Andie Macdowell & Why Photoshop Sucks

Guest Post by Wendy Widom :: I saw a photo of L’Oreal Spokesperson Andie MacDowell recently and thought, holy shit she’s looking so fantastic at age 54. It made me mosey on over to the mirror and say, why the hell isn’t my face looking as fab as hers?

Well, we all know the answer. Photoshop. While I’m not against digitally removing a few bumps and blemishes here and there, this overly airbrushed photo is ridiculous and sends such a crappy message to women. We age. We get wrinkles. Things sag. Rather than fight the hands of time, I’d rather push back against a culture that says we’re invisible if we don’t stay young.

If an eighth-grade girl can convince Seventeen to stop photoshopping the women in its magazine, why don’t we do the same with businesses that are promoting an unattainable standard of beauty? Because we can. Hell, we raise children. We can do anything. So what are we waiting for?

To learn more about the impact of the media on women, join Families in the Loop & The Founding Moms on April 10, 2013 for a screening of the award-winning film Miss Representation.

Wendy Widom is President of Families in the Loop a hub for urban moms and dads. Since its launch in early 2011, Families in the Loop has transformed the parenting scene with feisty and fresh conversations about sex, health, culture, education, food & wine, entertainment, politics, life, and oh yes, our kids!