A few days ago a 2011 video depicted a beautiful model being transformed by lighting, makeup, hair and most distinctly, Photoshop, went viral. Created by Global Democracy, it raised a lot of questions about how we define beauty in the digital age. It seems like being pretty according to the standards of society isn’t good enough anymore. Images of beautiful women are constantly altered in ads and magazines to make them look almost unrecognizable from themselves. Most disturbingly, bodies are molded into shapes that are unattainable.
ET tracked down 36-year-old Sally Gifford Piper, the model in the video, and her husband Tim Piper, who directed it. “I feel really angry about the pressure on women and the reality is that most of us don’t look like these perfect women,” she said. think there needs to be a celebration of all different shapes and sizes. And we need to see more variety and I’m determined to fight for that.”
The popularity of the video caught them by surprise because it was released over a year ago to little fanfare. “It was exciting, but it’s also nerve-wracking,” said tim Piper. “You don’t really expect it to blow up like that and it is exposure for Sally. So I called her and I said I hope you don’t mind, but a few million people might see you in your underwear pretty soon.”
Most people understand that a lot of manipulation is going on with the images we see, but the images themselves can overpower our understanding. Watching a video like this can help us get a grip on reality.
