photo courtesy of Beyonce
Beyoncé Knowles shattered many young women’s self confidence with photoshop, as a photo of her in a bikini appears to be altered, giving her a “thigh gap.” This September she posted these photos, which clearly flaunt her body, from her 33rd birthday, and since then, they have gone viral.
All of the publicity the photos are receiving are bringing unnecessary attention to outer beauty, negatively impacting girls’ self-esteem around the world who viewed her as a role model, idolized her confidence, and admired her for remaining true to herself. These photos are symbolic for betrayal among her and other celebrities who all too often fail to consider their strong influence on millions of fans.
Throughout many middle schools and high schools, girls are trying to imitate their idols’ actions, making them extremely vulnerable in situations like this one. In Knowles’ song, “Flawless,” she implies that in today’s society, “we teach girls to shrink themselves, to make them smaller,” and her new photo seems to do just that. Unfortunately, girls who lack self confidence often attempt to achieve a similar look through unhealthy methods including starvation, unnatural dieting pills/drugs, plastic surgery, and excessive, compulsive exercise. The song encourages girls to embrace their inner beauty and display their flaws as unique qualities instead, contradicting the indirect message many receive from the photos of her supposedly photoshopped thigh gap.
“We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves,” Knowles said in her documentary, Life is But a Dream. She probably didn’t mean literally with photo editing devices like Photoshop… but how else are young women supposed to perceive her with her newly posted photos that look edited?
photo courtesy of Beyonce
”We all have our imperfections. But I’m human, and you know, it’s important to concentrate on other qualities besides outer beauty,” Knowles once said, which is confusing to some girls because even though her words are empowering to many women, the pictures she posts on social media sites draw most attention to her outer beauty.
Today’s female role models as a whole should definitely spend some more time thinking about the impact their photos have on their fans before posting them online.
co-authored by Darlene Shaba
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