The Photoshop job in a recent online Target ad is so inartfully done that it almost seems like self-sabotage. In ads for bathing suits, sold in Target’s juniors section, you can see strange cut-out portions of the models’ arms, as well as suspiciously square spaces cut from their crotches. The result is a set of teenagers who look even more inhuman than most of the swimwear models we see every day. (The arms, as thin as snakes, are particularly disturbing.) And the resulting backlash suggests that consumers are getting fed up with unattainable body images, aimed at growing girls.
Target has apologized for the mistake, but its brief statement lacks a certain self-reflection; it can be read as a regret for bad computer work, as opposed to bad practice. Perhaps the market will further correct the situation. Lately, a few clothing companies have drawn good will — and good public relations — from announcing that they won’t be Photoshopping models. The ideal, though, is a world where photos of un-retouched women, in bathing suits and lingerie, are taken not as a publicity stunt, but a given.