www.telegraph.co.uk 3 August 2009
Written by Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent
As part of a new policy on women’s issues, the party suggest all images should be accompanied by a message indicating if they have been airbrushed – the term used when photographs are doctored to make the subject look thinner or free of blemishes.
Jo Swinson, who oversaw the policy paper, singled out adverts featuring the model Twiggy for Olay face cream and Jessica Alba, the actress, both of which are said to have been heavily airbrushed before publication.
In Twiggy’s case, age lines appeared to have been removed, while an original photograph of Miss Alba for an advert for Campari suggests that she was made to look far slimmer in the published version.
Miss Swinson, the MP for East Dunbartonshire, said: “Today’s unrealistic idea of what is beautiful means that young girls are under more pressure now than they were even five years ago.
“Airbrushing mean that adverts contain completely unattainable images that no one can live up to in real life.
“We need to help protect children from these pressures and we need to make a start by banning airbrushing in adverts aimed at them.”
She added: “The focus on women’s appearance has got out of hand – no one really has perfect skin, perfect hair and a perfect figure, but women and young girls increasingly feel that nothing less than thin and perfect will do.
“Liberal Democrats believe in the freedom of companies to advertise but we also believe in the freedom of young people to develop their self-esteem and to be as comfortable as possible with their bodies, without constantly feeling the need to measure up to a very narrow range of digitally manipulated shapes and sizes.”
The party will call on the Advertising Standards Authority to ban all altered or enhanced images in advertising aimed at the under-16s.
Those which are for viewing by adults will have to indicate clearly the extent to which they have been airbrushed or digitally enhanced.
The party also wants cosmetic surgery advertisements and information leaflets to carry success rates.
Schools would be encouraged to offer exercise options more likely to appeal to teenage girls, such as dance, yoga and aerobics, and headteachers asked to ensure changing rooms are clean and well equipped, to stop high drop out rates from PE classes.
And gyms should offer discounted membership to children, the Lib Dems say.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk
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And just for reference, this is the lovely Twiggy (minus the heavy retouching):
Twiggy, Courtesy of Exposay.com
I believe that self esteem in young girls starts at home. When parents of young teen girls are instilling in them that they are beautiful just the way they are and bringing them up in an environment filled with love, compassion and respect for oneself, then these girls will have high self esteem and so when they see famous actress’ or models on magazines airbrushed and made up..it will not effect them.
Parents can call their daughters beautiful their entire lives but in some cases all it will take is that one boy they’ve “fallen for” to think they’re not attractive enough and all that comes crumbling down. It’s unfortunate but even girls with good parents who give them tons of love still feel inadequate when surrounded by loads of celebrities and models so beautiful it’s unreal…because they aren’t real. You can tell them that they are photoshopped images but how are they to know to what extent?
I actually think this is a good idea. My parents constantly told me and my sisters how “beautiful” we were, and I always believed it. BUT, when I started looking at the girls in the magazines, etc. it always made me feel horrible about myself. It is good for the parents to build up a child’s self esteem, but it is very hard to avoid the media, and I don’t doubt that many other kids and teenage girls feel the way I felt when trying to compare themselves to something that isn’t even real.