proud of their bodies are digitally slimmed (and placed next to headlines about “total body confidence”). Women of color are lightened. Though we generally notice the more egregious offenses, when a magazine cover barely resembles the celebrity it’s supposed to portray, we’re so jaded that we let it fly, much as we accept that a Picasso is going to kind of look just about person-esque. Above, the way Beyonce

really looks compared with how

she appeared in 2008 L'Oreal ad. Now scientists at Dartmouth can identify precisely how cubist a cover photo has become on a scale of 1 to 5. Computer science Professor Hany Farid and doctor student Eric Kee can not only figure out how much retouching has taken place but can also draw up a nice little map with indicators of exactly which parts have been pumped up, slimmed down, colored, smoothed, or full-on replaced. A photo of Fergie—not an uncurvy woman to begin with—shows, thermography-style, a rainbow bulls-eye over her digitally augmented breasts, as well as patches on her torso where imaginary waist flab and back fat have been removed.

I don't think I have to explain what it says about our society when women celebrities are airbrushed because magazine editors think they're a bit too heavy or a little too dark. This reinforcement of destructive and racist stereotypes for commercial purposes is hardly new. The question is, after so long, why hasn't the practice been hounded into extinction? As Caperton at Feministe writes , we just take it for granted:

You especially should check out the toggle switches available at the "Fergie" link above.

Some will argue that celebrities contribute to this re-imaging all for a buck, so who cares what they're made to look like. But they're not the primary victims. It is rather those people, many of them kids, who are nudged by these digital makeovers into self-loathing and eating disorders and consequently pour their dollars into the gigantic markets for diet pills and skin lighteners.

On this date at Daily Kos in 2007:

Ron Paul has been attracting support from some unlikely quarters, mainly due to ignorance of his positions on anything much but Iraq. You may know the man is crazy, but convincing others is the task. So, without further ado, here (greatly condensed from the definitive take-down at Orcinus) are some concrete positions he's taken to cite when you want to push back against your Paul-bot in-laws, co-workers, and assorted acquaintances ... • Ron Paul has tried to repeal the Occupational Health and Safety Act, to abolish the minimum wage, and to eviscerate Social Security. ... • Ron Paul wants to dismantle the Federal Reserve and prepare for a return to the Gold Standard, which would destroy the economy.

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