PostScript; a scripting program that is used to aid those in the print and publishing industry. This Postscript program has been reworked over the years and eventually lead to the invention of the PDF file that we use today. By the late 1990’s Adobe had released some other technology programs such as Adobe Illustrator in 1987 and Adobe Photoshop in 1988, both programs used for photo editing (investintech). Thomas and John Knoll are the creators of the program Photoshop, who sold the rights to Adobe in 1988. (creativebloq).

Adobe was co-founded by Charles Geschke and John Warnock who started the company in 1982 and retired from their leading positions in 2002 and became chairmen. Both are still chairmen today. The president of Adobe right now is Shantanu Narayen and has held the position since 2007 (Bloomberg). Adobe Photoshop, in particular, is owned by Adobe which is the parent company. Photoshop is still under the control of Adobe, but the Knoll’s brothers are still involved with the upkeep of their program.

Aside from owning PostScript, the PDF, and Photoshop Adobe owns many other software programs. Adobe currently owns 15 different software products that can be purchased online and used for different editing processes. These programs range from editing and using different PDF files, editing photos, editing film and video, create legal documents, create graphic arts, and even have their own creative cloud network so you can access your work anywhere. Adobe is a very wealthy company, their end of year revenue in 2016 was $1.4 billion representing a 20% growth (Adobe). This kind of wealth has allowed Adobe to take part in and acquire 48 different companies from 1990 to present day (crunchbase).

Adobe influences all of its individual programs including Photoshop through the implementation of their corporate and company values. Adobe was built on four core values of being genuine, exceptional, innovative, and involved. All of these values are incorporated into Photoshop as well as all of their other programs. The Photoshop program strives to give a trustworthy software, that gives the customer the best possible experience, allows the customer and employee to be as creative as possible, and for Adobe to be as involved and connected to their customers and employees. Adobe’s corporate values of education, sustainability, and community are also implemented into all of their programs. This is done by providing weekly tutorials on how to use their products as well as connecting you to their overarching community when you sign up through email. The 48 other companies that Adobe is involved with or has aquisition over, are a wide variety of software programs that add diversity to the company. From looking through the majority of the software companies I would say there is not too much of an influence from these onto Photoshop because they are companies involved with digital branding and reading software information. I did not notice any ironies nor contradictions within the Adobe products and the acquired companies they are involved with.

After going through all of the necessary research to understand the history and background of Adobe I began to look at the issues that have recently arisen with the program Photoshop. I began thinking about the problems that have to do with Photoshop because I was inspired by Kays’ lecture. I knew that photoshopped or altered images were a problem here in the United States, but I had no idea there was such a prevalence in Southeast Asian countries. I was fascinated to learn about the different expectations and ideals of the other cultures, as well as the beauty standards. Such as smooth skin, small waist, large breasts, long hair, double eyelids and many more. Kay pointed out many things that paralleled to our society here in the U.S. and stated that “media is a factor of beauty culture that affects body internalization, body dissatisfaction, and behavioral changes”(Kay Chansiri). Social media and our beauty culture also causes many people to feel insecure and dissatisfied with their bodies and outward appearance.

Many of these photoshopped and altered images are surrounding us in our daily lives, which can lead to an insecure sense of self and questioning of one’s own identity. These images circulate freely around social media, and “social media today changes the way information circulates… and shapes the way people think and feel” (Kyle McDaniel). Social media and the constant flow of photoshopped images has Harvard officials reporting that “The American ideal of beauty has become so pervasive that 50% of three- to six-year-old girls worry about their weight” (Kilbourne). A report by CNN also stated that “By age 7, one in four kids has engaged in some kind of dieting behavior”(Wallace) showing that this unrealistic and unhealthy body standard is much more impactful than we realize. Not only are young children being exposed to the unrealistic ideals of our beauty standards, this also has long term effects on older women as well.

In a survey done of over 2000 women 15% could not tell what images were photoshopped, almost 50% said they struggled with body confidence, 24% said they only felt confident when not in public spaces, and 33% of the surveyed said they were trying to achieve a body type that was impossible (Vagianos). This response of disheartening truths of women today is caused from the over prevalent flow of photoshopped images. These women who try and achieve the impossible are related to the ever rising plastic surgery statistics in the US. And although Seoul, South Korea is the plastic surgery capital of the world (Marx), the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Statistic Report from 2016 shows that the number of plastic surgeries has risen 4% in the last year and a 37% increase since the year 2000 (pg 6-7). All of the media that surround us from a young age through adulthood greatly affect our self confidence and can leave lasting impressions on our own identities indefinitely.

Even with all of the negative side effects of Photoshop there are people and large companies working to get the overuse of Photoshop out of the social media industry.  Celebrities such as Meghan Trainor (singer), Zendaya (actor), and Ronda Rousey (sports illustrated model) all have large social media presence and are standing up to the overuse of Photoshop. All of them explain in each of their interviews with The Hollywood Reporter that the editors altered their images and published them without permission, which is not ok. As well as large companies such as Aerie and Target, who are both starting the spread of campaigns that do not use any Photoshop on their models. The support of influential celebrities and large companies starting to open up the conversation about this misuse of Photoshop could be the beginning of the end of body shaming trend.

Target no photoshop campaign photo featured below

Aerie “real girl” no photoshop campaign photo featured below

The use of Photoshop has not always been bad news, in fact looking at the program through an artistic lens or someone who photographs landscape it can actually be quite useful. In the artistic sense Photoshop is great in that it lets the artists’ creative side run free. It can enhance lighting and color and bring out the photograph without distorting the image into something of false nature. It took a long time for Photoshop to go from a great artistic editing tool to becoming “referred not only to a piece of software, but to a constellation of social evils, most of them visited on women: the pressure to be beautiful and unblemished and thin, the media’s complicity in this campaign, the plummeting self-esteems of girls and young women who grew up believing they should look that fake, Photoshopped way” (Dewey). Photoshop is currently in a transition process, where many people and companies are trying to go away from the bad sides of the program and bring it back to its root purpose of artistic editing.

In the future I know I will still use Photoshop and many of the other Adobe editing programs such as Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Lightroom. I use these programs on a weekly basis when I need to edit portraits for clients, but I do use these editing tools very tastefully. After doing this research I know I will be more aware of the media I come into contact with on a daily basis, and begin to think about how this could be affecting other people. This has allowed me to be aware of the issues brought on by Photoshop and image altering programs and how they affect people of every age.

Works Cited

“2016 Plastic Surgery Statistics Report.” American Society of Plastic Surgeons. N.p., 2016. Web. 7 June 2017.

“Adobe Fast Facts.” Adobe. Adobe Systems Incorporated, n.d. Web. 07 June 2017.

“Adobe Systems Acquisitions.” Crunchbase.com. N.p., 24 Apr. 2014. Web. 07 June 2017.

“Adobe Systems Inc.” Bloomberg.com. S&P Global Market Intelligence, n.d. Web. 7 June 2017.

Chan, Stephanie. “Zendaya Calls Out Magazine for Being Photoshopped.” The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 21 Oct. 2015. Web. 07 June 2017.

Dewey, Caitlin. “How 25 years of Photoshop changed the way we see reality.” The Washington Post. WP Company, 19 Feb. 2015. Web. 07 June 2017.

Dockterman, Eliana. “American Eagle No Photoshop Aerie Lingerie Campaign.” Time. Time, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 07 June 2017.

Inc., Investintech.com. “A Brief History of Adobe Systems Inc.” Investintech PDF Solutions. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 June 2017.

Marx, Patricia. “The World Capital of Plastic Surgery.” The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 05 June 2017. Web. 07 June 2017.

Roeder, Amy. “Advertising’s toxic effect on eating and body image.” News. N.p., 18 Mar. 2015. Web. 07 June 2017.

Schreiber, Hope. “Target Didnt Photoshop Any Of These Models And People Cant Stop Praising Them.” Elite Daily. N.p., 06 June 2017. Web. 07 June 2017.

Staff, Creative Bloq. “The history of Photoshop.” Creative Bloq. Future Publishing, 12 Dec. 2005. Web. 07 June 2017.

Staff, THR. “Meghan Trainor Talks Me Too Photoshopping, Promises New Video.” The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 09 May 2016. Web. 07 June 2017.

Staff, THR. “Ronda Rousey Apologizes for Photoshopped Instagram Photo.” The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 19 Feb. 2016. Web. 07 June 2017.

Vagianos, Alanna. “Survey Proves We Still Really Need To Talk About Photoshop.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Nov. 2013. Web. 07 June 2017.

Wallace, Kelly. “Kids as young as 5 concerned about body image.” CNN.com. N.p., 13 Feb. 2015. Web. 7 June 2017.