Instagram is filled with hundreds of accounts dedicated to “before and after” photos of how celebrities look, supposedly lifting the lid on perfection—but our fascination with them could be having a detrimental effect on our mental health.
Is Our Cultural Obsession With Celebrity Transformations Ruining Our Self-Esteem?
Last month, Demi Moore opened the show at Kim Jones’s debut couture collection for Fendi. Although the actor was followed down the runway by the likes of Naomi Campbell and Bella Hadid, it was Moore who had people talking thanks, in large part, to her seemingly accentuated cheekbones and lips.
Her “new” look sparked endless discussion on social media, and the press speculated on procedures the 58-year-old star may have undergone to achieve this apparently altered face. Was it filler? Buccal fat removal? Just some intense contouring? Like so many other stars, musicians, and models over the years who have committed the crime of aging in the public eye, the details of Moore’s transformation were pored over, side-by-side photographs scrutinized and dissected.
The obsession with celebrity transformations
This game of digital spot-the-difference is just one example of our enduring cultural fascination with celebrity transformations. Formerly the bread and butter of weekly gossip magazines, this obsession has found a new home on social media. Today, Instagram is filled with eagle-eyed accounts that exist solely to satisfy our collective appetite for uncovering and exposing the perceived enhancements and modifications, whether digital or surgical, of famous people.
With clinical precision, these accounts pick apart transformations, poking a hole in the illusion of perfection and thriving on the schadenfreude that results. For their services, accounts such as @CelebFace and @Beauty.False attract millions of followers. But what motivates someone to dedicate large portions of their time to playing celebrity surgery sleuth? What is the goal and, the biggest question of all, what effect is this having on both them and us?
“Every day on social media, we are faced with these images of ‘perfect beauty’ and it makes you lose confidence,” says Anastasia of @Beauty.False. Inspired by her own feelings of insecurity and hoping to help others in the same position, Anastasia set up the account to lift the lid on notions of “perfection” and bring comfort to those who compare themselves to it. “A huge amount of work and money goes into a celebrity’s appearance, but because of the lack of information, the audience thinks it’s natural. It makes us think, ‘Why am I so far from this perfect appearance?’” But when you see all the work behind the look, Anastasia says, you realize the reality: “You start to understand that your idols are ordinary people—just like you.”
This story originally appeared on: Vogue - Author:Alex Peters
