The strength of photography...

So, ten days ago, my cousin got married. And at the wedding they had photographers. Who took HIDEOUS pics of me. (I was, fortunately, in the background for most of them). But I was about ready to run off and get liposuction or try to go live with Gillian MacKeith for two months. I really felt that I was frumpy and fat and dust-bin ready. I've never been a huge fan of photos of myself, but fortunately, my wonderful sister got some really good pics of me, which did boost my mood, and my self-image.

Now this is just pics of myself, but it shows what an impact good photography (and bad) can have. And photography carries an impact for much more than just one person... if all people see are pictures of overly skinny women, or fat men with skinny women, then that carries overtones too. Because the skinny becomes the new norm, that becomes the hallmark of looking good, and it eventually becomes an impossible ideal. Whereas I honestly believe that if more media pics were just normal women, then we would not have such an obesity problem in this country. If more women could measure themselves against realistic images...


Photography carries a lot of impact in other ways as well... its a societal, historical record, as well as being a personal one... but, at the moment, it can be a powerful self-esteem tool...