By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 9:23 PM on 14th April 2010
Britney Spears bravely agrees
to release un-airbrushed images of herself
next to the digitally-altered versions
Celebrities, and the industry around them, are often accused of producing images that affect young people's body image.
Which is why it's so refreshing to see one of the world's most famous pop stars allowing all of their imperfections to be highlighted.
Britney Spears has allowed the pre-airbrushed images from a shoot she took part in for fashion firm Candie's to be used ALONGSIDE the digitally-altered ones, so people can see the difference.
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Brave move: Britney Spears has allowed airbrushed images from her shoot to be released along with the original raw photos which show all her imperfections
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The 29-year-old singer made the extraordinary move in order to highlight the pressure exerted on women to look perfect.
In the first shot, she is seen facing the camera with her arms behind her back.
Imperfections that can be clearly seen in the un-airbrushed shot include blemishes on her calf, her larger thighs and, if you look really closely, you can see her feet have dry skin on them.
The airbrushed pictures, however, tell a different story with a slimmed-down waist and flawless, skinny legs.
Meanwhile, in the second picture, she is seen from the back - in the un-airbrushed shot she has areas of cellulite on the back of her thighs, a tattoo on her lower back (sometimes called a 'tramp stamp') is clearly visible and her backside is a little out of shape.
However, in the altered photo all of these imperfections have been wiped out - and she appears to have a pert rear, unrealistically smooth skin, slimmer legs and the tattoo has vanished.
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Shaping up: The pop star's whole body has been trimmed down with the use of a computer, even down to removing a tattoo on her back
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A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: 'Britney is proud of her body - imperfections and all.'
Of the experience, the singer told press: 'I had so much fun shooting the Candies for Kohl's campaign. My favorite set-up was against the gigantic wall of pink cotton candy.'
And she added: 'I got to wear the cutest clothes and they are perfect for summer!'
Comments (317)
Here's what readers have had to say so far.
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Bravo Britney! Both pictures posted side by side so we can see how unrealistic she is made to be in the photoshoped one...I personnally perfer the first picture, it is natural and beautiful even with the flaws. We are human and all have flaws . I think it is unrealistic pressure for these ad agentcies to depict how a womens body should look. I think more celebrities should show the young girls of the world what a real woman looks like!
- Nat, somewhere, 15/4/2010 19:38
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Well all I can say is it's about time someone stopped setting the bar so high for women young and old to strive for a perfection that is unrealistic and unatainable. As a mother of three daughters I see the impact the media has and it's representation of the perfect woman. With the pressure that has been placed on Britney over the years I have to say she has come a long way and with this move I can say I am proud of her and the choice she made to allow the photo's out for all to see. I think she is beautiful as she is. No airbrushing just the real woman. Yes, way to go Britney, and may many more like her follow and free up the pressure on our young girls, and let them worry about what realy matters in life and be happy with who they are, as they are. Catherine, Bridgewater NS
- Catherine Hellewell, Bridgewater NS Canada, 15/4/2010 5:14
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She looks great in the 'before' pictures!
- Boris, london, 13/4/2010 16:34
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Good for her! She's doing something positive here. Many women will look at this and think "Britney Spears has worse cellulite than I do!", and that's got to be a good thing. Be happy in the body you've been given. If you want to get rid of the cellulite, do what Britney has done; save the money on creams that don't work, and book yourself in for a professional photoshoot with digital retouching and enjoy your day! Life's too short to worry about such trivial things.
- Chris, Liverpool, UK, 13/4/2010 16:35
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I really do hope that this starts a trend. And that eventually all mags/newspapers are one day forced by law to do the same thing whenever such seemingly flawless images are used to promote foods/films/drinks etc. Kids need to know about the tricks that cameras play!
- Jeremy, London, 13/4/2010 16:35
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Finally this woman has done something we can respect her for. Now Cheryl Cole - it's your turn to step up to the mark. I demand no more 'lashes styled using lash inserts' on ANY mascara adverts. My generation (I'm 21) and below are growing up with the lowest views of themselves. Good on you Britters!
- Jo Sharp, Worthing, West Sussex, 13/4/2010 15:50
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Way to go Brit. To be honest she looks great in both photos, Yes she has a bit of cellulite, a few bruises (she has got 2 kids that no doubt throw tantrums) but she has always had a complex about her body and this shows that she is overcoming it. To me it shows that she is getting back to being the Britney we "The Fans" love and have truly missed. I couldn't have a photo taken that was photo-shopped and then put the original next to it, this lady has guts. Keep going with the confidenve Brit.
- charlene, hampshire, 13/4/2010 15:52
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Never liked Britney until now.
- simply_put, Las Vegas, NV, 13/4/2010 15:49
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Well done Britney for showing your pictures and imperfections. Finally I feel normal!!!
- Natalie, Spain, 13/4/2010 16:09
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A really brave thing for Britney to do and a really positive thing for young women everywhere to see a celebrity unairbrushed, well done Britney!
- Nicola, Manchester, 13/4/2010 16:09
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fair play to her. We look at magazines and ads and feel rubbish because we know we'll never look like that. Its good to see some real imferfections at last. More celebrities should do things like this! I think she looks great in the untouched photos for a woman who's had two kids.
- princess, dublin, 13/4/2010 16:12
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Haven't even read the article -- but Thanks Brittany! for the photos. I think she looks great in her 'real' photos. Hurray for REAL!!!!
- TracyEmm, CANADA CANADA, 13/4/2010 15:24
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She looks so much better in the un-airbrushed photo's........A lot more real!! Let's hope others follow suit and 'airbrushing' is sent to the scrapheap!!
- Trevor R, Scotland, 13/4/2010 16:12
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Well Done Britney! It is so easy to forget that a little airbrushing in a magazine can really alter a person's body substantially. She looks amazing and REAL in the unaltered images and it's about time girls and women stopped trying to aspire to body images that are not even real! I wish more celebrities were as courageous and naturally beautiful as Britney to allow unaltered images into the press. We salute you Britney!
- Jo, Midlands, 14/4/2010 20:03
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OMG! The 2 pics are SO different! I loved her Candie's ad and thought they helped her a bit, but didn't think that much. Not saying her real bod looks bad but compared to the airbrushed one, it does. This kind of thing really DOES mess up WOMEN (it's not just young girls). They need to stop airbrushing celebs so much. It's not her real body, so why sell it to the public as if it is? It's just not right to completely distort it and let people go on thinking that celeb looks like that. Now when I see celebs looking perfect I will highly doubt it's them. Kudos to Brit for wanting to show the real one though. It makes me like her even more. She seems to be very mature now. I am far from being ugly, but almost every woman, beautiful or not, deals with not feeling they look good. Good on Britney.
- Tiffany, Florida, 13/4/2010 15:52
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Thank you Britney!!!!!!!!!!! My bum isn't far off Britneys REAL one but I always think it should be like the airbrushed one. Well done for showing us we can be NORMAL!
- Rachel, Bristol, 13/4/2010 16:22
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wow she's so brave! well done Britney! young generations need this and I'm so happy for you,you don't care what people will talk about you, even judge. For the negative comments: I don't know why you like seeing bad things instead of good things.... If we want to change the world we should change ourselves first.
- Noor, bahrain, 14/4/2010 20:58
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I am no fan of Britney but I admire her for doing this. Maybe impressionable young girls will start to take notice of the real world full of real women with imperfections, and accept themselves and their bodies for what they are. Well done Britney!
- Rachel, Spain, 13/4/2010 16:19
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Good for Britney, other celebs should join in. Airbrushing messes with peoples minds especially those who are younger and impressionable. It sends the wrong message out that looking false ,plasticated ,unaturally enchanced ,emaciated is something to strive towards.
- Lowen, the ocelot pit, mossley /filey, 13/4/2010 15:45
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Bravo Britney! Both pictures posted side by side so we can see how unrealistic she is made to be in the photoshoped one...I personnally perfer the first picture, it is natural and beautiful even with the flaws. We are human and all have flaws . I think it is unrealistic pressure for these ad agentcies to depict how a womens body should look. I think more celebrities should show the young girls of the world what a real woman looks like!
- Nat, somewhere, 15/4/2010 19:38
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She looks amazing with the untouched picture. She really doesnt look like she has any imperfection. Both pictures look the same no difference at all. She has healthy beautiful body and she should embrace it well. Shame on these magazines promoting fake and blastic.
- Salma, London, 13/4/2010 15:32
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She's hot even in the before. They basically airbrush her to a prepubescent state. Gross, but everyone expects it now. I'm proud of her.
- Camille, Calgary, Canada, 14/4/2010 17:02
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Thank you Britney for doing this. There is no such thing as a perfect body. Maybe if the entertainment world would be honest of what people really look like, people would not have so many eating disorders, poor self-esteem, always wanting to change what we have or what we think we dont have. Keep up the good works for all the people that follow you and your life endeavors. Teach your children to love themselfs just as they are.
- Kay Robinson, Albuquerque, NM, 14/4/2010 17:15
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I have a new found respect for Britney Spears. I think air-brushed humans look terrible in photos, unreal and abnormal. I do a lot of work with Photoshop myself, and I tend to see air-brushing and bad photo editing before I actually notice the content of the photo itself. You wouldn't believe how prolific it is.
- Polly, Yorkshire, 13/4/2010 17:15
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for once Britney i praise you!
- pink sox, Madchester!, 13/4/2010 17:13
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Not a huge fan of the Brit but I'm impressed that she's done this photo shoot. Also I'm very pleased to know that celebs do infact have backsides like the rest of us mortals!
- Rosie, Hampshire, 13/4/2010 16:14
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Wow, nice to see someone own up to their imperfections, or perfections. She looks normal. I think it's unrealistic what they do to sell magazines, and then create body issues for women all over the world who think that they need to look like these 'fixed' images. It is what it is. I think with all the airbrushing that goes into celebrity photos, we could all be 'stars' and be on the cover of magazines, looking realistically "Imperfect".
- Karen, Canada, 13/4/2010 15:39
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Congrautlations Britney! You've come a long way! I think it's GREAT that she allowed the untouched photos to be released. Women even in their 30's and older look for unrealistic expections with their bodies.
- Amanda, Collierville, Tn, USA, 14/4/2010 17:26
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Welldone Britters! haven't been your biggest fan but this is a great move, puts stars, photographers and magazines to shame.... Thing is, airbrushing is SO obvious why do magazines think we are going to be fooled??
- Alison, Secret Southener, 13/4/2010 15:49
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This is brilliant, I don't care about whether she's got make up on because I can do that, but I can't walk around with a computer graphics specialist altering my image down the street can I? Well done to her, PR move maybe but so? Must take a lot to do this and it needs to be happening more. No matter how much I tell myself "These women are airbrushed" I still find myself thinking "How can I ever look like that?" Excellent move Britney!
- J, Fnd, 14/4/2010 19:08
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Good for her! Very brave girl doing this, i'm none too sure i'd have the guts to do the same if i was in her shoes! Hopefully it will show all these impressionable young girls that the media image of celebrities is just that - an image, and they aren't any more perfect than the rest of us.
- Ellen, London UK, 13/4/2010 15:58
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For more comments, go to the source of this article.
Source: Dialy Mail
