Beyoncé Retouches Her Social Media Snaps — And There's Nothing Wrong With That
Beyoncé fans are mad because it appears — yet again — that the singer has retouched a picture of herself.
I know! How dare the woman who is possibly the biggest star in the world right now want to manipulate her imperfections before, in this case, posting a shot of herself in a brazen leotard that says “99 Problems but my ass ain’t one.”
Personally, I want the pictures of myself that are going to live forever online — and in Queen Bey’s case, the photos will be seen by a number equaling the entire population of New York (she has over 20 million followers on Instagram alone) — look as natural as possible.
No, I don’t. And most likely, neither do you. Let she among us who has never used an Instagram filter — or one of those cool apps that can make you look like you have gleaming teeth — cast the first stone.
The entire point of putting pictures online is showing your friends and admirers how amazing you look. Everyone knows that. I don’t think it makes you any less a feminist or champion of womankind to dabble in some digital manipulation. We all do it, so why can’t Beyoncé? When she wants to smooth out her leg (as evidenced by a deformed wine glass and a wavy iPhone in a recent shot of her on what looks like a pretty great vacation) or narrow her waist (as indicated by the curved curtains around her in the 99-Problems leotard shot), why do we hate her for it?
If you’re thinking, “Yeah, but normal people don’t have the ability to alter photos the way Beyonce does,” check out the app store. There are zillions of highly sophisticated photo-perfecting apps, from Perfect365 (which calls itself a “one-tap makeover” and evens out skin tone, shrinks pores, and covers up zits) to FaceTune (which can highlight your favorite feature, or alter the color of your teeth and skin) to Photo Makeover (which lets you slim your face, enhance your lips and eyes, and even fake a smile). Advanced retouchers can even get Adobe Photoshop Express on their phones.
I bet you don’t holler “fake!” when you see what might be this kind meddling in your friends’ pics. Mostly likely, you like the shot or hastily comment “gorge!” and go on about perfecting your own daily Instagram upload. So why not extend the same courtesy to the woman who gave us “Run the World (Girls)”? When I see a picture of her that’s clearly been made better with technology — like the recent one of her in an animal-print bikini and gold tattoos where her legs were bigger in her reflection than they were on her body — I don’t mind. Her infatuation with retouching (and not even very good retouching at that) makes her more relatable, in a way that all of those photos of her jumping off yachts or cuddling with Jay-Z never could.
