Of all the things to trend on social media, this time it’s Kim Kardashian’s well-oiled and highly photoshopped posterior, that too in the raw.

Appearing nude on the cover of a magazine with the caption “Break the Internet”, it did not really break the net, but definitely had people talking.

And if that’s not enough, Kardashian also shared the image with her 21 million followers on her Instagram account. It has been liked around 762,000 times and garnered more than 175,000 comments. The photograph has been circulated and discussed by hundreds of thousands of people the world over.

Personally, I did not find the picture aesthetically pleasing or beautiful, but I did smell a strong whiff of self-publicity, which I think worked brilliantly. Agreed, this is not the first and nor will it be the last such stunt.

Photoshop and controversy have been walking hand in hand for quite a while now. I remember reading about Hollywood actress Keira Knightley’s campaign against photoshopping and digital retouching.

So here’s what she did — she agreed to a topless shoot on the condition that she does not get photoshopped.

“I’ve had my body manipulated so many different times for so many different reasons, whether it’s paparazzi photographers or for film posters,” Knightley said. “That [shoot] was one of the ones where I said: ‘OK, I’m fine doing the topless shoot so long as you don’t make them any bigger or retouch [them]. Because it does feel important to say it really doesn’t matter what shape you are.” While this is a noble intention, I can’t help but wonder why would anyone objectify themselves to stand up against objectification?

It’s no secret that every single photograph that gets published in a magazine is a voluntary (sometimes, involuntary) victim of Photoshop. Why do only people who appear in magazines have glossy hair, flawless skin, high cheekbones and oh, I forgot to mention, that most coveted thigh gap.

It takes a whole team of artists to make a single photo bring out feelings of envy and lust in the viewers. And the good news is that this facility is now available to all. Anyone can get that peaches-and-cream complexion within seconds, you can even lose a few inches with the click of a button. Everyone is welcome to join in the madness to look picture perfect.

So who is ‘fake’ and who is ‘real’? It’s all about perspective anyway, isn’t it? Just because someone is slim and tall naturally, does she fall under ‘fake’? Who are these ‘real’ women really? Maybe it’s time we understand some pictures are posted only to gather attention. So, it’s probably best to get over these tags and just see a picture as what it is, rather than dissecting it. Maybe its time that we as an audience need to cut the drama out, see a seemingly controversial picture for what it is, and keep scrolling on.