Stars up in arms against airbrushing

An untouched picture of Cindy Crawford with wrinkles, cellulite and sun spots has gone viral, and women see it as a step in the right direction in encouraging a healthy body image.
The anti-airbrushing brigade of celebrities has just gotten stronger, with Cindy Crawford releasing an untouched picture of herself in lingerie. The picture has received overwhelming response on social media. Many said that they loved the 48-year-old model more after seeing her with all her imperfections — cellulite and body freckles.
Breaking the perfect beauty myth
The desperation to look good affects women more than men, making them resort to cosmetic surgery and radical diets, the most recent cases being that of Renee Zellweger and Uma Thurman, who look very different from their usual selves.These efforts not only open them up to more criticism and mockery, but also lead to depression, eating disorders and influence a skewed perception of beauty among other women. Says author Usha Narayanan, “How does an average woman on a limited budget cope with these pressures to buy diet and beauty products or undergo cosmetic procedures? So, we need more Cindys and Keiras (Knightley) to protest, to stand up for women who are trying to cope with the signs of natural ageing. The message that needs to be shared is this — Perfection is a myth. Be proud of the way you look. To see a celebrity who is not overtly concerned about ageing is like a breath of fresh air.” Psychologist Varkha Chulani says, “The more you are at ease with how you look, the more gracefully you’ll age. It needs a mindset lift rather than a facelift to alter the way you view your body. The very fact that Cindy Crawford has asked for no airbrushing indicates her comfort with herself. For a supermodel, this action indicates that she sees herself as more than a body. It is indeed a 180 degree revamp of our outlook.”
From runway to getting real: Other international actresses who took a stand against airbrushing
Beyoncé Knowles
The singer-actress, known for promoting a healthy body image, was furious to find herself looking thinner in images that were shot for a Swedish label. She made sure they replaced the airbrushed images with her original photos. Interestingly, several raw images of Beyoncé were recently leaked online as well.
Lady Gaga
The singer is often known to speak her mind against the use of photoshopping. Commenting on one such instance, she was reported as saying, “I felt my skin looked too perfect. I felt my hair looked too soft. I do not look like this when I wake up in the morning.” She called for young people to fight against “forces” that make “them feel that they are not beautiful”.
Gisele Bundchen
Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen has often been known to take a stand against photoshopping and makeup, saying “women should be really real and raw”. The model, however, was mired in controversy when she allowed her baby bump to be airbrushed for a fashion label a few years ago. In her defence, she said her pregnancy was sacred to her, which she didn’t want to share with the world.
Keira Knightley
The actress posed topless for a magazine against airbrushing. “I think women’s bodies are a battleground and photography is partly to blame,” said the actress, who made sure that the photos were unedited so that people could see what she really looked like. In the past, Keira found her breasts were edited to look bigger on the poster of King Arthur.
Kate Winslet
The Titanic actress took a stand when a magazine airbrushed her image to make her look slim. She was also not amused when filmmakers used airbrushing technique to hide her wrinkles. “I will particularly say when I look at movie posters, ‘You guys have airbrushed my forehead. Please can you change it back?’,” she said in an interview.
Ageing is normal, say Indian models
"It requires guts to pose for a picture like that, especially in today’s day and age when propagation of perfection in physical appearance is gaining frightening momentum (no matter the age). Physical ageing is a reality, but it’s the attitude that makes Cindy Crawford’s picture gorgeous. She proves that true beauty is absolutely ageless." - Dipannita Sharma
"I think the image of Cindy is a step in the right direction. It sends a positive message out to impressionable teenagers about ageing lines and wrinkles being a part of process called life. I don’t understand why women need to fight it so much." — Fleur Xavier
"Age is just a number and Cindy Crawford has made a real gutsy move. Natural beauty is always better than plastic beauty." — Binal Trivedi
"Rarely do we see celebs making such bold moves. And this comes about when you’re confident in your own skin. Fashion critics just rip you apart when you don’t look good in a picture. So, Cindy is an inspiration in a plastic-obsessed world. It is time to liberate oneself from the clutches of anxiety that come about from a wrinkle, love handle, stretch marks and sagging skin." — Anchal Kumar
Did you know?
One of the earliest airbrushed photographs was that of President Lincoln. His head was merged with another politician’s body.
Oprah Winfrey’s image was once fused with another actress’ body to add a sophisticated, trim waistline. Other parts of her body were enhanced using an airbrushing technique as well.