Twiggy, erstwhile Sixties supermodel and the resurgent face of Oil of Olay, is at the center of a debate about airbrushing and digital altering that has tempers flaring in the British Parliament. Although manipulating photographs of models and celebrities is almost a given in most advertisements nowadays, Members of Parliament says it’s putting undue pressure on women to look perfect. Now, they are considering legislature that requires adverts to specify all alterations.
The British Parliament is outraged following the publication of a photograph of renowned supermodel Twiggy. The 60-year-old fashion icon was portrayed in a recent Oil of Olay ad campaign utterly wrinkle free.
“I’m grateful for my lines of wisdom,” Twiggy has said. It is obvious that Oil of Olay did not feel the same way.
Parliament democrat Jo Simpson was quoted as saying, “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.”
The photo has sparked a debate among the political Brits about the alteration of women’s bodies, particularly for children under age 16, and a movement to ban airbrushing or digitally altering photos. If the ban passes, companies will be required to list all alterations in a disclaimer on the actual ad.
This controversy certainly is not a new juicy topic. Celebs have been digitally altered since the Stone Age of Hollywood. When the film King Arthur was released in 2004, the promotional posters for the film portrayed a digitally enhanced Keira Knightly. Keira told pop culture blog Daily Stab that she was “proud” of her body and did not want it to be altered for roles. Sources also report that Keira is unhappy about constantly having to dispel rumors about alleged plastic surgeries. “I would love to have boobs! I’m never going to get them. I’m naturally who I am,” she has said.
When approached about plastic surgery in the past, Keira has been adamantly against it, saying, “Plastic surgery is brutal. There’s this awful show, ‘Dr 90210‘, that shows people doing plastic surgery and it’s brutal. It kind of makes you go, ‘Are you all mad?’ I couldn’t go through with it, I’m not into pain and all that.” According to the NY Daily News, studio executives wanted Keira to undergo breast augmentation for her role in The Duchess.
A rep for the actress announced, “She has insisted that her figure stay in its natural state. She is proud of her body and doesn’t want it altered.”
Other stars have experienced similar situations, and frequently have to fend off rumors of cosmetic surgery. Kate Hudson’s chest was digitally enlarged for publicity shots for her flick Fool’s Gold. “They are so not my boobs – they look too perfect,” she told one media source. And actress Lauren Conrad, has mentioned that digitally altered publicity pictures for The Hills have sparked whispers about whether she went under the knife.
Meanwhile, left-leaning British pols are standing by their course of action. A Parliament representative commented, “Airbrushing means that adverts contain completely unattainable perfect images 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.”
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