Shine OnFashion blogger comes clean about Photoshopping on her site
It's a common practice that rarely gets acknowledged: beauty bloggers Photoshopping the images on their blogs.
Last week, Dana Suchow of Do The Hotpants came clean in a blog post titled "Photos I Wish I Didn't Photoshop," highlighting images she altered to make her waist slimmer and her skin clearer.
"But because I want to be as transparent with you as possible, I’ve decided to expose the instances where I used Photoshop to distort and change my body," she wrote.
"I know it might only look like an inch or 2 removed from my waist, or a couple zits blurred here and there, but my stomach and my skin have been huge insecurities for me my entire life. So me revealing these images to you are a HUGE DEAL 4 ME & not to be taken lightly. I’m putting my flaws out there, as little or as big as they seem, so please respect that this isn’t easy for anyone."
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She wanted her readers to take away five simple truths:
Not everything is real.
Do not compare yourself to others.
Love yourself for who you are.
Even people you look up to are flawed.
You are a unique goddamn snowflake so never forget that!!!!!!!!!!
In the comments, she added: "Vulnerability is the new little black dress."
"Personally, I do not think it is necessarily a big deal that Suchow has edited her pictures because (1) they’re her pictures and (2) she should have control over whatever she puts on her site, especially when it comes to her own image," writes The Gloss' Samantha Escobar. "However, I do think it is a big deal that she talked about it on her blog, being very transparent about her before and after images."
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In an interview with SheKnows.com, Suchow shared what inspired her to share the photos.
"It’s weird, because I stopped manipulating my weight in photos with Photoshop about a year ago, so these photos are between 1-2 years old. But I just felt like I had lied to my readers and needed to come clean. I’d been wanting to do this post for a while, but had to wait until I was brave enough to do it."
"The feedback I’ve received has been humbling. It’s not about a skinny girl wishing she was just a bit more perfect. It’s about every woman feeling ugly and imperfect no matter how little the imperfection," she adds.
In response to a commenter who encouraged Suchow that no Photoshop was ever needed, the fashion blogger agreed, adding:
"But the bigger point I am trying to make is no matter your size, you always want to be something different. We are never good enough for our own standards. These photos were taken of me when I was 20 pounds lighter than I am now. Looking back I think I was crazy for Photoshopping them. This definitely proves wrong the idea that if we lose a certain amount of weight we’ll be happy."
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What message does she want to leave with her readers?
"Don’t believe anything you see. If you can’t touch it, it’s not real. The only real thing that will support you through life is your body. And that’s something you can hold…right now," she tells SheKnows.com.
"Imagine if women put just half the energy we put into trying to change our bodies into trying to change the world. Imagine what an amazing place it could be."
