Woman photoshops herself 126 times to highlight unrealistic beauty standards
One artist is arguing against society's definitions of beauty with a captivating video.
Kelsey Higley, 22, is a photographer and video artist from Tulsa, Okla. Higley has been receiving national attention for Manipulated, a video combined of 126 manipulated photos, where she looks as if she is reanimating her body to fit society's unrealistic beauty standards. Higley shrinks her waist, widens her eyes, and expands her chest in the striking video.
"Being a young woman, I have had many battles with this idea of beauty," Higley told ABC. "I'll go through stages where all I want in life is to be super fit with rock hard abs and big boobs, then after a while I'll flip to the other side and tell myself that I should love and embrace the body I have...the reason why some of my modifications are so extreme is to comment on how unrealistic some of society's beauty standards are."
In conjunction with the video, Higley has also included a photo series consisting of women dressed to fit the typical beauty standards of various points in western civilization.
"The work is a commentary on not only these unrealistic idealizations of beauty, but also the women's desire to be attractive," Higley explains. "Women will go through great lengths (starving themselves, undergoing cosmetic plastic surgery, removing hair, etc.) to modify their natural body and achieve what society believes is beautiful."
Higley says that the positive reaction to her video has been overwhelming.
"It all seems so unreal," Higley told ABC. "I'm really excited that my message is getting out there and I hope that my video is eye-opening to people who don't understand why discussing body image is such an important conversation to have."
