http://shine.yahoo.com/event/fallbeauty/image-of-ultra-thin-ralph-lauren-model-sparks-outrage-521480/

Image of ultra-thin Ralph Lauren model sparks outrage

On September 29th, Boing Boing's Xeni Jardin posted the ad, which originally appeared on a blog dedicated to pointing out suspected retouched images called Photoshop Disasters, with the comment, "Dude, her head's bigger than her pelvis." Ralph Lauren responded by filing a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) complaint against Boing Boing and Photoshop Disasters, claiming that their use of the image was a copyright infringement that fell outside of the Fair Use laws which allow the media to reproduce creative content for the purposes of commentary and criticism.

The Internet service provider hosting Photoshop Disasters (Google Blogspot) deleted the post containing the image, while Boing Boing's (Canada's Priority Colo.) did not. In response, Boing Boing editor Cory Doctorow issued a stern warning to Ralph Lauren yesterday on the website, saying that the company's attempt to silence their criticism has only inspired them to step up their efforts in the future:

"Copyright law doesn't give you the right to threaten your critics for pointing out the problems with your offerings. You should know better. And every time you threaten to sue us over stuff like this, we will:

a) Reproduce the original criticism, making damned sure that all our readers get a good, long look at it, and;

b) Publish your spurious legal threat along with copious mockery, so that it becomes highly ranked in search engines where other people you threaten can find it and take heart; and

c) Offer nourishing soup and sandwiches to your models."

The U.S. isn't the only place where advertisers are feeling the public backlash over retouching claims. Overseas, a recent Olay ad featuring a virtually wrinkle-free 59-year-old Twiggy caused such an uproar in the UK that the British Parliament recently proposed outlawing retouching in advertisements aimed at teenagers. The movement was initiated by the nation's Liberal Democrats, whose leader on the issue, Jo Swinson, said:

"Today's unrealistic idea of what is beautiful means that young girls are under more pressure now than they were even five years ago. Airbrushing means that adverts contain completely unattainable images that no one can live up to in real life. We need to help protect children from these pressures and we need to make a start by banning airbrushing in adverts aimed at them. The focus on women's appearance has got out of hand - no one really has perfect skin, perfect hair and a perfect figure, but women and young girls increasingly feel that nothing less than thin and perfect will do."

In the U.S., many retouched images featuring celebrities have been the subject of recent scorn, including a L'Oreal ad that lightened Beyonce's skin, an image of Jessica Alba airbrushed to feature a slimmer waist in a Campari ad, and an ad for London Fog featuring Gisele Bunchen in which her "baby bump" was removed.

In response to the growing concern over retouching, a website called About-Face, whose stated mission is to arm "women and girls with tools to understand and resist harmful media messages that affect their self-esteem and body image," has sprung up. The site features a "Gallery of Offenders" as well as a "Gallery of Winners" to highlight who the site's editors feel are the advertising industry's best and worst in regards to improving and harming the image of the modern woman. Site visitors can also contribute money to help offset its operating costs as well as expand programs designed to educate young women on beauty and self-image.

Another website to garner attention for its dedication to exposing photo retouching offenses is Jezebel.com. Speaking on the subject of retouching, Jezebel editor-in-chief Anna Holmes told Yahoo!, "I don't see any point in retouching anymore ... The cat's out of the bag." She added, "I think Americans in particular are sick of having the wool pulled over their eyes ... even if it's regarding fashion models and actresses. The more they do this sort of retouching -- and then try to justify it, as the editor of SELF magazine recently did -- the less anyone believes anything else they have to say, or show. They are, in a sense, digging their own (shallow) graves."

Whether or not Holmes is right about the digging of "shallow graves" remains to be seen, but companies like Ralph Lauren certainly don't appear to be helping their cause by attempting to silence their critics, as doing so has only increased the amount of negative attention to their already controversial ad.

You are shedding light on an important issue Saul. That photo is outrageous.

What is so sad is that normal people (not supermodels) want to have their flaws hidden in photos too. I'm photographing a bit for fun and as late as yesterday a friend of mine asked me to 'shrink' his nose in retouch so it would look more Greek god like... No way! I'm not doing it, I'm not contributing to this madness.... I'll delete specs or dust in an image or adjust contrasts etc.,but I'm not removing cellulite or shrink body parts. It's about showing off what normal looks like and being proud that you've lived. Who wants to look like that Ralph Lauren model? It's sick!! (And by the way, real life anorexics actually have larger heads than pelvises... so it's a sign of disease.)

Damn! I was planning on doing some shopping at Ralph Lauren next week, not so sure anymore!

Men have liked boobs and booty for thousands of years. And they will continue to do so.

New York fashion designers tend to be homosexuals who get off on the undernourished little boy look. Women strangely buy into this for inter-female status reasons.

New York fashion designers tend to be homosexual men who get off on the undernourished little boy look. Women buy into this for inter-female status reasons.

Damn! I was planning on doing some shopping at Ralph Lauren next week, not so sure anymore!

I've never worn a lot of RL before, but I kind of like their fall collection, was planning on buying a couple of cashmere dresses for work, cashmere is a lot cheaper in your country than in mine... This model isn't on their webpage, or she is, but that image is not. I just logged on to my wish list and I didn't see any outrageous photos there.

There's this 'perfect' hip to waist ratio of .7 or something that men are drawn to, regardless of a woman's weight. As long as that ratio is appealing you may be attracted even if that woman is overall a bit overweight or underweight. That ratio is the signal of fertility and health. (It's 0.9 for men.)

Interestingly enough: when women are asked to point out body shapes that they think that men find attractive they point to rather skinny ones. When men are asked to point out what shape they find attractive they pick shapes 2-3-4 times bigger than the women, so yes a lot of women falsely believe that men are attracted to skinny bodies. Women also falsely believe that their own body shape is bigger than it actually is. (It can be objectively measured.) And remember, we dress/look for other women as much as we try to attract attention from men. We want to signal to other women that we have a sense of fashion/style and control. Maintaining a low body weight is perceived by others as a signal of control and self-restraint. Like it or not (and more often that not it's not true,) but people still believe that a skinny person has more self-control than an overweight person.

Let me play the devil's advocate here for a moment Saul: Didn't you just this week advice Charlie to stay thin, because that was what others/men found attractive? Isn't it a tad bit hypocritical of you to be outraged by the fashion industry that survive on that very idea, when you advocate it yourself? 

Is that how she really looks? No airbrushing? Wow, she is extremely thin. Not that I have anything against lean and thinner shaped women...but she seems malnourished.

That is so true, Psyko. I would say men like women with some curves (generally speaking of course). I wonder why these fashion designers don't get models that represent all shapes of women?

I read somewhere (I forget where exactly) that designers like models that have virtually no curves so the clothing is the main focus. Almost like a mannequin that moves. It comes across less sexual and more about the fashion statement.

I find a woman that thin as unappealing as a woman who is morbidly obese. I hope I'm not alone in saying that no one finds a Holocaust victim sexy.

Your new scent: Buchenwald, by Calvin Klein...

Let me play the devil's advocate here for a moment Saul: Didn't you just this week advice Charlie to stay thin, because that was what others/men found attractive? Isn't it a tad bit hypocritical of you to be outraged by the fashion industry that survive on that very idea, when you advocate it yourself?

But it is self defeating, men like thin girls but not anything like this.

Your new scent: Buchenwald, by Calvin Klein...

Posted By Psyko on 09 Oct 2009 08:55 AM
 I deal with you girls' bodily insecurities every day because they think that they have to be thin

I meant young girl's insecurities and I also meant to say that I deal with it at work. There, my last post in this thread

I agree - I like girls, not scarecrows