Tomorrow, Graphic Universe will publish “Unretouchable,” the debut graphic novel by Sofia Szamosi. The book, which deals with issues of social media and photo retouching, is a deeply personal story from Szamosi, from whom we have this exclusive quote:
I had eating disorders for much of my teens and twenties. At age thirteen I decided anorexia was cool and, taking a page from the online pro-ana subculture, started a “thinspiration” journal. I filled it with magazine cut-outs of rail thin models. These images—so ubiquitous in popular media—had a profound influence on me. I deliberately emulated them, torturing my body in the process.
Friends and relatives tried to help in ways that didn’t help at all: telling me I looked too skinny only fueled the fire, and their worry and advice often felt belittling. In Unretouchable, Olive struggles to figure out how to help Kiki, who she thinks may have an eating disorder.
Deep in her own journey figuring out how the media in her life has affected her body image, Olive learns that these issues play out differently for everyone and how important it is not to make assumptions about other people’s experiences.
Having loving, respecting friends to talk to has been key to my recovery. Applying “logic” rarely helps people… but listening to someone without judgment and establishing friendship can help a person open up to change. I think the best way we can help each other is to remember to start by listening. To diminish the power of damaging “beauty” norms, I believe we’ll need to go on having lots of open and honest conversations about how these issues play out in all our lives.
Written and illustrated by Sofia SzamosiOlive is spending the summer before art school at a coveted internship, helping one of the fashion industry’s elite digital-imaging specialists. After a glamourous New York photoshoot, she learns that taking pictures is only the first step. She discovers the “violent verbs” (cut, crop, slice, lasso) of image retouching software and the secrets behind “virtual models.”
Soon Olive is fixating on her own appearance and pondering the ethics of her work behind the scenes. As college gets closer, she’ll try to get out of her own head, attempt to quit the Internet, and finally embrace image-making on her own terms. Unretouchable is a window into the little-known, hugely influential world of fashion photography and a tribute to self-acceptance.
Make sure to pick up the book tomorrow at finer comic and book stores everywhere.
