Refinery29 launches empowering stock image collection

Getty Images has teamed up with style and beauty site Refinery29 to launch 'The No Apologies' image collection which aims to increase the diversity of women's bodies.

The collection will include four themes: unique beauty, inclusive fashion, sex and intimacy, and women's health. Getty has revealed that over the past year it has seen the demand for body positivity grow with searches for 'unfiltered' rise by a massive 219 per cent and 'real bodies' increase by 147 per cent. Searches around topics such as menstruation have also risen by 142 per cent which the company believes signals a shift in the openness around these topics. 

The aim of the collaboration is to evolve the conversation around accurately representing women's bodies, diversity and the experiences that women face in their everyday lives. Getty director of visual trends Pam Grossman says the company is passionate about elevating the ways in which women are portrayed by the media and that the collaboration will enable the millennial female experience to be more 'accurately and unapologetically represented in the editorial space.'

Refinery29 co-founder Piera Gelardi said: “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 US history and they’re looking for authentic images that reflect their personal experience; something that Refinery29 has long been committed to.

“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.”