Death, taxes and unrealistic beauty standards: the three things all women can expect in their lifetime.
In my lifetime as a 35 year old woman, I have watched my features go in and out of ‘style’, as if bodies are a fashion trend. I have watched women be told we should have: big boobs, small boobs, big arses, small arses, ‘natural’ makeup, full glam makeup, big thighs, thigh gaps… etc, etc.
It’s honestly exhausting and even knowing intellectually that this is all bullshit doesn’t help the pangs of feeling like you and your body are ‘not quite right’ from one season to the next.
Now, in an astonishing move, premium fashion brand Guess have run an advert in the newest issue of Vogue which features an AI model.
The BBC explains: “In August’s print edition of Vogue, a Guess advert features a flawless blonde model showing off a striped maxi dress and a floral playsuit from the brand’s summer collection.
“In small print in one corner, the ad reveals that she was created using AI.”
Vogue states that the AI model was not an editorial decision but it is the first time an AI-generated property has featured in the magazine.
Body image issues can contribute to poor mental health
According to research from the Mental Health Foundation, one in five adults have felt shame, just over one-third have felt down or low, and 19% have felt disgusted by their body image in the last year.
The foundation explains: “Research has found that higher body dissatisfaction is associated with a poorer quality of life, psychological distress and the risk of unhealthy eating behaviours and eating disorders.”
Additionally, the charity outlines that exposure to images of idealised or unrealistic bodies through media or social media can contribute to poor body image problems.
So, this is how many of us feel when we see real bodies being idealised in the media, but now we also have to mentally compete with models that are generated entirely by artificial intelligence.
Speaking to the BBC, Felicity Hayward, a plus-size model, says that Vogue’s decision to include the advert is, “very disheartening and quite scary”, and she worries that it could undermine years of work towards more diversity in the industry.
We thought we had a long way to go to improve diversity and body acceptance but this has just made it all the more difficult.
