Getty Images To Ban Photoshopped Images That Make Models Look Thinner
Believe it or not, realism is a scarce currency in the world of fashion photography. Many times, in fact, almost every time there is a face on a magazine cover, it gets retouched in a painstaking effort to fit the rigid expectations of society. Physical beauty, while supposedly in the eye of the beholder, is usually beholden to a photo editor with a copy of Adobe Creative Suite. Hence, why we all feel such a painful tinge of shame towards our own horrific bodies, but I digress.
Finally, someone has said “No more.”
Getty Images, the world's largest supplier of stock photographs, and its subsidiary iStock will no longer accept photographs in which a model's body size or shape has been significantly altered. The agency's latest policy comes in tandem with a new law in France that passed the legislation back in May, which requires magazine publishers to include a statement of disclosure when the body size or shape of a model in an image has been retouched. Both Getty Images' policy and the French law will officially go into effect on October 1st, 2017.
In a statement released today, Getty further clarified that the new rule prohibiting retouched images will be limited to alteration of a model's body size, leaving other controversial aspects like skin color and facial contour in the grey area (cited below). In recent years, several American celebrities who are people of color, such as Beyoncé and Kerry Washington, have called out publishers for lightening their skin color in the magazine cover photos.
"Please note that other changes made to models like a change of hair color, nose shape, retouching of skin or blemishes, etc., are outside the scope of this new law, and are therefore still acceptable."
While the industry giant's outright banning of retouching body size could effectively put an end to the practice altogether, the French regulation of body-shaming in the fashion industry is far more comprehensive and exacting than that. According to The Verge, in addition to making sure that the photograph isn’t a false representation of the model, the law will also require fashion houses to keep models healthy by employing runway models sized 34 or higher, equivalent to women's dress size 4 in the United States, and having their body mass index regularly examined by a doctor. Failure to comply with the law can result in a fine of about $86,000 (or £64,000).
"Retouched" photographs of celebrities and fashion models have sparked a number of controversies in the past few years. One of the most infamous episodes occurred in 2014, when Jezebel leaked unaltered images from Terry Richardson's Mariah Carey photoshoot before they were retouched for publication. More recently, Spider-man: Homecoming actress Zendaya spoke out on Instagram about her “19-year-old hips” getting photoshopped.
With the practice finally on the way out, it is time to get used to seeing a model’s body for what it really is: still pretty thin. There’s that feeling of shame again.