Can You Filter Photos and Still Be a Feminist? Jaime King, Whitney Port, and Iliza Shlesinger Think So
Cover stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Zendaya, Kylie Jenner, and Hailey Baldwin. (Photo: Getty Images)
“It’s Balmain,” Kylie Jenner told Yahoo Style about the white plunging pantsuit she wore at Marie Claire’s Fresh Faces cocktail party, held at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood. The 18-year-old Lip Kit queen was one of five “exciting up-and-coming talents” being fêted by the magazine.
Kylie Jenner in Balmain. (Photo: Getty Images)
After posing on the red carpet, the reality star was immediately met at the end by her four-person entourage. For several minutes, one combed through her hair (not a wig), another touched up her lips — all while Jenner planted herself in front of a conveniently located full-length mirror. From there, Jenner joined Hailey Baldwin, Zendaya, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, her fellow cover stars, for a photo. (Unfortunately, Ellie Goulding was unable to attend.) While Jenner clearly came prepared to pose, she declined interviews. It seemed the selfie master preferred not to discuss her craft. No matter. Others were inclined to dish on social media, selfie culture, and if they embrace #nofilter in their own lives.
Jaime King in Dior. (Photo: Getty Images)
Jaime King was quick to admit that she has used the hashtag on occasion. “Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don’t. It just depends,” she said. “I think people sometimes say #nofilter because they want to express that not everything has to be covered with something or altered. I think that happens more often in our industry because there’s a tendency in our industry to make sure that things are very curated.” She continued: “I’ve never seen #nofilter as a bragging thing. I think it’s people trying to put themselves out there. Social media, for me, is an opportunity for me to share who I am authentically and speak directly with people about things that are important to me — whether it be humanitarian efforts or feminist efforts. It’s the purest form that I can use to share my heart.”
Whitney Port posing poolside wearing a Diesel jacket. (Photo: Getty Images)
Whitney Port, who has a less philosophical approach to filters, freely admitted she’s a big fan of them and hasn’t used the hashtag herself. “I feel like everybody will say #nofilter, but I don’t think everybody is really, actually doing no filter,” she said. Even so, she insisted, “I’m a big fan of natural beauty. I really feel like your natural beauty shines more when you’re not hiding behind so much makeup and coverage, but I don’t know. I’m not going to sit here and say that I never use filters. It’s just one of those things that people do to make things look pretty.” She added, “I’m obviously a feminist, but I don’t really think that people need to go that deep into it.”
Cara Santana in Jill Stuart. (Photo: Getty Images)
Cara Santana also chimed in: “Listen, sometimes a photo calls for a filter, and sometimes you need to go all natural.” She continued: “As a society, we put too much emphasis on how we look in general, and I don’t necessarily think we need to call out how we look and if we’re wearing makeup, if we’re not wearing makeup. I think it clouds the conversation. It’s all about inner beauty. … I’m ambivalent to calling it out, filter/no filter or whatever. It doesn’t matter. We should appreciate women in every shape or form and every filter.”
Iliza Shlesinger in a Kooples jacket. (Photo: Getty Images)
Meanwhile, comedian Iliza Shlesinger emphatically pointed out that #nofilter shouldn’t be seen as vain. “I’m so on board with women bragging,” said the host of Separation Anxiety. “I think that for so long women were told, ‘Be perfect, but don’t you dare discuss it.’ I think you should be proud of yourself if you’ve got naturally great skin or if you work to look a certain way. I think it’s another form of oppression for women to tell them not to brag about themselves. Women should stand on Instagram naked or in bathing suits and be like, ‘Look at my body,’ and have the license to be proud of that.” She even makes a point to post a lot of selfies from the gym because she feels that women are told to work on their bodies but not brag about them. “People need to stop trying to attack women for being proud of themselves,” she said. “It’s time for women to say, ‘Here’s what I’m proud of, and I know it looks good.’ It’s time for women not to be jealous of other women because of the way they look. It’s not a cute look.”
Camilla Luddington in Cushnie et Ochs. (Photo: Getty Images)
Camilla Luddington provided her two cents as well. “I tend to not use a filter. … But I do love X-Pro,” she said of her favorite touch-up app. When appropriate, she will use the tag #nofilter. “I don’t know why that is. Once in a while, I’ll post, when I’m feeling good enough, a makeup-free selfie — just to show all my freckles and the things that make me unique and to encourage that we don’t always use a filter.”
Lana Condor in Nasty Gal. (Photo: Getty Images)
Lana Condor, a new face herself — the 19-year-old’s first role is in the forthcoming blockbuster X-Men: Apocalypse — said she openly embraces filters “not to cover up my blemishes, but I think it brings out cool colors in the pictures. I haven’t used [the hashtag], but maybe I’ll start.”
Sarah Hay in Jonathan Simkhai. (Photo: Getty Images)
Flesh & Bone’s Sarah Hay proved indifferent. “For me, it doesn’t really matter—either way,” she said. “I’ve used #nofilter on shots where I have no makeup because I want people that support me to see who I really am as well as all this glamour and wonderful stuff that’s happened. As much as I love a filter, I’ll sometimes do a #nofilter. You can say you’re a feminist and have a filter. If you love makeup and you feel comfortable in it, be you. Don’t let anyone else dictate what you should be.”
Gugu Mbatha-Raw in a Coach dress and Louboutin heels. (Photo: Getty Images)
Proving even more apathetic than Hay was certified fresh face Mbatha-Raw, who conceded to being completely ignorant of the practice. “I don’t know what that even means!” she said. “I’m not on social media. It’s something I never really got into. At first, I wasn’t sure it was my personality. I always felt a little uncomfortable with the self-promotion element of it. When you’re an actor, you have to do that for your job anyway with press and all of that stuff.” She noted that because of her line of work, it was important to hold a little bit back for herself because then people can believe in your characters. “If you oversaturate people with your personal life every day, it’s not so easy for people to believe in you in a different role.” The Concussion star concluded, “I still feel like a part of the world. You can still have an awareness, but I just don’t like to have it consuming me.”
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