Cindy Crawford's Hot—Unretouched or Not

Photo: randegerber/Instagram 

Last week, allegedly unretouched images of Cindy Crawford wearing black lingerie for a Marie Claire photo shoot hit the internet. Social media went back and forth: were they real? Was this part of an upcoming editorial? Was the world supposed to see them that way?

Regardless, the response to Crawford’s still banging, though slightly leathery looking body was overwhelmingly positive. The image, which comes from a Marie Claire Mexico and Latin America December 2013 cover story, has been described as “gorgeous,” “stunning,” and “beautiful.” Yet releasing the image without the 48-year-old’s consent seems like a violation of privacy, or something even more sinister than that, except the public has been quick to look past that and instead view the shot as a step towards female body acceptance.

Crawford’s image made its way around the web at a time when women’s bodies are critiqued and torn apart by trolls for aging, gaining weight, losing too much, or even just being themselves. Look at Uma Thurman, who didn’t wear eye makeup to a premiere, and was accused of going under the knife. Or Renée Zellwegger, whose name has now become synonymous with plastic surgery as opposed to her accomplishments. It’s treatment such as this that catapults a raw and revealing image from obscurity to the tips of everyone’s tongues.

But Crawford’s case seems different than the recent scandals. While Marie Claire U.S. confirms that the leaked photo “is real, it is honest, and it is gorgeous,” the supermodel’s husband posted an Instagram of his hot wife in a bikini that looks nothing like the Marie Claire image. Camera phone images are notoriously unflattering and filters don’t have nearly the same capabilities as a professional camera. Could it be that this is a case of reverse retouching? That the editors of the publication were well aware of the current clicky conversations in the media and seized the opportunity to propel themselves into it?

Any alternative is feasible. And one thing’s for sure: Cindy Crawford is still super hot.

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