FREAK OUT TIME! You guys, Self magazine digitally altered Kelly Clarkson’s photo for the cover of their September issue. They changed her body and her face so that she looks thinner and prettier. I think we should all get really upset about this and start bitching about the media’s contribution to unhealthy female body images, because this is the first time ever that anything like this has ever happened.
Self’s editor, Lucy Danziger, weighs in on the controversy on her personal blog:
Pictures are meant to tell a story, express a feeling, convey an emotion or capture a moment. Portraits like the one we take each month for the cover of SELF are not supposed to be unedited or a true-to-life snapshot (more on that in a moment). When the cover girl arrives at the shoot, she is usually unmade up and casually dressed, and could be mistaken for a member of the crew or the editorial team in many cases. Once we do her makeup and hair, and dress her in beautifully styled outfits and then light her, we then set the best portrait photographer we can on a road to finding a pose and capturing a moment that shows her at her best. … Then we edit the film and choose the best pictures. This is done in tandem with the star; the creative director, Cindy Searight; the photographer; and myself. Then we allow the postproduction process to happen, where we mark up the photograph to correct any awkward wrinkles in the blouse, flyaway hair and other things that might detract from the beauty of the shot. This is art, creativity and collaboration. It’s not, as in a news photograph, journalism. It is, however, meant to inspire women to want to be their best. That is the point.
Here’s what I think is interesting: Every single cover photo of every single women’s magazine since the beginning of digital technology has been digitally altered. Every. Single. One. That’s basically what Lucy is saying here. They Photoshop Kate Moss. They Photoshop Angelina Jolie. They Photoshop Jennifer Lopez and Tyra Banks and Gisele Bundchen. They Photoshop their bodies and their faces and their teeth and their lips and their lighting and the color of their clothing and their hair and their makeup. This happens always.
Why is the decision to digitally alter Kelly Clarkson such a big deal?
Because Kelly Clarkson is a big girl with an average face, and every woman who stops short of a size two and doesn’t naturally have Angelina lips and a button nose feels a need to defend Kelly Clarkson’s right to be a big girl with an average face. And that’s just fine, but I think it’s worth noting: We don’t throw hissy fits when they digital alter thin and beautiful women. Aren’t we, if anything, unfairly picking on Kelly’s plainness by causing an uproar over this photo?
I think it’s because they seriously took about 80 lbs off of her.
That’s a very interesting article, and yeah, I think people are being unfair. However, I find it ironic how everyone is a-okay with photoshopping women who have got a pretty much perfect body and face (Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson), but throw a fit when a girl who might not be as pretty is photoshopped. We have to get used to this photoshopping, it’s just a marketing strategy, and remind ourselves that no woman we see on any magazine cover looks like that in real life. This is the 21st century’s new paintings – I’m sure Mona Lisa didn’t look like that, and neither did all the inbred kings from Europe.
Who cares? I met Kelly a few years ago is she is just a great person. I think she is gorgeous! She is a chunky now but she don’t give a fuck what people think. I think more people need that attitude.
Interesting insight on the controversy of photoshopping Kelly Clarkson vs. Tyra, Angelina, e.t.c. SINGING is Kelly’s talent, not her looks, so I really dgaf whether shes a size 2 or 10 and so should Self.
You could make the argument that acting is Angelina’s talent. I’m sure that’s what she’d say.
I think beet is 100% right. I also didnt notice that Kelly was much thinner on the cover. Maybe it is bc her face is so wide, but she still looks plump to me.However they do photoshop Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce, Jessica Simpson, Miley face of a dog Cyrus.
Mireee made a really interesting point there actually, about magazine cover models being the 21st Century paintings. I guess that’s a good way of looking at it. c:
This seems a bit like the Susan Boyle thing; no one makes much of a fuss when a pretty, slim girl turns up on a talent show with a good voice. But if someone who is fat turns up, or average/ugly-looking, everyone just seems amazed that they can sing and it makes headlines.
People really need a kick up the arse sometimes.
I know that all pics are digitally enhanced these days, but the particular issue with this one is they CHANGED her body SOOO much. I mean a little tweak here and there, is one thing but like 11:47 said they took a ton of weight off of her. Along with a big ol’ article called “slim your way down”. Like are they saying Kelly slimmed herself down. No, we all know she did not, and she is happy with herself. I would be pissed if I was her. This is alot more than slightly tweaking the pic, obvs.
In addition to what Sheila above me said, the caption above Kelly’s head reads, “Stay true to yourself.” The article is about her accepting herself and not caring what others think however she’s been radically photohopped. That’s the issue. It’s not about photoshop being bad or used, it’s about it contradicting the use and purpose of its cover model.
I agree, she looks completely different on the cover of Self than she does in real life (or I guess on TV or other magazines, since I’ve never seen her in real life). That actually happens a lot with other celebs, too-you see them on the cover of a magazine and it takes a minute to figure out who they are because they look so different. However, the reason it’s a bigger deal with Kelly Clarkson is because she’s always saying how she is fine with her body, she embraces it, blah blah blah. So to have a cover on Self with an article about losing weight right next to her picture which makes it looks as though she has lost weight…basically, it just looks like Kelly and Self are lying.
Also, I don’t know what they did to her face on this cover, if it was just too much make-up or too much Photshopping (or too much of both), but to me, her face looks worse on the cover than it normally does. As Beet says, she’s relatively plain by Hollywood standards, but she’s cute. Not on this cover, though.
My issue isn’t really so much with photoshoping weight off… it’s more that I would look at the cover and think “who is that?” not “wow that looks like a smaller version of Kelly clarkson”. I recently saw a cover that had Sandra Bullock on it and barely recognized her. Sometimes I feel like photoshoping “smoothes” imperfections but other times the person in question gets changed so much they are no longer recognizeable. I think this is an example of that.
The issue is this: The magazine has stuff on that same cover saying “be thin by Saturday”, “Flat stomach”, all sorts of things about getting quick results and having great looks… and even goes so Far as to say to be TRUE to yourself and everyone will love you too. That last bit is right there next to Kelly as if it’s part of her story. Well, this picture isn’t TRUTH at all. They do everything they can to make you think what you see is truth… then complain when people call them on their lies? WTF? Of course people know Kelly isn’t pin thin. What we’re led to believe here is that she (who at times can be quite large in appearance) now looks like she’s Much thinner. It makes women who are not pin thin think–“she did it somehow. If I buy this magazine and learn what to do I can achieve the same results.”
Not true and certainly not true to one’s Self either.
What I find sickening is this: young girls have no idea that every image they see is photoshopped. The people they desperately compare themselves to do not actually exist. This is a self esteem killer. You’ve got people with tons of money using the best trainers, products, make up artists, hair teams and Plastic surgeons and they STILL have to be seriously photoshopped. Wake up young girls and know the truth. Wake up hetero men and stop holding all women to this false distorted perception of beauty.
Ending my rant.
Her face looks weird on the cover. If what Miree says about photoshop being the new painting is true, then there are some talented photoshoppers and some bad photoshoppers.
kelly is MUCH prettier WITHOUT the digital distortion this photoshop “artist” made to her appearance. GROSS COVER!
I hate photoshopping whether it’s done on pictures of “beautiful” or “ordinary” women.
I think the uproar over the Self cover is because Self is a magazine that supposedly promotes health, taking care of yourself and being confident in yourself over being thin. It isn’t really, of course, but that’s its concept. So when they photoshop a larger woman into a much thinner appearance, it kind of undermines their self-acceptance line.
kelly’s real chin is not the pointy little rat chin the digital distortion gives her, and pointy little rat chins are not beautiful. what the h*ll was SELF thinking?
Kelly complains that her record label photoshopped her on her Cd cover and she is photoshopped in magazines. We know that she has a horrible sense of style. I have to wonder what would happen if they just let her be. Honestly. People like her music, but would she be as successful without all these ppl tweaking her. If she is put on a cover as is.. would it sell as much? Ppl want to say that they are not attracted to beauty and that they are attracted to talent but if i were her I wouldnt bet my career on it.
It just seems hypocritical that a magazine called “Self” would airbrush a woman – any woman, into oblivion like this? I can understand a blouse wrinkle here, or a fly-away hair there, or adjust the lighting, but she doesn’t even look like the same person.
They are basically saying “learn to love yourself just the way you are unless your on our cover in which case we are going to airbush the real right out of you”
SO you’re basically saying, Kelly Clarkson is not pretty and also fat? Got it. I so agree, let me add you to my thinspiration roll of honor!
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