By Emma Stydahar
The past few months have been very exciting in terms of how women and girls are portrayed in print magazines.
Firstly, after SPARK staged a protest in support of SPARK member Julia Bluhm’s petition urging Seventeen Magazine to change their photoshop policy, in this months issue of Seventeen editor-in-chief Ann Shoket announced that the face and body sizes of the models in their magazines will not be digitally altered in any of the spreads in the magazine. Congrats guys– SPARK WON ! We’re so excited about Seventeen’s new photoshop policy. Teen girls not being exposed to the unrealistic, digitally disfigured bodies and faces in their Seventeen magazines definitly has the potential to change the way they view their own bodies. But to make this really impactful, we need to expand this change.
Secondly, Vogue has recently announced that as of their June issue they will be adhere to specific rules regarding models age and weight. No models under the age of 16 or who appear to have an eating disorder will be hired or appear in any of Vogue’s publication (it is unclear if the age rule will or will not apply to Teen Vogue).
Now we’re on to the next step. Vogue’s new model rules are an admirable first step, as long as they continue to be adhered to. But now we want Teen Vogue to follow Seventeen’s lead. In our new petition on change.org we’re asking Teen Vogue to make a public statement promising to not digitally alter the face or body sizes of ANY model who appears in their magazine.
By signing this petition you are sending a message: real girls are really beautiful WITHOUT being digitally altered. And not only are you sending that message to the teen magazines, your sending it to the young women who read these publications, who have been programmed to believe that because their bodies don’t measure up to the photoshopped models in these magazines that they are not beautiful enough, not thin enough, not good enough.
Hi, congrats for your victory. I’m glad someone stepped up and did something about this craziness.
I posted an article about Julia’s petition on my website peace-kidz.com, and I’d like to stay in touch with you. We’re all about kids (and ppl in general) to keep it real. While we promote peace awareness and peace building, we also strongly support to stand up for your rights, and to take control over your life.
If you have another petition going on, let us know so we can help promote it.
Peace and blessings
Ralf Schuetz
[…] Seventeen commits–now, Teen Vogue! Posted by SPARK summit on July 4th, 2012 […]
Congratulations! That’s a wicked awesome piece of work you did there. I heard about it during lunch break—over here in Germany. Keep it up, and the best of success for your Teen Vogue petition!
Peace,
Andreas
[…] Stydahar tells Buzzfeed Shift that if Teen Vogue doesn’t get on board with their demand “to make a public statement promising to not digitally alter the face or body sizes of ANY mod… the mag should expect a protest similar to the one mounted outside […]
[…] Stydahar tells Buzzfeed Shift that if Teen Vogue doesn’t get on board with their demand “to make a public statement promising to not digitally alter the face or body sizes of ANY mod… the mag should expect a protest similar to the one mounted outside […]
Congratulations for taking on something so important. Keep up the good work! You are definitely sending out the right message to everyone. I have many young nieces and nephews and I know that they read these magazines.
[…] Seventeen commits-now, Teen Vogue […]
[…] Stydahar tells Buzzfeed Shift that if Teen Vogue doesn’t get on board with their demand “to make a public statement promising to not digitally alter the face or body sizes of ANY mod… the mag should expect a protest similar to the one mounted outside […]
[…] Stydahar tells Buzzfeed Shift that if Teen Vogue doesn’t get on board with their demand “to make a public statement promising to not digitally alter the face or body sizes of ANY model w… the mag should expect a protest similar to the one mounted outside […]
[…] coverage for taking a leadership role in truth-telling, sparking ‘who’s next’ public pressure for Teen Vogue to follow suit. (here’s the newest petition if you’d like to […]
Hi! Julia I hope you read this. Thank you for your work, and inspiring this change. You are an inspiration yourself as a committed, smart, passionate young woman. As a young woman myself, probably about 12 years older than you, I look up to you for your spunk,dedication, and courage. I hope you never let the world get you down, especially not for being a woman, or a young person. Keep fueling that fire!
[…] efforts are part of a campaign named Sexualization Protest: Action, Resistance, Knowledge or SPARK, a girl-fueled activist movement demanding an end to the sexualization of women and girls in […]
Well done girls! Keep up the great work 🙂
I absolutely believe in what you are doing. I chose recently to learn Photoshop so I could find work. When I began removing tiny spot from a young woman’s face, going into great deal, I suddenly realized that the work I was considering doing was in complete opposition to my personal beliefs. I want to contribute to my daughter’s and other females’ self acceptance. I would be doing the opposite. I’m not going to learn Photoshop for that reason.
If you want to read a magazine for teen girls that features realistic images and is all about real girls, then read Real Girl Magazine. http://www.realgirlmag.com
Real Girl Magazine began in September 2011 and strives to be a positive influence for girls everywhere. We never alter images and represent a variety of girls just the way they are!
[…] control. We’re calling out the media for slut-shaming and victim-blaming. We’re fighting for body-positive images and representations. We’re asking our legislators to support comprehensive sex education, and then creating our own […]
[…] control. We’re calling out the media for slut-shaming and victim-blaming. We’re fighting for body-positive images and representations. We’re asking our legislators to support comprehensive sex education, and then creating our own […]
[…] que questiona esteriótipos de adolescentes na mídia dos Estados Unidos. Aperrearam tanto que mudaram até a política de uso do photoshop na revista Seventeen, uma das mais populares do país neste […]
[…] efforts are part of a campaign named Sexualization Protest: Action, Resistance, Knowledge or SPARK, a girl-fueled activist movement demanding an end to the sexualization of women and girls in […]
[…] this before a dozen times (think JC Penney t-shirt gate, Chap Stick, LEGO, sexist Abercrombie tees, SPARK girls vs Seventeen), so this in and of itself is not phenomenal or […]