It is no mystery that fashion magazines touch up their photos by using photoshop and other tools, but there has been tons of backlash in recent years from a culture where men and women are taught to love their bodies. We see celebrities and models on the cover of numerous magazines with stick thin legs and gorgeous photoshopped facial features, but we crave to see something new and refreshing such as an untouched photo of natural curves and imperfections.
That is exactly what Glamour Magazine is giving us. Actress Lena Dunham posted Glamour Magazine’s January cover on her Instagram, which shows the star actresses of the hit TV show “Girls” as well as Dunham’s untouched legs. Her Instagram caption read, “Well, today this body is on the cover of a magazine that millions of women will read, without photoshop, my thigh on full imperfect display.” Dunham also posted an Instagram video praising Glamour magazine for letting her “cellulite shine on the cover.”
In a letter Lena Dunham wrote back in March of last year she said, “The gap between what I believe and what I allow to be done to my image has to close now.” Dunham, along with other celebrities, has fought back against magazines and photographers who photoshop her images by saying, “This body is the only one I have. I love it for what it has given me. I hate it for what it’s denied me.”
Is this going to be the new norm for magazines? Are photoshopping editorials going to be a thing of the past? Well, this is definitely a step in the right direction and we’re hoping this starts a new wave of fashion! Dunham has never been one to shy away from controversy and has always been open about her past body shaming experiences and the cruelty she faced while growing up.
That cruelty didn’t stop when she was younger and actually continued into her adult life, especially once she became a public figure. Dunham has been a voice for women who are proud of the skin they’re in and has always stood behind the notion that men and women should own their bodies and be comfortable with that they were born with.
Scientific American says that 10 percent of men and 90 percent of women have cellulite. So, why do magazines still portray an unrealistic depiction of what our bodies “should” look like? Since everyone essentially has it, why isn’t cellulite the norm? This has been a common question over the years, but few magazines have stepped up to the plate to take a stance, so hats off to you Glamour!
