There has been an explosive growth in the awareness and support surrounding the movement against body shaming within the last decade. However, working towards dismantling such a pervasive cultural expectation requires first taking apart the subsects that allow it to hold as much power over society in the first place. One of these subsects comes from the influence of Photoshop over the media, beauty and fashion industry. Photoshop, or any type of altering the presentation of body and facial features, creates a distorted concept of what it is to be attractive. Much of the research and response to extreme Photoshop reveals that exposure to these images can create a negative view of one's self. And this isn’t surprising, especially when the examples that are being repeatedly shown in magazines, websites and social media are of appearances that, while conventionally or culturally desirable, are not physically possible for the average individual to achieve without drastic and sometimes dangerous measures.

But, there are groups and individuals within the industry that are continuously fighting to change the industry’s dependence on and perception of Photoshop. A widespread myth within creators and consumers of products and advertisements is that Photoshop, much like sex, sells. But these groups, that have spoken out or removed Photoshop from their campaigns, are actively proving that assumption wrong.

Looking first at the individuals who have contributed to this fight, celebrities have been a huge influence on spreading the word about having the right to refuse to be Photoshopped and accepting their bodies as they are, pores and cellulite included. This bunch includes big names like Lady Gaga, Kate Winslet, and Zendaya, just to name a few. Each of which has been on the receiving end of unwanted Photoshop within the pages of big-name magazines or felt the pressure to conform to an industry standard. There are also celebrities who have taken up the challenge of becoming an advocate for body acceptance and body positivity, such as Demi Lovato, Amy Shumer, Chrissy Tegan and most recently, Kesha. They have all shared Instagram photos and magazine shoots specifically taken to display that beauty does not require shrinking thighs, vanishing wrinkles or removing rolls, but rather an acceptance and self-love that has been praised by their huge audiences.

Moving on to the groups that have also taken up this ideal, specific clothing and beauty companies such as American Eagle, Modcloth and Dove have also made the conscious move away from Photoshop completely, and have started diverse and body positive campaigns. Companies, like Modcloth, have been against Photoshop entirely for many years, while others, like Dove and Aerie, have jumped on the bandwagon to begin featuring body positive campaigns. Specifically, Aerie, an American Eagle-based lingerie and comfort clothing brand, introduced the #AerieREAL campaign with the promise to stay away from massive Photoshop and airbrushing. Since its launch, they have received a shocking amount of positive press, as well as a very considerable increase in sales. The #AerieREAL campaign has increased sales by 26 percent, proving once again that when women’s real bodies are shown positively, audience reaction is overwhelmingly positive.

Finally, within the media and magazine industry, certain brands have discontinued use of Photoshop in their print and online issues. As the industry that has been largely responsible for some of the most astounding Photoshop fails, it’s encouraging to see others stepping away from the industry standard to promote better representation. Seventeen Magazine as been a pioneer in this industry, after it banned Photoshop on its editorial content back in 2012. This came about due to the incredible efforts of 14-year-old Julia Bluhm, who created a petition and received signatures of support from over 84,000 individuals. The petition requested that Seventeen Magazine include at least one un-retouched photo in each issue. After seeing the massive influx of support for the idea, Seventeen agreed, and even upped the stakes to create the standards they hold themselves to now.

These three contributing facets of the industry have made considerable headway in tackling the Photoshop expectation. While there is still much to do in the effort to increase body positivity and decrease body shaming, making changes like these display that real, un-retouched images creates a counterculture movement that encourages people to be and accept themselves, and increases the pressure on other companies to follow in their competition's footsteps. Hopefully, with time and continuous effort, we will come to a point in time where body positivity replaces Photoshop as the industry standard.