Refinery 29: No Apologies
More than a decade's worth of studies suggest that body‑shaming advertising negatively affects our self‑esteem and how we see the world.
As content creators, we have a responsibility to change that narrative. The Getty Images Creative team is seeking change both in educating our contributors on best practices and providing high quality and inclusive imagery for our clients by seeking partnerships with like‑minded entities. One example of this when we joined forces with Refinery29 to launch “The 67% Collection, ” a collection of imagery meant to facilitate the mission of more accurately representing the population of plus‑sized women in America. The collection was met with widespread acclaim for not only calling for change in the media industry, but actually creating imagery to challenge the biased stereotypes that are perpetually depicted in advertising.
“Historically, the ‘aspiration’ women have been sold by media and advertising is that they should be tall, thin, white, hetero, and blemish free. Millennial and Gen Z women are the most diverse in U.S. history and they’re looking for authentic images that reflect their personal experience; something that Refinery29 has long been committed to,” stated Piera Gelardi, co‑founder and executive creative director of Refinery29. “Through collaborating with Getty Images, we aim to shift our societal beauty standards with inclusive and unfiltered visual images that provide the tools for others in the industry to more realistically portray women’s experiences and create an opportunity for them to better connect with these important generations.”
“Historically, the ‘aspiration’ women have been sold by media and advertising is that they should be tall, thin, white, hetero, and blemish free. Millennial and Gen Z women are the most diverse in U.S. history and they’re looking for authentic images that reflect their personal experience; something that Refinery29 has long been committed to.”
Getty Images has seen the demand for body diversity and authenticity in depictions of women increase significantly. Over the last 12 months, search terms on gettyimages.com such as ‘Differing Abilities’ have increased 229%, ‘Unfiltered’ by 219%, ‘Real bodies’ by 147% and ‘Body Positivity’’ by 144%. Search terms around traditionally taboo topics such as ‘menstruation’ have also increased by 142%.
We’ve recently expanded this exclusive content partnership with the launch of “The No Apologies Collection,” which creates an opportunity to evolve the conversation even further and provide content that accurately represents women’s bodies, diversity, and the experiences that women face in their everyday lives.
While previously only available for editorial use, we now have an ever‑growing collection of images in “The No Apologies Collection” that are available as fully licensable RF and are equally diverse and unapologetic in their authentic depictions. Covering a wide‑range of topics such as unique beauty, inclusive fashion, sex and intimacy, and women’s health, these collections aim to visualize a broad spectrum of the female experience and help evolve the perception of all women.
