If you think about it, the anti-Photoshop movement has hit a lull. Where brands and media companies were once crafting entire campaigns around the hashtag "#unretouched," it seems like some have reverted back to their old ways of editing women's bodies. Thankfully, those at the brunt of the issue continue to speak out against the unnecessary changes made. The latest is Emily Ratajkowski, who called out French fashion magazine Madame Figaro on Instagram Friday for tweaking her lips and breasts on its latest cover.
In the post, the model expressed her disappointment with the final edit. "Everyone is uniquely beautiful in their own ways. We all have insecurities about the things that make us different from a typical ideal of beauty. I, like so many of us, try every day to work past those insecurities," she wrote. "I was extremely disappointed to see my lips and breasts altered in photoshop on this cover. I hope the fashion industry will finally learn to stop trying to stifle the things that make us unique and instead begin to celebrate individuality."
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First thing's first: She's right. No ifs, ands, or but(t)s. Whether someone is conventionally thin or not by society's standards doesn't give anyone the right to modify their bodies, especially without permission. Ratajkowski also raises an important, often overlooked point of the debate: Everyone has their own baggage about certain features already. Why make it worse by changing them to what they already think other people think they should look like instead? Most of the comments range from unconditional support for the model-actress, to others who think she looks better in the original.
Ratajkowski has previously spoken out about a similar issue, in which she's experienced similar judgement. Telling Harper's Bazaar Australia just last month, she revealed: "People don't want to work with me because my boobs are too big." Just weeks before, she endured even more body shaming when commenters harassed her on social media for being "too skinny." Internet, you're better than that. And magazines, you are too.