By Cheryl Mattox Berry
Kudos to Carina Cruz, 16, and Emma Stydahar, 17, who staged a mock red carpet show against Teen Vogue in New York City and presented editors with 28,000 signatures requesting that the magazine declare that it doesn’t digitally alter body shapes in photographs. They are part of the all-girl activist group SPARK Movement.
How refreshing to find teen girls fed up with the stick figures shown on page after page of fashion magazines each month. For years, readers didn’t know that zits, birthmarks and figure flaws had been erased from photos, and girls tried (usually without much success) to capture the fake perfection. However, some girls still don’t get it. And that’s why Stydahar and Cruz took action. They want the magazine to promote a positive body image by presenting untouched photos of girls.
On Wednesday, the teens met with Editor-in-Chief Amy Astley, who could only spare a few minutes (less than five.) She didn’t discuss their request for the magazine to state that images aren’t altered. Instead, she gave the girls copies of Teen Vogue and told them to learn more about the magazine. In May, a similar protest by Julia Bluhm, 14, resulted in a longer and friendlier meeting with Seventeen’s top editor Ann Shoket, who promised not to alter body shapes in the August issue of that magazine.
Teen Vogue issued a statement, saying that the magazine features non-models and readers, and doesn’t retouch their pictures. The magazine makes a conscious and continuous effort to promote a positive body image, the statement said.
Hopefully, the message that these teen activists are trying to convey isn’t lost among readers. The slick, glossy spreads you see in fashion magazine are just like reality TV, not real at all. So, don’t become obsessed with trying to get the model’s flawless skin, Barbie-doll thin thighs or perfectly round butt. Read the magazines for their intended purpose – entertainment.
Photo: AP