Should Airbrushed Images Be Labeled?

Have you heard about Indigo, a new Australian magazine for girls? In it, you'll find lots of stories and photos of real girls and their achievements. What won't you find? Air brushing and celebrities. According to this Jezebel story, another Australian magazine, Girlfriend, now documents all the work and time that go into a fashion shoot so that readers can see "all of the work that goes into making one perfect picture."

Australia is taking body image and the effects that the media can have on it very seriously, introducing a National Media and Industry Code of Conduct on Body Image, which demands not only diversification of models' size and shape, but also labeling of airbrushed images in women's magazines, according to a story in The Age. I can't help but think that this is reminiscent of the Surgeon General's warning on cigarettes here in the U.S.

Most women -- and girls, for that matter -- are aware that magazine images have been retouched. But I'm intrigued by the idea of a reminder, right there on the page. 

I know that my daughter knows all too well what goes into a "perfect" magazine photo. In May of 2007, she appeared with me in the picture taken for that month's Weight-Loss Diary column in Shape magazine. She watched me go through hair, make-up and styling, then went through it herself. Then came the actual shoot, where the photographer took shot after shot, directing us to tilt our heads, smile more, drop this shoulder slightly, etc. -- you get the picture. That "effortless" shot of the two of us laughing together required about four or five hours of work. I won't presume to speak about any work that might have gone into the photo and layout once it was back in the magazine's art department.

As a mom, I feel fortunate that my daughter and I had that experience together. It is -- and will remain -- a central starting point for any conversation she and I have about media images and models. The bottom line is that the actions taken by Australia and its magazines are a huge step in opening up a conversation about body image -- what's realistic, what isn't and what beauty really looks like.

And that's good for all of us.

**Book News**

I'm thrilled to report that my book, You'd Be So Pretty If...: Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies -- Even When We Don't Love Our Own, is now in stock at Amazon.com and at bookstores throughout the U.S. 

Comments

[Alyssa]

I think it's a good idea.
A few years ago I was having new headshots taken. (Those are the photos that actors send around, with our resume stapled on the back, to casting directors.) I got my eyebrows plucked, my hair curled and professional makeup done. After the photo shoot (which took a few hours), I got 2 useable pictures. I then had them taken to the re-toucher, to get rid of circles under my eyes, pimples, and any other "imperfections." And these were just photos of my face, from the shoulders up!
Eventually I got the photos back. They looked great. But my friend looked at them and said "Who the hell is that?!??!?!"
Lesson learned.

[Sagan]

Congratulations about the book!!!

That's great that your daughter has had the opportunity to see how it all happens behind the scenes; she'll be able to be much more critical of media images.

I love the idea of having the reminder right there. We need that.