Photoshopped Beauty

CONCERNED FOR BEAUTIES like Georgia Horsley (at left in AP photo promoting St. George's Day), the size 4 Miss England who has been told to "fatten up" by alert Miss World minders, I wonder if authorities have considered applying Photoshop techniques to contestants as a final revision to their appearances on screen and in the newspapers. With freely available tools like Pixenate, it's relatively straightforward to convert a rail into a pumpkin. Horsley (20), who carries herself with the aplomb of Kiera Knightly, does not think she is too thin. She told the Today show this morning, "I'm happy with the way I am. I probably would have been more hurt if they told me to lose weight, I think."

Speaking from my perspective as an international critic of form and fashion, I believe the average Brit woman is taken from the voluptuous, womanly and curvy side of the chart, the place where Geri Halliwell and Melanie Chisholm (see them on screen like 3.1m people) carved out their niches. Kiera's stick-thin figure has actually been adjusted by photoshoppers to enhance her body aesthetic in several film posters. The 5-foot-8 Horsley is up to the challenge, thinking "I could maybe put a bit of weight on ... it might give me those curves." She has until the end of November to fill out and a strategy as well. "I'm going to eat, you know, healthy fats such as nuts and avocado, oily fish, things like that." You can find those comfort food groups inside my fridge.

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Associated Press -- "Miss England told to fatten up" with photo from AP.

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