Roxane Gay Quotes

Nothing wrong with retouching - nothing new about retouching.

I hate when people say I Photoshop myself.

'Sports Illustrated' does extremely minimal retouching. Other publications, however... phew. They do a lot; I've watched myself be Photoshopped before. It. Is. The. Worst.

Photoshop makes things look beautiful just as you have special effects in movies. It's just a part of life.

Any images that I've had retouched, I look at them, and I think, 'Oh I actually don't want that.' That's why I don't share them on Instagram.

If the Internet has been called a great democratizer, perhaps what social media has done is let anyone enter the beauty pageant. Teens can cover up pimples, whiten teeth, and even airbrush with the swipe of a finger, curating their own image to become prettier, thinner, and hotter.

I take, like, 500 selfies to get one I like.

I always wear make-up as I've never seen the point of looking less than your best.

Sometimes it's a struggle to keep up with my own photos, where the lighting is perfect, the makeup is done, and the images have been retouched. That's not what I see when I look in the mirror!

I touch up photos so people look as good in their photographs as they did in real life.

The selfie is a powerful tool, but it can also be dangerous, and I am fascinated with the process of it because there is a level of self-monitoring.

Well, there's this culture on Instagram where everyone uses filters and lighting, or people smooth their skin out. It's this weird thing. We all know it's not real and we all complain about it, yet we all do it.

If you only share your best pictures, or your Facetuned self, the thought of people seeing you as you truly are can be scary.

People share things that make them look good.

If you want to edit your photos and make yourself look different, go for it. That is up to you, but in my opinion, you should always post things that you think do a good job at representing who you are.

I hear it all the time: 'What happened to the Grace Potter who didn't used to wear makeup?'

I do think that the desire to permanently alter your body is triggered by this easy access to Photoshop on your phone.

People will take a picture of themselves and start looking at themselves and decide their neck looks weird. They see a celebrity selfie and wonder how she looks so good, and why her lips look so big.

My belief is that every single major magazine cover is retouched. I don't know how they couldn't be.

Because of social media, we're so fixated on our appearances.

I have the opportunity, which most people don't experience nearly as much, of being in front of a mirror up to 10 hours a day. Staring at your body, you really get to know every little detail of how to make yourself look your best.

I never edited a photo of myself in my life. I don't have the energy.

I use Twitter to be my best self: fun, dateable. I don't get paranoid with Twitter, only in real life. I write so I feel comfortable, not speaking.

Makeup transforms me. I feel like I'm in disguise when I walk my dog without makeup on.

Social media is awesome because I can somewhat paint myself the way I want people to see me.