ModCloth leads the charge against Photoshopped models
What's the quickest way to lose 5 pounds? Why Photoshop, of course. If you've picked up a magazine anytime in the last 15 years, you've probably been treated to a digitally manipulated parody of the human form. The practice of photoshopping flaws out of models, celebrities and musicians has become so commonplace, we almost don't think about it -- but the unrealistic expectations set these visual falsehoods creates artificial (and unobtainable) standards of beauty. Now, the Brave Girls Alliance is fighting back, asking advertises to take a "Hero's Pledge" to not alter the shape of size of their models or, if they do, to clearly mark the altered images as photoshopped and unrealistic. The first company to sign up? ModCloth, a popular online clothing retailer.
"It's easy for us to sign on to something celebrating real people," ModCloth CMO Nancy Ramamurthi told Forbes. "When you see in the public this kind of change in attitude of embracing a company that does what's right, companies will make the shift." While the company admits on its official blog that some of its models have been photoshopped, these images will be properly labeled as altered going forward. The retailer's customers are mostly supportive of the pledge, though a few comments on the company's site explain that not all photoshop work is bad, citing minor fixes in color correction or arm positioning.
It's true that not all photoshopped images are equal, but advertising does have a tendency to go overboard. Want to see how bad it can get? Check out the video below: a completely different body-type is just a few clicks away.
[Image credit: ModCloth]
