According to OMG! on Yahoo.com, the latest example of a photoshoping mishap brings up the issue of whether this editorial practice is harmful to women's body image or simply bad alteration of photos. In a recent campaign for Burberry, actress Emma Watson's leg appears to be missing. According to OMG!, this could be "the result of a post-photo shoot editing session gone terribly awry."

This isn't the first time we have recently seen such an editing snaffoo. On the cover of W, Demi Moore appeared to have had her body retouched to inhuman proportions. In fact, according to OMG!, a "portion of Moore's left hip appeared to have been digitally erased on the cover." Retouching is a common practice in altering the appearance of models and celebrities. The recent obvious alterations has caused Demi Moore to claim her picture was not retouched, suggesting that there is shame or denial about this common practice.

With the advent of photoshoping technologies, there have been many cases of retouching in ads and editorials leading to certain misperceptions about women's bodies. Some, like in the case of the Ralph Lauren controversy in which a model's waist was electronically withered away, claim that this sort of practice gives women the wrong message about what is the female ideal and what is attainable.

However, these misconceptions about female beauty can't be blamed solely on photoshoping. Women's appearance has been altered as long as there has been a concept of beauty, from bondage of feet in Ancient China, to makeup throughout the ages. The problem isn't the alterations themselves; instead, the problem lies in the expectation of the culture that women's bodies must be altered in the first place to meet some subjective standard of beauty.

One could even argue that it is better that a models waist be photoshoped rather than that some model undergoing plastic surgery. In this situation, it is only the image that is altered, avoiding the permanency and health risks that many women in today's culture actually experience. If the images of Emma Watson and Demi Moore are to be blamed as the root cause of female body dysmorphic disorder, then such accepted practices as mascara, stockings, and hair color should also be criticized.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/668956/melissa_miles_mccarter.html