Nutrition & Wellness – Biology 50

Changing Apperances for Magazine Covers – Kelly Clarkson and Self Magazine

September 24, 2009

In August, quite a controversy erupted over Kelly Clarkson’s changing appearance on the cover of Self Magazine. You can see the split image that ran in the People Magazine article on the controversy.

According to The Buzz Log, “Self magazine admits it did airbrush the singer, but no more than they do every other cover model.”

You can compare her cover picture with the video clip of her photo shoot with Self Magazine.

I am wondering what they did to her face. Her face is more circle-shaped in the video clip and oval in the final cover.

You do have to wonder what kind of message this is sending to our women and girls. Here is some one who reports to be comfortable with her size, but the magazine opted to make her face and her weight more visually appealing, which means showing less of her.

I asked my 9-year-old and 7-year-old what was going on with the pictures. The 7-year-old immediately picked up on the fact that the cover picture was ’skinner’ than the other pictures. After I asked my 9-year-old what she though about them changing the cover, she said it was bad because they were lying about her weight.

Sources:
Zap C. 2009. The Buzz Log: Kelly Clarkson Cover Controversy Rocks The Web. Stop The Presses! Blog. Yahoo Music.
Mock J. 2009. Kelly Clarkson Photo Retouched to Make Her ‘Look Her Best’. People Magazine.

More on Truth in Advertising Weight Issues:

Dyer KA. 2008. Tyra Banks Retort on “Fat” Comments
Nutrition & Wellness Blog.
Dyer KA. 2008. Truth in Advertising: No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted. Nutrition & Wellness Blog.

Entry Filed under: Health News, Media and Nutrition, Truth in Advertising. Tags: Kelly Clarkson, Photoshopping, Self Magazine, Weight Management.