Lady Gaga Vogue Cover Airbrushed Beyond Recognition: My Interview

I was recently interviewed about Lady Gaga’s Vogue Cover.

Perhaps people feel that all’s fair in love and fashion, but the Lady Gaga Vogue cover photo speaks much more that a thousand words. See the video of her photo-shoot here.

When a Superstar like Gaga is known for encouraging every young person to be proud for being “born this way,” embracing extreme photo-shopping can feel incongruent.  She is made to look impossibly thin, poreless and perfect.

Young kids may look at that photo and think, ‘if even this outspoken, unique, quirky icon can’t be authentically herself, what does it say about her message and what does it say about me?’ We need our revered celebrities to take a stand and tell the media where they must draw the line.

We all know that photo-shopping is typical– and I don’t begrudge magazine editors basic tweaks to ensure that the cover looks it’s best for sale– but shaving off half a person’s waist, nearly eradicating her knees, shaving down the structure of her face makes Lady Gaga appear as a parody of herself rather than the symbol of authenticity and individuality she has always been known to be.

I admire this woman and what she stands for and I wish her message of authenticity was carried through in this popular photo shoot.  If it’s all for “art” then let it be said loudly with a Surgeon General Warning of sorts– “Constantly Being Exposed to Impossible Standards Such As This One May Be Harmful to Your Mental Health.”

These photos will definitely be put in my presentation “Media Masquerade” that I’ve been doing nationally since the release of Good Girls Don’t Get Fat (my weight obsession and body image book). At least it can be a springboard for discussion with girls, their parents and their mentors– and for that, perhaps we can be grateful.