The latest magazine cover of GQ Mexico with Karol G in it came out on April 6. On that same day, the Colombian artist ruthlessly blasted the magazine with an Instagram post for the obvious and disrespectful edits done to her appearance. Karol G addressed an issue that has been plaguing the beauty industry for a long time. The need to make people on magazine covers as unrealistically perfect as possible sets an unprecedented beauty standard that can be blamed for the decaying mental health of women all around the world.
This is the English translation of Karol G’s revolutionary message:
“I don’t even know where to begin this message… today my GQ magazine cover was made public, a cover with an image that does NOT represent me. My face doesn’t look like that, my body doesn’t look like that, and I feel very happy and comfortable with how I look naturally. I thank the magazine for the opportunity because I happily went when they confirmed that I would appear there, but despite clearly stating my discomfort with the amount of editing done to the photo, they did nothing about it, almost as if to look good, I were in need of all those changes. I understand the repercussions that this could have, but beyond feeling that it is disrespect towards me, it’s also towards the women that every day we wake up looking to feel comfortable with ourselves in spite of the stereotypes of society.”
Many fellow artists stand behind her, and some congratulated her for taking a stand and calling out the magazine. Such as Kany Garcia, Tommy Torres, and Chiquis, with comments like “I love you. You are beautiful. Thank you for doing this for all of us,”
Jamie Lee Curtis also expressed her support for Karol G with this message:
“I’m so happy that @karolg is bringing awareness to an issue I have been concerned about for a long time. We are human beings. We are not AI, and this genocide against what is naturally beautiful is alarming and needs to be talked about… I’m very encouraged that a younger person is joining the chorus of disapproval. The cosmeceutical industrial complex wants you to look in the mirror and hate yourself and then buy their bullsh*t”
Photoshopping has become an increasingly normalized tool in today’s society. One is not just used for magazine pictures and by famous artists but also used by common folk who use Instagram to post pictures. Karol G has publicly expressed the absurdity in the normalization of fictionalizing our appearance, and rightly so.
