Magazine editors in the U.K. have agreed to meet with their trade association to discuss a code for the use of retouched photographs. This move is part of a series of recommendations that came out of Britain's Model Health Inquiry, an initiative established by the British Fashion Council and led by Baroness Kingsmill, who concluded that retouching could “perpetuate an unachievable aesthetic." While it's not bloody likely that there will be total ban on retouching, we are certainly curious to see what they come up with and how it impacts the images we see on the glossy pages. [The Times]UPDATE: The Australians have gotten in on the action, too. The Victorian Government's media code of conduct on body image will discourage the use of Photoshop and other tricks to change the shape and appearance of women in the media. Their code will be released April 18th.
Australian Association of National Advertisers executive director Colin Segelov, who was on the committee that formulated the voluntary code, said it addressed "concerns that images in the media should not set up such false expectations and aspirations as to cause danger to young women." [MSN]
So where is the U.S. in all this? Apparently we're still on the poreless, fat-free, wrinkle-free side of the argument. Let's hope that changes soon.
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3 comments:
This is encouraging. Thank you for posting this. I have two daughters and sometimes I worry so much about how their teen years will look like with all these warped beauty messages. They are 6 and 8... maybe by the time they are vulnerable (4 years from now?), people like you will make enough difference that they don't go through the pressures that I went through as a teen.
It's the parents who are really on the front lines! Today's pressures are intense, but girls can cope with them best when they have caring adults in their lives who set positive examples of self-acceptance AND educate them about how to look critically at all the confusing messages about beauty. Have you seen this great PSA from Girls Inc.? It really speaks to the kinds of messages girls need to hear.
The Girls Inc. message is very powerful. Thank you.
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