Marie Southard Ospina/bustle.comUPDATE: E! News caught up with Ospina to get her thoughts on the reaction to her Bustle post.
"I think the most surprising thing that's happened is the accusation that I was trying to belittle or debunk photographers as a whole. It's just so not the case," Ospina revealed. "My intent was never to deride an entire occupation. Photography, like any art, is a brilliant means of expression. That being said, I don't agree with unethical Photoshop mantras that ultimately transform a subject's entire face, bone structure and weight."
Ospina also opened up about her ultimate takeway from the experiment.
"In asking the editors to 'make me beautiful,' I hoped that they would show me their own take on beauty, because it's such a loaded word! And I definitely believed that more editors' interpretations of beauty would require serious slimming down of my photograph. It was a pleasant surprise to be reminded of how differently we all perceive this crazy six-letter word. To be reminded that there is no one definition, no matter what our day-to-day experiences often suggest," Ospina said.
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Call this is an act of beauty bravery.
Brooklyn-based blogger Marie Southard Ospina crafted an experiment to see how Photoshop experts from different countries would use the design tool to edit—or beautify—an untouched photo of a plus-size woman. (The 23-year-old did make sure to include a disclaimer that she doesn't intend the work of one Photoshop editor to definitively reflect how that individual's country perceives beauty.) Her post first appeared on Bustle on Dec. 8.
And as you might expect, her findings were, well, quite interesting!
"Some used quite a lot of airbrushing (India and Sri Lanka, for instance) to create an overall softer, less angled feel," Ospina wrote. "But for the most part, I was actually pretty surprised to see how much I still look like myself in the vast majority of these photos."
The (proudly) plus-size blogger also noted that, of all 21 countries, only three sought to make her look thinner: The Ukraine, Mexico and Latvia. (Macedonia's editor also added a pink blouse, among three others to put clothes on Ospina.)
The more significant changes were not related to weight and bone structure but to—get this—makeup! Ospina was particularly taken with the rendition of her photo from an Italian Photoshop expert, which lent her dark smoky eyes and fire engine-red lips.
The blogger was originally inspired by similar trials undertaken by other female journalists, namely Esther Honig (who asked Photoshop artists from 25 countries to make her look "beautiful") and Pricilla Yuki Wilson (who conducted a similar experiment). The results from each, as Ospina writes, suggest that "interpretations of beauty prove themselves to be not necessarily ubiquitous, but individual"—meaning there was no unanimous "beautiful" look between countries.
Ospina's revelations come on the heels of numerous Photoshop controversies in American celebrity culture this year. Even this week's Women's Health January-February cover reveal got significant backlash from critics who claim Britney Spears' face and figure were altered for the shot.
The fact that the most common changes made to her original photo were makeup-related is, for Ospina, a positive outcome.
"Ultimately, there was far less body snark and unspoken body shaming through these photo edits than I first assumed there would be," Ospina wrote. "I won't assume that all of the photographers are as pro-plus-size as I am, but maybe natural beauty is making a comeback. And I, for one, would be greatly pleased if this was the case."