"The market" seems to demand women have asses like prepubescent boys

[Major Nikon]

155. Hogwash

A $50 digital camera will perform all sorts of in camera processing because what comes directly out of the sensor is not ready for prime time. Most (although not all) commercial photographers and many serious amateurs prefer to do their post processing outside the camera because it gives them a greater element of control. Airbrushing was a technique used in the film days to create 3rd generation images post print and has no direct correlation to modern digital photographic editing. All sorts of darkroom image manipulation was available and employed during the days of film like color correction and doging & burning. Even Ansel Adams used all sorts of darkroom techniques to improve his photography. These exact same techniques are employed by photoshop which makes them easier, faster, and cheaper.

While some photographers use photoshop to manipulate body images, you will NOT see this with truly professional photographers like the ones used by SI. They could create the same images with film and some still do (although this is far more rare today with virtually no loss of quality with digital). If everything was simply manipulated digitally there would be no need for exotic locations, narrow windows of opportunity during the day for light quality, or even models.

Airbrushing was a technique used in the film days either to make corrections to non-models, or by shitty photographers to improve shitty 2nd generation images. While photoshop can certainly mimic those corrections, and is used for the same reasons, it doesn't mean all commercial photographers are doing it.