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Posted on Jan 29, 2017

We Got Photoshopped Into Different Cultural Beauty Standards And It Made Us Look At Our Bodies Differently

"I LOOK LIKE A SIM."

by Kristin Chirico

BuzzFeed Staff

by Freddie Ransome

BuzzFeed Staff

Even if you really love yourself, it's tough not to look in the mirror sometimes and wonder what you might look like if x body part was just a little different. But beauty really IS super subjective, and to prove it, the women of Ladylike decided to get their bodies photoshopped to fit their respective cultural beauty standards:

Here's Safiya before and after she was photoshopped to fit Indian beauty standards:

Original photos: Macey J. Foronda/Photoshops: Evan Robert Trusewicz

**What was changed:** lighter skin; thinner thighs and arms; narrower waist, hips, and shoulders.

Here's how Saf felt after seeing her photoshopped photo:

BuzzFeed

"At first, seeing my photoshopped body was kind of an 'I Spy' game of what had been changed — I noticed the size of my thighs immediately, but it took me much longer to figure out the other changes. I was surprised by how similar Indian beauty standards seemed to be to American ones! And how so many small changes can add up to this clone-y version of yourself, where you look like a person who looks like you but not like yourself. Even though it was somewhat jarring to look at, the photoshop made me realize that I don’t really need to or want to change my body to look more like it."

Here's Kristin before and after being photoshopped to Italian beauty standards:

Original Photos: Macey J. Foronda/BuzzFeed; Photoshops: Evan Robert Trusewicz

**What was changed:** Thinner waist, thighs, calves, feet, arms, hands, neck, face, and butt; higher boobs; tanner skin.

Here's how Kristin felt about her photoshopped photo:

BuzzFeed

"Even if I was thinner, this isn't how my fat would be distributed, and you don't get to choose where your body keeps your fat. This is basically off-brand me. I am literally staring at Kirkland-brand Kristin. And while she is a perfectly good and valid fake person, I don't see myself here. "

Here's Freddie before and after being photoshopped to African-American beauty standards:

Original Photos: Macey J. Foronda; Photoshop: Evan Robert Trusewicz

**What was changed:** lighter skin; more defined chin; thinner stomach; bigger thighs, butt, and boobs.

Here's how Fred felt about seeing her photo:

BuzzFeed

"The photoshopped picture was pretty much exactly what I thought it would look like. As a kid, I dreamed of having these curves, and lighter skin as well. The curves aren’t as jarring to me as seeing myself with a different complexion."

And here's Jen before and after being photoshopped to Japanese beauty standards:

Original Photo: Macey J. Foronda/BuzzFeed; Photoshop: Evan Robert Trusewicz

**What was changed:** Narrower calves, thighs, hips, shoulders, face, and facial features; smaller boobs; lighter skin; and wider eyes.

Here's how Jen reacted to seeing her photos:

BuzzFeed

"Seeing my photoshopped self was pretty underwhelming! It was cool that someone was able to photoshop that effectively. BUT it kinda was like looking at a funhouse mirror: Kinda recognized myself, but didn’t feel too affected, because it looked a lil' cartoonish."

Overall, we were mixed on seeing our appearances changed so much. The new photos weren't bad, but they definitely didn't feel like us, you know?

BuzzFeed

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We Got Photoshopped Into Different Cultural Beauty Standards And It Made Us Look At Our Bodies Differently

View this video on YouTube

Here's Safiya before and after she was photoshopped to fit Indian beauty standards:

Here's how Saf felt after seeing her photoshopped photo:

Here's Kristin before and after being photoshopped to Italian beauty standards:

Here's how Kristin felt about her photoshopped photo:

Here's Freddie before and after being photoshopped to African-American beauty standards:

Here's how Fred felt about seeing her photo:

And here's Jen before and after being photoshopped to Japanese beauty standards:

Here's how Jen reacted to seeing her photos:

Overall, we were mixed on seeing our appearances changed so much. The new photos weren't bad, but they definitely didn't feel like us, you know?

We Got Photoshopped Into Different Cultural Beauty Standards And It Made Us Look At Our Bodies Differently

View this video on YouTube

Here's Safiya before and after she was photoshopped to fit Indian beauty standards:

Here's how Saf felt after seeing her photoshopped photo:

Here's Kristin before and after being photoshopped to Italian beauty standards:

Here's how Kristin felt about her photoshopped photo:

Here's Freddie before and after being photoshopped to African-American beauty standards:

Here's how Fred felt about seeing her photo:

And here's Jen before and after being photoshopped to Japanese beauty standards:

Here's how Jen reacted to seeing her photos:

Overall, we were mixed on seeing our appearances changed so much. The new photos weren't bad, but they definitely didn't feel like us, you know?

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