An Iranian news agency called Fars made news recently when they published an altered photo of the
U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama attending the Academy Awards this past Sunday.
The original photo showed the first lady wearing a silver dress that showed a
little bit of chest and shoulders, something that is against the moral code of
Iranians. The news agency "fixed" the photograph by adding sleeves
and more chest area to the dress. Also, Iranian news agencies admitted that
this is not the first time a photo of an American celebrity woman has been
altered in the Middle East. Mariah Carey is another notable woman who has had
her photo altered in the region for "morality issues."
Analyzing this article critically brings to light
interesting differences when comparing our culture with that of the Middle
East. It has been widely publicized that oftentimes women in American
advertising have been altered and edited to make themselves more
"attractive" and "sexy." Now it is being noted that the same
activity is occurring in the Middle East, but it is producing almost the
complete opposite results. In other
words, while America wants more skin, the Middle East wants to see less.
It's thought-provoking to see the significant difference in
morality between the two countries. But what's even more interesting is the
fact that neither culture is morally against editing and altering photos of
women. Both cultures are classifying these women as "objects." This
problem is typically associated with the United States, and is widely known,
but is never brought up when discussing Middle Eastern media. Another
significant factor occurring in this situation is the fact that Iran (and other
Middle Eastern countries) still censor things like this from its citizens. This
proves that there is still moral inequality almost everywhere, no matter where
you go.
