Keira Knightley is one of few actresses who has stuck to her guns where plastic surgery is concerned and never felt the need to surgically enhance her modest chest so that she can compete for "sexy" female roles. And, although I think most of us can agree that she is a very attractive woman with or without huge boobs, that hasn't kept magazine editors from photoshopping her body so that it looks, well, almost nothing like her body.
Keira recently struck back by giving an interview to the London Times in which she said she's happy to go topless -- as long as her breasts are not made bigger or retouched.
You may recall, the Begin Again actress caused a bit of good controversy when she posed totally topless for Interview magazine this summer. Now, the reason this photo (warning: NSFW) became legendary wasn't simply because she showed nipples -- because lord knows so many actresses these days have nip slips while going for coffee runs that this is hardly a thing anymore. This gorgeous image got so much attention because it wasn't photoshopped, and like it or not, Keira sports an A-cup and is not ashamed of it.
Hallelujah.
Keira told the paper she feels like "women's bodies are a battleground" and that photoshop and photography in general are to blame. The 29-year-old had to watch as her image in King Arthur promo posters was enhanced in a laughable way, and she has dealt with similar crap over the years from various magazines.
The message sent to young girls -- and all women, really -- is that it isn't enough to be enviably thin. It isn't enough to have cheekbones that you could cut rocks on or big brown eyes or a gorgeous smile and healthy hair. If you have all that, you must have large breasts, too. And if Keira were a D-cup, editors would find something else that needed to be changed. They would cut her arm in half so that it could seem smaller or plump up her lips or create an artificial thigh gap.
We women have dealt with this nonsense long enough, so it's great to know that celebrities like Keira are being outspoken about photoshop and its dangers. Now, if we can only get every magazine on board with this thinking, we will have made some progress.
What do you think about Keira's decision to pose topless as long as it's unedited? Do you think her effort helps?
Image via Anthony Harvey/Getty Images