The Arnie Effect

The use of muscular men and impossibly thin models to sell products will always be controversial. While those images can be used to influence people, it also means that we as consumers need to be media literate. So while we are bombarded with images of what we should look like, at least to the companies that want to sell us a product, we need to be aware of that very fact, that the images of these beautiful people are there for the sole purpose of making us feel like we need something more, and just maybe it's the product these particular models happen to be selling.

While these images could contribute to eating disorders or steroid abuse, again, I think the main responsibility with that lies with the individual. While everyone wants to look perfect like they do in movies are magazines, by increasing our media literacy, we will realize that these people look that perfect with a lot of help, whether it's steroid abuse or Photoshop, no one looks that good without a lot of help.

Using normal sized models is something I don't have an issue with, although that may also be another sneaky advertising ploy. Instead of automatically rejecting a product because the models they are using are impossibly good looking, instead seeing someone who looks normal may fool me into thinking that I would enjoy whatever product they're using, because they're normal just like me. However, in the grand scheme of things, I find using normal models to be less of an issue than thin models.

In theory I don't have an issue with the use of magazines using Photoshop, after all they're trying to sell a product, and if they feel they need to change the image they're using to do that, that's up to their discretion. Again, I believe the onus falls on us, as consumers, to vote with our dollars and increase our media literacy. If magazines realize they're not selling products due to altered images, then those practices will change.

This clip is from the movie Bigger, Stronger, Faster which is a documentary about steroids, created by a former steroid user who got tired of trying to keep up with all his magazine heroes. I found this particular segment to be pretty telling as far as what advertisers imply, and that it's on us if we fail to realize that X product doesn't magically make us look like the models that are representing the product.