There are no winners here. Anna Wintour put Lena Dunham on the cover of Vogue, and Photoshopped out all the physical imperfections that make Dunham, y’know, a human being. Meanwhile, Jezebel offered $10,000 for the untouched photos, and within “two hours of offering [the money], [they] received six allegedly unaltered images.” But not without controversy: Brooklyn Magazine perhaps put it best, or at least the most succinct, with the headline, “Jezebel Offers $10,000 For Unretouched Lena Dunham Photos from Vogue; So, F*ck You Jezebel.”
Here’s how Jezebel explained their decision:
To be very clear: Our desire to see these images pre-Photoshop is not about seeing what Dunham herself “really” looks like; we can see that every Sunday night…She’s everywhere. We already know what her body looks like. There’s nothing to shame here. Nor is this rooted in criticism of Dunham for working with Vogue. Entertainment is a business, after all, and Vogue brings a level of exposure that exceeds that of HBO.
This is about Vogue, and what Vogue decides to do with a specific woman who has very publicly stated that she’s fine just the way she is, and the world needs to get on board with that. Just how resistant is Vogue to that idea? Unaltered images will tell. (Via)
Most disturbingly, that’s $10,000 that could have been better spent elsewhere, not on some anonymous Vogue staffer’s champagne-and-caviar-and-Devil Wears Prada dreams. We have some ideas. Feel free to add your own.
1. Bribe Wintour to put Clark the Cub on the cover instead.
2. Finally get that knee-raising surgery you’ve been needing for years.
3. PIGEON HATS FOR EVERYONE.
4. Trademark “voice of a generation.”
5. A ticket for me to attend this Kate Upton Super Bowl party Vogue speaks of.
6. Hire a hitman (or hitwoman!) to “find” the person who called Lena the “queen of comedy.”
7. Singing lessons for Allison Williams.
8. Bigger furniture.
9. Treat yo’ self to a different haircut than your boyfriend/girlfriend.
10. Give the money to charity, or some bullsh*t like that. But mostly the Clark the Cub one.