Watch! It

In the spirit of posting more pithy and current observations, I'll comment on today's breaking news: CBS has been busted for using Photoshopped pictures of Katie Couric that make her look thinner than she is. I'm not sure why this is a big deal. The before and after pics (always fun) just look like a good tailor paid attention to her jacket seam. And in case you didn't catch the original of the doctored photograph, it was published in "the September issue of Watch! which is distributed at CBS stations and on American Airlines flights." In other words, who cares?

The CBS President has expressed "surprise and disappointment," but it's not clear why. Without sounding cynical about a stain on the journalistic integrity of Watch!, this probably has more to do with the actual leak of before and after photographs on the internet. Or maybe the real news is that Couric is less skinny than I thought she would be, for someone who's made news for being a cute young person taking on a job traditionally held by older, serious men. Are the media trying to warn all of us of our impending disappointment, in case we tune in to the evening news expecting to see more light between Couric's arm and ribcage?

Me, I prefer to think that any corporate "disappointment" is a reaction to the implicit invalidation of Couric's body -- and for the message sent to women everywhere that, no matter how successful we are in the world of men, we still must be "fixed" until we are an appropriate size and shape.

But, nope. It's not because they photoshopped her -- just that they went too far, and got caught. Photographs of models and celebrities are constantly modified to look more "perfect." Last year, Aisha Tyler (actor, writer and official beautiful skinny woman) wrote an essay in Glamour with her own before-and-after photos, including retouching instructions (such as "fix stray hairs," "make legs thinner," and a few ominous notations about lightening her skin). This is apparently old news (searching for an archived article, I only find that everyone's already blogged about it); But check out this great before/after of Britney Spears.

Yes yes, women constantly get the message that we aren't thin and perfect enough. The propogation of fake photos is a lie so pervasive, it's easy to forget it's all around us. The other day I found myself feeling inferior to a woman in an animated TV commercial. She had such luxurious hair. Another successful moment of seduction -- since I can't afford an actual Photoshop amputation, I can be lured into purchasing shampoos, cosmetics and pills that promise to rid me of my undesirable physicality. It's not just "blemishes" like pimples and scars that make me feel imperfect -- but the very pores, hairs skin and fat that make us human. The joke is, there is no perfection -- Just an industry that says "give us your money" without caring if we give up our selves. The tragedy is, our bodies aren't just another accessory. They are our living us -- our skeletons, our thighs, our freckles and our cellulite. Objectification and commodification of (usually women's) bodies and appearance aren't just amusing and annoying. These are are the fruit -- or maybe the roots -- of our culture of death.

It's a joke and a lie. And we believe it, again and again. It's such old news. Maybe when more of us become as wealthy and powerful as Couric, there will be more surprise and disappointment about it. And we can respond, as she did, that we prefer ourselves as we are.

Links:
Nerds Demand Katie Couric Be Fatter

And today's New York Post Front Page