” As people stepped on to the red carpet, lights flashed as a photographer called out instructions, turn left, look this way, perfect. The Hollywood style entrance was to premier the documentary America the Beautiful. The producer Daryl Roberts flew in for the events, asking the question what causes us to buy into the idea of a perfect woman.”
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As people stepped on to the red carpet, lights flashed as a photographer called out instructions, turn left, look this way, perfect.

The Hollywood style entrance was to premier the documentary America the Beautiful.

The producer Daryl Roberts flew in for the events, asking the question what causes us to buy into the idea of a perfect woman.

One example was that of a fashion model Gerren Taylor, with a 38-inch hips and a lean 6 foot-tall frame. People watched her walk the runway and hang out at the after parties. With topless women drinking and splashing around in a roof top pool, the audience discovered that Taylor was only 12 years old.

The documentary followed Taylor through her first trip to New York fashion week where she booked Tommy Hilfiger, Betsey Johnson, Marc Jacobs and Tracy Reese shows. To her trying to succeed in Europe when failing to book a show in the U.S. she found that she was to big as they want models with a 35 inch hips.

When she returned to the United States the audience watches her breakdown as she sees flaws in her flat stomach and shows the camera what she thinks are stretch marks.

She then tells the camera, I’m ugly.

Roberts looked to the media as a source to why women may have issues with their bodies and appearances. Celebrities like Britney Spears and Anna Kournikova along with women from music videos were shown as an example of why some women have issues with their bodies.

Roberts took some time to talk to men about the issue, one discussed how not having six-pack abs was a problem for him.

What’s the importance of a six-pack, Roberts asked the man.

I don’t know, was all he could respond with.

This was followed by Dove’s 2006 campaign which shows a model go through hair, make-up, a photoshoot and then airbrushing before anyone ever sees the ad.

We do whatever it takes to make a perfect image, Mark Baptiste, a fashion photographer said.

This brought up the question, is it right and fair to blame the media for the public’s views on what is beautiful. The film even discussed pets getting plastic surgery such as ear cropping and others.

Roberts went to a meeting with a woman and her plastic surgeon in which she asked her surgeon for a vagina like a woman in Playboy.

With the increase in plastic surgery in recent years, it was no surprise to anyone in the audience that he explored the topic.

He stated that there has been an increase in 14-16 year old girls visiting plastic surgeons. One 15 year-old aspiring model told her mother that plastic surgery was a woman’s best friend when asked if she would consider going under the knife.

One model that chose to remain anonymous spoke of how she had to lose at least 15 pounds to model even though she was already 6-feet-tall.

Health is not an option in this business, she said. If you’re worried about health then go to college.

After the screening, Roberts held a question and answer session with the audience, answering questions like how did you get interested in this topic to how can we help others be OK with their bodies.

The one issue that he kept bringing up was awareness, saying that awareness week is not long enough.

He spoke of MTV’s Model Makers that was a reality show that told its contestants to lose as much weight as possible and whoever lost the most weight would receive a cash prize and a modeling contract. Roberts began calling MTV and asking the public to speak up and ask MTV not to air the show. The show was canceled.

With all the information from the movie and the question and answer session, he said the one thing he wanted people to walk away with was that beauty is real.

Beauty is not conforming to an image in a magazine, he said. Beauty is optimal health and that means something different for everyone.

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