At Talent Management modelling agency, we know all too well that retouching models’ shots is common place in the fashion and beauty industry. From beauty brands blending models’ lines out in anti-wrinkle cream ads to fashion companies unashamedly blended out their models’ kneecaps, we’ve seen it all.

But, while we’re of the opinion that excessive post production techniques that deceptively distort models’ looks are bad news when it comes to encouraging positive body image, it seems not everyone agrees.

Fashionista recently spoke to American fashion model Erin Heatherton about the controversial subject. Read on for the top most shocking revelations from the interview…

When asked what she really thinks of all the attention paid to Photoshopping models, she answered: “I think it’s people’s own prerogative to be able to look at something and know the difference between ‘this is what someone looks like with makeup on’ and ‘this is what they look like in real life’. This is what happens when you do a photo shoot; retouching is an essential part of our job, you know. We’re not selling reality; we’re selling a story. It’s all about creating this fantasy. And I don’t think people should confuse fantasy and reality because no one is perfect–we all know that, and I think people should embrace themselves and not really focus on where people are depicted as perfect and where they’re not. So, I think it’s kind of a waste of time.”

Being more specific, the fashion blog went on to ask her what her views are when a model’s actual body is changed, like when the waist is made to look smaller, and what kind of message that sends. “It’s not a fair message,” she admitted, “but at the same time I think we’re all intelligent enough to know the difference between what’s real and what’s not. I think that’s something that children should be taught by their parents, it should be taught in schools. Healthy body image is not something that you’re going to learn from fashion magazines. But at the same time, Photoshop makes things look beautiful just as you have special effects in movies. It’s just part of life and I think that you’re missing the main problem. I think the main issue is people just knowing their own body, having strength in their own body image and their own confidence, which shouldn’t be affected by these kinds of things.”

We completely disagree with Heatherton’s points here – not everyone, impressionable children especially, are capable of knowing the difference between what’s real and what’s not. And while education may help (read more at Should Children Have Body Image Lessons In Primary School?) this alone will not overcome the dangerous impact that things such as airbrushing, overly skinny models and extreme post production techniques cause.

14-year-old Julia Bluhm’s quest to stop Seventeen magazine from airbrushing its models highlights this point beautifully. While Bluhm is well aware that Photoshopping goes on, her comments still demonstrate the ways in which she feels photoshopped models and celebrities affect her and her peers.

At the time she wrote: “Girls want to be accepted, appreciated and liked. And when they don’t fit the criteria, some girls try to ‘fix’ themselves. This can lead to eating disorders, dieting, depression and low self-esteem.

“To girls today, the word ‘pretty’ means skinny and blemish-free. Why is that, when so few girls actually fit into such a narrow category? It’s because the media tells us that ‘pretty’ girls are impossibly thin with perfect skin.

“I’m a teenage girl, and I don’t like what I see. I want to see regular girls that look like me in a magazine that’s supposed to be for me.”

Wise words – from Bluhm that is, not Erin Heatherton!