The Spanish government’s “beach body” equality billboard shocked three British women by using their photographs without their consent and even editing their bodies.
The goal of the poster, which was created by Spain’s Ministry of Equality, was to inspire women to embrace their bodies and enjoy the beach no matter what.
Instead, it’s stirred some controversy; one of the women in the video called it “rude and disrespectful.”
The text reads, “The summer is ours too,” and the image shows five women of various body types unwinding on a beach, one of whom is topless and has had a breast removed following a mastectomy.
Juliet Fitzpatrick, a 60-year-old cancer survivor who underwent a double mastectomy, is the most recent lady to publicly express outrage over her image being captured and used without her consent.
To make matters worse for two of the ladies, Sian Green-Lord, a 32-year-old model, had her prosthetic limb edited removed, while Juliet had a breast added to her picture.
According to Juliet, the issue is “about how my body has been utilised and depicted without my permission,” adding that this seems to be “completely against” the campaign’s message.
Ami Barwell, the photographer who captured a brave Juliet sitting topless after a double mastectomy, believes the shot was taken from her “Mastectomy” album.
Without conducting additional digital research, she told Mail Online, “I cannot prove 100% that the base image was taken from my “Mastectomy” series” given the clear and crude levels of photoshopping used in the advertisement.
There seem to be many parallels, but the so-called “artist” in charge of the advertisement campaign is the only one who can be absolutely certain of the origin of these photos.
“I am angry if these photographs have been used and altered without my authorization.”
Juliet and Amy both claim to have written to the poster’s creator, Arte Mapache, but have not received a response.
Another British woman, Nyome Nicholas-Williams, 30, of London, has also filed a claim alleging that her photo has been stolen.
The picture, which she claims was altered from one she shared on her Instagram profile, shows her wearing a gold bikini.
When one of her 78,000 followers informed her of the poster, she became aware of it.
Nyome told the BBC, “I was really taken aback because I had never seen it before.” It’s a photo I took on my Instagram; it’s not a stock image.
“It’s disrespectful and impolite,” you say.
She said separately to Metro, “It is just a reminder that as a Black woman, my body is still policed and as women in general, our bodies are still not ours.”
Amputee Sian, meanwhile, was “shaking with rage” when she saw the poster.
Mapache altered a swimsuit photo from her Instagram account by adding a leg and armpit hair that weren’t in the original shot.
The Leicester-based model and motivational speaker who is a mother of one claimed that the editing was “beyond wrong.”
In a video uploaded to Instagram, she said, “I don’t know how to even explain the amount of anger that I’m feeling right now.”
One of my friends just informed me that the Spanish government is using my photo for a body-positive campaign, but they have removed my prosthetic leg.
I’m actually trembling. I am so furious.
One thing is using my image without my consent. But my body is also being edited by something else.
“My body with my artificial leg.” My God, I’m trembling.
It’s so awful that I literally don’t know what to say.
When she was 24 and on vacation in New York in 2013, Mrs. Green-Lord was struck by a taxi, resulting in the need for a limb amputation.
On Instagram, Ms. Nicholas-Williams goes by the name Curvy Nyome. She claims the campaign’s creator has contacted her and confirmed she will be paid, but the Spanish government has not yet responded.
A Brazilian model named Raissa Galvao reportedly claimed that her image had also been used without her permission.
The ad was introduced last week by Spain’s Institute of Women and Ministry of Equality.
Mapache has apologised publicly, but she hasn’t yet gotten back to all the women whose pictures she shot without their consent.
Given the understandable controversy over the illustration’s image rights, the artist stated, “I have decided that the best way to make up for any harm that may have come from my actions is to split out the money I received for the work and give equal parts to the persons in the poster.”
“I recognise my mistakes, and that is why I am now attempting to rectify the damage created,” the speaker says, “I hope to be able to remedy all this as quickly as possible.”
The poster was defended by the Women’s Institute.
The ad, according to a statement from the organisation, “is designed as a response to fatphobia, intolerance, and the questioning of non-normative bodies, particularly those of women, something that’s most common in the summer.”