Being a woman who has grown up in the digital age, I can honestly say that I have retouched many a photo before posting it to my social media account. Today, I was asked why I chose to filter or alter my photos and that is a question I, up until today, never wanted to sit down with myself and ask. The harsh truth is, however, that I often think I look ugly or fat in the photos that people take of me. When I take the photos, I have the control to chose which one I like best and then to even alter it still to make myself look more beautiful. The sad truth is that I know I’m far from being alone. For many generations before me, women have been dressed by men from the design of their clothes to how they should behave and look at all times. In the 21st century, although we have hard won freedoms, we are still being subjected to the pressure to look “perfect” from the magazines we read, to the pictures we see of famous women, to the photos we ourselves feel compelled to alter just to feel some self esteem.

In France any “commercial” image of a model whose bodily appearance has been digitally or otherwise altered has to be labeled “photographie retouchée,” or retouched photograph. My friends, I think France has got the right idea, but it’s just a start. Why do we retouch photos on a grand scale like this in media? The age old moniker “sex sells” is probably part of it, but money seems to me to be the real root of evil here. If you as a woman, or a man or non-binary person, see someone who looks like you and they’re photo shopped to have perfect skin or the perfect figure, you might not feel so great about yourself. Oh and the one who has perfect skin, well that add is probably selling make-up or acne medication. It’s all a ploy to get you to buy that new piece of gym equipment or membership, get the tan, buy the car or whatever else. America, I think it’s time we said enough.

One bit of good news for anyone tired of comparing themselves to the impossible epitome of perfection is that we might start seeing less of touched-up images. Getty Images, the largest stock photo agency in the world, has declared that it will no longer accept images “depicting models whose body shapes have been retouched to make them look thinner or larger.” My hope is that they would also do the work to remove any images already in their database of edited photos, however I am certainly applauding this effort to change the image of people back to a realistic one. We need to perpetuate a society that loves people just as they are, one that praises imperfections and one that teaches us to love our bodies. One day my husband and I would like to have children and I never want my child to feel like they are inadequate. We need to push this movement forward and encourage all of our idols and media platforms to get rid of the fake and bring in the real.

If you would like to contribute to the cause, I researched some great organizations who are helping to win this battle of self-love for us. Just check out the links below!

https://abc7news.com/fatkini-fat-shaming-curvy-plus-sized/252490/ – “Fatkini” Hashtag went viral in support of women in all sizes looking beautiful in bikinis. Some photos are still altered or filtered, but there is still some groundbreaking improvement here.

https://www.curvykate.com/ – Lengerie for women with them curves! Holy Jesus, it’s about time.

https://now.org/now-foundation/love-your-body/ – You can donate to this awesome foundation who promotes healthy self-talk and love for your body at any size.

https://www.instagram.com/feministunicorn/ – Instagram sensation, she shows how great she is and how confident she is, unfiltered.

Resources:

Dent, S. (2020, February 28). Getty bans images photoshopped to make models look thinner. Retrieved June 16, 2020, from https://www.engadget.com/2017-09-27-getty-bans-photoshop-images-models-thinner.html

Friedman, V. (2017, May 8). A New Age in French – Modeling. Retrieved June 16, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/fashion/france-laws-thin-models.html

McKelle, E. (2015, April 15). 9 Social Media Campaigns That Are Changing Fashion. Retrieved June 16, 2020, from https://www.bustle.com/articles/75539-9-body-positive-social-media-campaigns-that-are-changing-how-we-perceive-beauty-both-in-and