Showing a stretch-marked tummy and thighs resembling real human body parts (accentuated by harsh lighting), the photo shocked people who obviously have no idea what the average body of a woman in her mid 40s looks like.

And just like that, Cindy Crawford was trending on Google.

While some people thought this was a fabulous 'real beauty' initiative from Marie Claire others were simply disgusted at the sight of a middle-aged woman in her undies.

"Wow what happened to her? Elle [Macpherson] still looks after herself !" read one comment on Facebook.

"Sorry to say, I think most people, males obviously don't want to see lines and belly fat," wrote another charmer on Twitter. 

It turns out the leaked photo was actually from a cover shoot for Marie Claire Mexico and Latin America from three years ago and never made it in to the magazine – at all.

But the whole media storm around the image has made me uncomfortable.

While I understand the compulsion we have with seeing beautiful, famous people looking 'just like us' the constantly leaking of unretouched photos and deliberately nasty paparazzi shots makes me really angry.

Sure, sometimes pointing out ridiculous Photoshop offences is much needed, like the crazy amount of edits made to this famous cover of Faith Hill.

It's also important for real bodies of mothers to be seen and appreciated for the beauty they offer, not just by other mothers but by young men who have probably seen more airbrushed pictures of women's bodies than real ones. That's why photography projects like Shape of a Mother are so vital.

But too often photos are leaked without permission so we can mock a woman for how she 'really' looks. It's no wonder feminist website Jezebel lost a lot of fans after offering $10,000 for unretouched pictures of actor, writer and director Lena Dunham from her Vogue magazine cover – it smacked of spitefulness, not investigative journalism.

Time and time again women's bodies are publicly scrutinised, critiqued and compared to other bodies like works of art (or cuts of meat). What a woman does for a living  - Dunham's hit show, Crawford's recent activism and charity work - receive far less attention.

In case you are still wondering if this obsession with 'untouched' female bodies is sexist, ask yourself when the last time one of George Clooney's outtakes made the front of the newspaper? If there is a picture of Clooney's love handles on the internet, it's yet to trend on Google.

Cindy Crawford is yet to comment on the picture. A recent interview with Marie Claire online paints her as a woman with a healthy attitude towards body image and living a balanced life.

"I was never one of the 'skinny' skinny girls who could eat whatever they wanted, so I certainly exercise and try to eat right. But at the same time, I try to be a good role model for my daughter in terms of just accepting myself, not saying 'Does this make me look fat?' or 'I can't eat that' or 'I'm on a diet.'," she said.

"I just trying to lead by example. If we go out for ice cream I'm not going to not have any, I'm just going to have the baby-size cone. I don't want her to think that taking care of yourself means depriving yourself and not having fun."

Over the weekend her husband Rande Gerber posted a photo to Instagram reminding us all why she was one of the original supermodels, and still knocks it out of the park.

She got flowers and I got her. Happy Valentines Day @cindycrawford

A photo posted by Rande Gerber (@randegerber) on Feb 14, 2015 at 6:00pm PST

I might be 10 years younger, but I'd happily swap bodies with Crawford tomorrow. Stretch marks and all.