Michelle Obama Gets Airbrushed Makeover

What do you think of the March 23 cover of New York Magazine? Have they created a flattering illustration of First Lady Michelle Obama, or a subtly racist makeover?

Everyone has an opinion about it. Here's one we found on Pixcetera.com:

"The image on the right was admittedly Photoshopped by New York magazine.

The credit deems it an "illustration." However, what's been changed on Mrs. Obama is a bit worrisome.

The makeup is overboard and almost garish. What is the point of this grossly demeaning cover image?

Do the editors want people to think a Michelle Obama Barbie is about to be released? If so, good job -- if not, why not just a photograph instead of this overdone distortion?

Some people have found it disturbing that New York magazine paints Michelle to look more Caucasian. And who wears that shade of pink?

Check out more daring Photoshopped magazine work here.
Practically every magazine picture of a celebrity that you see is digitally altered. This is a rule and has been written about extensively.

I don't know about you, but I can't see Michelle Obama choosing Fuscia lipstick. That odd alteration begs the obvious, overarching question: just who is deciding on how these photos are altered and what looks good?

From Wikipedia:

The growing popularity of image manipulation has raised concern as to whether it allows for unrealistic images to be portrayed to the public. In her article "On Photography" (1977), Susan Sontag discusses the objectivity, or lack thereof, in photography, concluding that "photographs, which fiddle with the scale of the world, themselves get reduced, blown up, cropped, retouched, doctored and tricked out"[11] A practice widely used in the magazine industry, the use of Photoshop on an already subjective photograph creates a constructed reality for the individual and it can become difficult to differentiate fact from fiction. With the potential to alter body image, debate continues as to whether manipulated images, particularly those in magazines, contribute to self-esteem issues in both men and women. Source

If you are trying to measure up to the celebrities you see in the magazines, just stop. That will never happen because it's all make believe. READ MORE - Celebrity Retouching 10 reasons to revise your reality
READ MORE - TOP 15 Manipulated Photographs