Women athletes being subjected to sexism isn’t something new, but the internet keeps stooping to lower levels everyday and that is just disturbing.
In the latest of such instances, someone photoshopped India’s star cricketer Smriti Mandhana’s picture to a lighter version with more makeup, making the internet really furious.
The before-after collage of the same picture was shared by a Twitter user named Chethana, who pointed how fucked up this entire thing is.
Was Googling Smriti Mandhana and came across this photoshopped image. Actual image on the right, for context.
— chethana (@iamdatemike) November 12, 2019
How fucked up are beauty standards if a cricketer’s photo in a press meet is being photoshopped to lighten her skin tone and add kajal and lipstick. pic.twitter.com/KKbmKyYf13
She also rightly pointed out that her looks, in this case or any, don’t matter at all, so for anyone to suggest that she looks ‘better’ without makeup is wrong.
People saying – “oh she’s still beautiful”, that’s not the point.
— chethana (@iamdatemike) November 12, 2019
You’re reinforcing what this stupid photoshopped image stands for.
The point of this is to show that even a Google image of an athlete has to be photoshopped to match some arbitrary standard of beauty….
… you saying “um don’t understand the need for photoshop, she’s still beautiful” = same emphasis on “beauty” that is the problem in the first place.
— chethana (@iamdatemike) November 12, 2019
The collage soon started doing rounds on the internet and people seemed to resonate with Chethana’s opinions.
Absolutely disgusting!
— The YellChemist 🦋 (@DelhiiteLama) November 12, 2019
Skin colour marks the top desired beauty standard.
— മുകുൾ ❣️ (@albnZHuoo8zo2VS) November 12, 2019
People are more aligned to this.
Despicable!
— Renison Pereira #TimesUpIndia (@Renison007) November 13, 2019
We are going to enter a new decade in around a month and it’s only disturbing how people are still stuck on centuries-old standards of beauty.
