Finally, the subjects of over-photoshopped magazine spreads and covers are starting to get annoyed that their beauty still isn’t good enough for glossies (without 9 hours of retouching).

Recently, there have been an influx of international magazines taking steps against furthering unrealistic beauty standards. Elle France‘s recently published April issue featured their cover models and celebs (including Eva Herzigova, Monica Bellucci, Sophie Marceau, and Charlotte Rampling) without so much as a stitch of makeup on AND no photoshopping! How refreshing is that? We can actually see what these beautiful women look like!

This magazine series hit the web, and flew off into all directions: pro-natural beauty, doubtful of authenticity, and pure shock’n'awe were the most popular reactions.

We’re all very proud of French Elle here at TD, but we have to wonder why they’re distancing themselves so far away from their US counterpart, whose heavy hand in photoshop has been the product of many an anger-outbreak in our eNewsroom. Inside the magazine, however, the photographs (taken by Peter Lindberg) continue the theme with its cover models. Eva Herzigova is beautifully displayed in monochromatic tones, her gorgeous body the star of the un-messed-with pic.

In other shocking, body-positive news, an unexpected candidate for self-acceptance has emerged out of the cess-pool that is Hollywood Reality TV… Miss Kim Kardashian recently posed for the cover of Life & Style Weekly magazine completely unretouched. This is a girl who, as Joel McHale says it, is famous for having a sex tape and a big ass, so her involvement in something so potentially unflattering is a shock to us all.

There have been many a raging media debate about Kardashian’s dress size (the importance of which is…?), and she took this opportunity to clarify and correct the media.

Life&Style: People don’t believe you’re a size 2. Why not?
Kim Kardashian: I don’t think people get how petite I am because I’m so curvy. I’m small and curvy. The No. 1 thing people ask when they meet me is, “Did you lose weight?”

L&S: Why are you so open about your body? You even had a cellulite treatment on your show.
KK: I’m so tired of people pretending they’re perfect and covering up things when in reality we are who and what we are. You can try to improve that, but the reality is, nobody’s perfect.

L&S: Why does everyone attack your size?
KK: I really don’t know. If there’s a picture that’s not perfect, where I have cellulite, then people say I’m big. I’m built a certain way, and you just can’t change the way you’re built. People attack my true size, but the reality is that I look bigger on TV [on her E! show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians]. In Hollywood, people are used to stick-skinny women, and that’s never going to be me. Growing up, I’d look at skinny models and feel like I looked different. But my parents always told us to be proud of who we are. When I was younger I was uncomfortable, but as I grew up, I grew into it.

The emergence of this sudden feminine pride is definitely a sign of hope for the future of media-portrayed beauty ideals. Here’s to hoping a few more Kim Kardashians, Christina Hendricks, and beautiful French models rise to the occasion.

To contact Lindsay Ginn, the author of this post, please send a note to lindsay@thedemoiselles.com, or use our contact form.

Browse Timeline

• « Trying the Trends You Fear
• » Bye Bye Birdie

Comments ( 9 )

Add a Comment