Aisha Tyler Gets Real About Retouching, Body Insecurities, and Feeling "Giant"

Aisha Tyler already has major cred for her turn as the host of Talk Soup (paving the way for the comic genius of Joel McHale). She earned even more cool points last week when she showed up at the The Young Women's Leadership School to take part in a workshop sponsored by the Dove Self-Esteem Fund and Step Up Women's Network.

Aisha started off by telling the group of seventh grade girls that she has her own share of insecurities, especially when it comes to her height. "Sometimes I feel like a giant next to my friends," she said. She also passed around some of her photos (including the before/after pics that appeared in her "I Don't Want to Be Perfect" Glamour article) and talked about how unsettling it is when she sees herself retouched to a point where sometimes she barely recognizes herself. Then she left the room armed with a tub of Handi Wipes and returned sans makeup.

The workshop aimed to give girls a reality check on the Hollywood illusion treatment. By the end of the two-hour discussion, that goal seemed to have been well accomplished. One girl spoke up to say that her favorite episode of Friends was when Aisha's character went on a tropical vacation with Joey. "That was filmed on a set, you know. We weren't at the beach," Aisha replied. "Really? You weren't on vacation?" A few girls seemed genuinely surprised. Her final answer summed it all up quite nicely: "No, that wasn't real."