Ep 30. Rihanna, Tess Holliday, and Representations of Female Beauty

In 2006, Dove released an advertising campaign that exposed the gratuitous use of Photoshop and kicked off an anti-airbrushing movement . People no longer wanted to accept false representations of beauty, and actresses and models moved to distance themselves from the 'sexist act' of altering a woman's appearance on the cover of a magazine. At the same time, technology that allows 'normal' people, non-celebrities like you and me, to alter their appearances digitally has become widespread and massively popular. For just a couple euros you can download an app and create a digital version of yourself. You 2.0. Actresses and models can't distance themselves from what they share on their own social media accounts, images that we know have been altered thanks to Instagram accounts like Celebface. We share what we think we "should" look like - simulacrums of ourselves that are almost more relevant than our real selves. Digital avatars that not only represent our lives, but determine our lives - our relationships, lifestyle choices, and in many cases - income levels. As the two movements continue to grow simultaneously, it's no wonder that women are pretty fucking confused about how they should feel and talk about their bodies. We try to dissect some of those feelings in this week's podcast, touching on Rihanna's Savage X Fenty show at NYFW, Tess Holliday's Cosmo cover, and Lena Dunham's conflicting messages.