Recently, numerous news articles and even a video misnamed a stand-in as a “body double.” In the instances, the incorrect use of the term led to a formulation of negative opinions about the principal model when the model had done nothing wrong or improper in her work.

Oprah Winfrey’s Stand-In Is Not Her “Body Double”

In a recent article posted on OMG!, reporter Sarah Flanigan incorrectly fingers a stand-in used for Oprah Winfrey as Winfrey’s “body double.”  An accompanying video hosted by Kristen Aldridge also confuses Winfrey’s photo-shoot stand-in for her body double.

(To add insult to injury, the article spells the stand-in’s name wrong; she is not “Shaka” but actually Chaka, i.e., Chaka Ra.)

Here is the OMG! video, which is edited from the original video on Oprah’s website:

In the OMG! video, Winfrey clearly defines the use of her stand-in Ra. “Every photo shoot that happens, happens with a crew of people,” says Winfrey, “and I have a stand-in because every set has to be lit and somebody has to stand [in] light for me.”

Winfrey is not saying her stand-in is her body double.  If Winfrey had, the implication would be something considerably different.

Stand-In vs. Body Double

A “body double” — the term the article and video use to describe the stand-in — is someone during a shoot whose body is photographed in place of the principal (the main actor, model, etc.).  Body doubles are not necessarily models; they may simply be everyday people who are available to work on camera for a shoot at a time when the principal is not available.  Usually they are similar in some way to the principal, but body doubles may look very different from principals and may bear no obvious resemblance.

Alternately, a stand-in is someone used in setting up a shot, often while the principal is getting into hair, makeup, wardrobe, and/or relaxing.  Once the shot is set up, the stand-in steps off and the principal (or the body double) steps in to be photographed.  In other words, a stand-in does not appear in photographs or video.

Why It’s Very Important to Distinguish Stand-Ins and Body Doubles in News Media

So what is the big deal about confusing the terms “body double” and “stand-in”?

The words are not synonyms and they have different professional implications.

If you examine the comments that follow the OMG article — as well as comments on the Daily Mail article, which carried its own story with the misnamed stand-in — you will see commenters posting inflammatory comments with respect to Winfrey’s use of a body double in her photographs, a fact that seems antithetical to Winfrey’s interests in promoting a healthy self-image.

Had the article’s author Ms. Flanigan properly used the term “stand-In” instead of “body double,” the commenters would have clearly seen that Ra is not used to mislead Winfrey’s readership into a different sense of Winfrey’s body but instead used for the crew to set up the shot.  Furthermore, by making the proper distinction in the article, the commenters would have known that Ra does not appear in the final photograph and Winfrey is not superimposed on Ra’s body.

As a result of this verbal faux pas, Winfrey is victimized by bad reporting.  Readers are led to believe that Winfrey is a hypocrite when it comes to self-image when instead she simply uses a stand-in while she is prepping for a shoot, a fact implying no hypocrisy.

Know How to Properly Use the Term “Stand-In”!

In August 2012, Stand-In Central posted a plea to the media to ensure the proper use of the term “stand-in.”

Should you find any misuses of the term “stand-in” in a news article, please send a link to the article to us using the Ask Stand-In Central page.

Do you have a question about how to use the term? Wonder if the proper use of the term was made?  Post your question below!