As ridiculous as I think that today’s day of silence is, in a way I’m thankful that I can write about something that’s closer to my heart than politics, politicians and all their antics, will ever be.

A few days ago the department of information released the new President’s official photo. It didn’t take anyone a second glance to realise that the image had been heavily manipulated and, that any kind of flaw, even if just a genuine sign of aging, had been digitally removed.

Of course this is common practice with public figures and celebrities. We all know it happens and will continue happening and, admittedly, even my public photos have been somewhat touched up.

The difference lies in just HOW MUCH they are touched up.

I dare say that we’re all somewhat aware that most of what we see in the media is Photoshopped, but whether consciously or subconsciously, for some reason we still let these images affect our overall expectations and self-image.

Gyms, beauty salons, and even your average school yard, are full of people, mostly women and girls, feeling inadequate and unattractive. Even the most athletic iron-for-abs, steel-for-gluteus type of woman will find something negative to say about her body. And girls as young as seven and eight are already comparing themselves not only to each other, but, worst of all, to the images they see in the media.

The teenage daughter of a friend of mine tried to commit suicide last year, and it all started from body image issues. Unfortunately this is not some isolated case or recent phenomenon, because even back in 2005, a study published in Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, had already found that “suicidal impulses and attempts are much more common in teenagers who think they are too fat or too thin, regardless of how much they actually weigh.”

From my experience in teaching ‘gender representation in the media’ at The University of Malta, I’ve come to the conclusion that most let the media influence them so much because they are not media literate enough to realise to what extent images are actually changed, and just how unrealistic they actually are.

Most of of my students are aware that blemishes are removed, maybe the odd wrinkle and open pore, perhaps the removal of an unruly hair that’s out of place, but whenever I show them real examples of what can be done with digital manipulation, and just how far one can go with making a model fit some seriously un-human and unrealistic ideals, their jaws drop and you can almost literally see the bulb light up on their heads.

Take for instance our idea of what constitutes a good body weight. In the past, the media has consistently tried to use underweight models and push that as the norm. Today they don’t even have to do that because with CGI (computer-generated-imagery) and Photoshop, they can very quickly turn an untanned woman of average weight, look tanned, toned, and slim with no unsightly cellulite or flaws. Unfortunately this is then sold to us and to our children as though it’s the result of hours of exercise and beauty regimes.

We don’t live in a vacuum and no matter how hard we try, we are always going to apply some kind of comparison to others, but when we compare ourselves to something that simply doesn’t exist, something that is unachievable and that is being sold to us as standard, then the battle for a healthy lifestyle is already lost. And when we swallow an advertiser’s spiel that our happiness and ability to be loved depends on the way we look, then we don’t stand a chance in hell.

For an idea of just how much can be done to present us with an unrealistic and impossible-to-achieve human image, have look at this video which demonstrates that for the advertising and media industry, not even a professional model is good enough to be left untouched.