An Australian model has hit out at a swimwear brand for photoshopping a picture of her body "without permission" to make her look thinner.
Meaghan Kausman, a 23-year-old fashion student from Melbourne, Australia, posted the before and after versions from the photo shoot on her Instagram account, which she claims were altered by Fella Swim, to make a powerful anti-photoshop statement.
“I recently did a photoshoot wearing Fella Swim, with an extremely passionate and talented underwater photographer, Pip. Her photos are magical; they capture women in water and celebrate their beauty. This morning I was extremely shocked to see that Fella Swim had uploaded a photoshopped version of Pip’s original photo to their Instagram page,” Meaghan wrote on Instagram.
"They had drastically altered my body, thinning out my stomach and thighs in an attempt to box me in to the cultural ideal of beauty," she continued. "My body is a size 8, not a size 4. That’s my body! I refuse to stand by and allow ANY company or person to perpetuate the belief that 'thinner is better'.
"All women are beautiful, and we come in different shapes and sizes! This industry is crazy!!!! It is NOT OKAY to alter a woman’s body to make it look thinner. EVER!"
Meaghan is the daughter of body image campaigner Dr. Rick Kausman and the pair, along with the photographer, have used the incident as a platform to discuss body image and the dangers of photoshopping on national television.
"My jaw literally dropped," Meaghan told Daily Mail Australia. "Straight away I messaged Pip… we were incredibly disappointed that they took the photo without permission. They took something and altered it because they didn't see it as beautiful."
Meaghan told Daily Mail Australia that she contacted Fella Swim before publishing the image to social media. But when they did not respond, she decided to share what had happened.
"Unfortunately there has not been a response from Fella [Swim]. It's really upsetting. I would never want to shame a company or embarrass someone," she added.
"I emailed them before I uploaded it, and [told them] that I didn't feel it was the right thing for them to do. But I haven't heard back and it's been over a week and a half."