Julia Bluhm, 14, Leads Successful Petition For Seventeen Magazine To Portray Girls Truthfully

[obamanut2012]

Thanks to 14-year-old, Julia Bluhm! Seventeen will also feature models of different sizes, ethnic background, and hair textures.

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Facing pressure from teen girls demanding truthful images of young women, Seventeen magazine has vowed to "celebrate every kind of beauty" and feature only photographs of real girls and models who are healthy.

Editor-in-chief Ann Shoket made the announcement in her editor's letter in the August issue, and her note marks a major triumph for the thousands of teen girls who took part in a petition for the magazine to show images of real girls. Fourteen-year-old Julia Bluhm from Maine started the protest on Change.org with the petition, "Seventeen Magazine: Give Girls Images Of Real Girls!", which requested that the publication print one unaltered photo spread per month. In May, Bluhm and a group of other teen girls delivered the petition and its 84,000 signatures to the Seventeen Magazine headquarters in New York City. The girls protested outside the offices with signs with slogans such as "teen girls against Photoshop."

“I hoped that Seventeen would do this, but I guess I didn’t think it would actually happen,” Bluhm told ABC News. “It’s been really exciting for me.”

The magazine's announcement promised to “never change girls’ body or face shapes” when retouching images. For Bluhm, the measure represents an important step towards more positive media role models and healthier body image for teen girls.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/05/julia-bluhm-seventeen-mag_n_1650938.html?utm_hp_ref=teen

[yardwork]

1. Impressive young woman.

[Starry Messenger]

2. I love this story!

I hope they stick to their promise and that other teen magazines will follow suit. Maybe even adult magazines? Even though I know they are total fakes, it's still hard to mentally overcome the "ideal".

[obamanut2012]

3. Airbrushing in one thing

Actually altering bodies is another.

This is so great! Being a teenaged girl can be sucky enough re: body image, without comparing yourself to a totally fake photo.

[Starry Messenger]

4. It's shocking how much they alter whole bodies.

You'd drive yourself nuts as a teen trying to compare yourself to the cartoonish examples in magazines.

Did you see this story? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2168223/Victorias-Secret-models-thighs-looks-bizarrely-bow-legged-new-swimwear-shoot.html

[obamanut2012]

5. That's just awful!

[LadyHawkAZ]

8. There used to be a site

the site owner had photographed her perfectly normal, pretty teenage daughter, redid it with all the photoshopping tricks and then layered the two over each other. You could mouse over different areas and see the differences between the original and the refinished- where hair had been inserted to make the hair look fuller, how the waist and thighs were trimmed, whitening of the eyes and teeth, blemish and pore removal etc.

It was a really good visual and I wish I still had the link.

[obamanut2012]

9. See if you can find that website!

[LadyHawkAZ]

11. It might not exist anymore

I saw it about 5 years ago. The forum where I found the link is gone now, as is the lady that posted it.

[Starry Messenger]

10. Wow! I'd love to see that too.

I wonder how the daughter reacted!

[maddezmom]

6. very inspiring

going to share with my daughter.

[Gormy Cuss]

7. I read about her in a Maine newspaper a while back.

Last edited Fri Jul 6, 2012, 11:29 AM - Edit history (1)

She's from Waterville which is a small town with a decidedly liberal bent because it's also the home of Colby College.

Good for her for getting the attention of the editor and good for Seventeen for agreeing to make some changes.