Photographer Reveals How Male Celebrities Would Look If Photoshopped Like Women
A photographer has revealed how older male celebrities would look like if they were Photoshopped like women.
Commercial photographer and educator Caroline Ross shared a viral video on TikTok in which she underlined the double standards between how older men and women are edited in images.
@caroline_in_thecity I definitely think about this everytime i see a cute little wrinkles on ‘silver foxes’ and smoothed doll skin on women the same age. #pedropascal #maybeitsphotoshop #photoshop ♬ Makeba – Jain
Ross is on a mission to educate people about Photoshop and teaches “digital media literacy skills” on TikTok — revealing exactly how celebrities edit their images.
In the fascinating clip, which has amassed over 1.1 million views, Ross retouches the faces of older male celebrities such as Pedro Pascal, Ryan Reynolds, Ben Affleck, and David Beckham, on magazine covers — as if they were women.
By Photoshopping these older male stars like their female counterparts, Ross reveals how suddenly their wrinkles are almost entirely removed from the photos. Their pores are also airbrushed away and their skin is smoothed out to perfection.
‘This is Sad’
TikTok users were left stunned by Ross’ video and the astonishing disparity between the beauty standards placed on older men and women in commercial photography.
Viewers called it “scary and sad” while others thanked the photographer for her “important commentary.”
“I think we all knew this but seeing it is something else,” one TikTok user writes.
Another user commented on how male celebrities, unlike women, were allowed to look older on magazine covers. In fact, the photography actually emphasized the attractiveness of the men’s age.
“It’s so interesting because in a lot of these [photos], their age is purposefully accentuated with heavy shadows and low lighting,” a viewer writes.
@caroline_in_thecity Replying to @ohfukc as you wish! Part two of photoshopping men to the same standards we apply photoshop to women #maybeitsphotoshop #photoshoppedmen #letwomenage ♬ Makeba – Jain
The clip was so popular that Ross shared a follow-up video in which she Photoshopped male celebrities of all ages like women. The photographer revealed how different Tom Hardy and Jason Momoa would look on magazine covers if they were edited in this way.
‘Every Image is Retouched’
In a previous interview with PetaPixel, Ross, who is based in Vancouver, Canada, explained how Photoshopping older women is an ubiquitous practice in magazine images.
“Nearly every published image of celebrities is retouched. It’s more prevalent on photos of women over 50. Women in media aren’t allowed to age,” Ross says.
“Retouchers try to hide all signs of Photoshop. For example, a 60-year-old plus woman may still have a few wrinkles in the published image, as removing all of them would look too fake. This often tricks viewers to think that the image is real, as there are wrinkles in the image.”
According to a report by The Cut in 2013, retouchers only ever allow women to have three wrinkles on magazine covers.
More of Ross’s work can be seen on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, commercial photography website, wedding photography, and awards website.
Image credits: Photos by Caroline Ross/Caroline in the City.
