By: Laviniah Karanja, Fashion blogger and Face of Kenya UK 2014
The backlash by Beyonce’s fans over leaked pictures from her L’Oreal Advert that showed the extent of Photoshop effects on her image has led to the revisiting of the age old question of the price of beauty and the pitfalls of flawlessness. The leaked images were in stark contrast to her airbrushed campaign pictures.
Beyonce appeared to display blemishes, uneven skin, signs of ageing and heavily applied makeup in the un-edited images. What may have caused such a frenzy and outrage across social media from her supporters is a divide in opinion in firstly questioning the authenticity of the leaked images and if so a causal acceptance that the singer’s beauty across magazines spreads, billboards and ad campaigns like the L’Oreal advert may not be as flawless as otherwise portrayed.
A tricky but sensitive matter to address at the least; it’s no secret that the ideals for beauty in the society are largely contributed to and perpetuated by what is reverberated in the mass media. Delve into the pages of mainstream magazines and you will find countless images of models and celebrities in perfect silhouette and beauty that is untainted by any flaws, hence the derivative of flawlessness. A façade that redefines what beauty is and streamlines what it should be, ultimately the elusive flawless beauty that is palpable, unrealistic and albeit difficult to maintain.
For celebrities whose entire lives are scrutinised and placed under a microscope comes the added pressure to maintain a certain polished image endlessly. The shock of these images to Beyonce’s supportive network of fans shattered this very illusion. To have caused uproar within social media presupposes that airbrushed pictures are much more widely acceptable as it fuels the perfection myth than the untouched images that reveals blemishes.
The use of photo editing to enhance a face or body image to share across social media such as Facebook and Instagram is something most can attest to doing, but the extent of these airbrushed images creates to a degree a sense of betrayal and deception in the public eye from what the natural and untouched images have revealed, that even world class celebrities fall short of perfection and the attainment of flawlessness.
The images are a refreshing reminder that Beyonce is in fact human. Like the rest of us, she also has body hang ups, flaws and moments of insecurity, all of which we can identify with.
Now the question arises, with the exposure of pre-airbrushed images of Beyonce: Will this lead to more acceptance of unretouched pictures? Has this myth of perfect beauty sipped into everyday life and what we identify in society as beauty that we cannot change the tide?
