Society's concept of beauty continually needs challenging. While the old platitude tells us that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it's clear that the West prizes some modes of "attractiveness" above others. Just scroll through your Instagram feed, and you'll find endless amounts of perfectly retouched and filtered women - all of whom sport long limbs, tanned skin, and all of the other signifiers of western beauty.
With all of these perfect beings that we see on a daily basis, it's easy to feel as if we're falling short. And apparently we are: Avengers star, Elizabeth Olsen, has claimed that she's been Photoshopped beyond recognition in a new issue of Empire magazine.
While Elizabeth Olsen is a very beautiful woman, apparently even she doesn't live up to society's largely unattainable beauty standards. The 29-year-old recently called out Empire magazine, after alleging that her features were altered in Photoshop.
Olsen took to Instagram to air her grievances, writing "April 27th ... Does this look like me?"
From the picture, it's evident that actress's nose and hair have been retouched, so much so that it appears as if she has had rhinoplasty.
Olsen's fans were quick to condemn the changes. "No Lizzie, you don’t need this terrible photoshop,” one Instagram user wrote, while another corroborated "No, that is insulting to your real, actually sweet face! So unnecessary."
Empire have asserted that they are not responsible for the Photoshopping. "Empire magazine did not make any alterations to the ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ artwork, supplied to them by Disney and Marvel Studios, that appears on the May 2018 cover," they wrote in a statement to Today Style. However, as of yet, neither Disney nor Marvel have responded to the allegations.
Elizabeth Olsen's Instagram post has since been deleted.
Olsen is the latest in a string of celebrities to condemn the entertainment industry's readiness to retouch images. While everyone from Jennifer Lawrence to Nicki Minaj has spoken out about being digitally altered in photos, Chrissy Teigen perhaps gave the most scathing rebuke. Speaking at last year's BeautyCon Festival in Los Angeles, California, the model asserted "Nobody knows what a real face looks like anymore."
"There have been times I've cried to John, where I felt like I would never have that body. Everyone has a butt now and curves and a little waist and that's not me … I'm jealous of those bodies and I want that, but I also feel like I really want to be cool with my body because of people like you guys …That's why I don't post many makeup selfies, because I don't feel anyone knows what a real face looks like anymore and it kills me that we have to completely wash a face or body out for it to get likes."
In related news, Kim Kardashian just got called out for her terrible Photoshop skills on Instagram.