Reasons Why I Will NOT Boycott Seventeen (Hint: It’s not why you’d think)

By Sarah Binning, Marketing and Editorial Coordinator
Art by Elsa Moseley, 15,Oklahoma

If you’re a feminist, teen girl, reader of Seventeen, or healthy media activist (or a friend/relative to any of the above), you’ve probably heard about the amazing group of teen girls who recently petitioned Seventeen. Their request? They want this teen-centered publication to print real photos of diverse girls—without photo editing or enhancement of the images. The campaign, started by SPARK bloggers Julia Bluhm and Izzy Labbe, led a group of teen activists to hold a mock photo shoot outside Seventeen’s New York office. Armed with posters reading: “The magazine is for me—make it look like me!” and “Teen girls against Photoshop!” the girls waited for a chance to speak with Ann Shoket, Seventeen’s editor-in-chief.

Last week, someone tweeted me the news about Seventeen’s response: @TeenVoices, Seventeen denies girl’s request to stop photoshopping. Boycott Sept. issue. Use #notbuyingSept17 hashtag. PLS. RT.

Was it true? Did Seventeen really deny 25,000 signatures (which has since grown to more than 70,000)? I immediately started searching for related news articles. My heart sank when I was finally able to find an article confirming that the tweet was indeed true. After retweeting the #NotBuyingItSept17 hashtag and after several conversations with colleagues, teens, and activists, I’ve reconsidered and decided I’m not going to boycott Seventeen. 

My decision isn’t for the reason you would think. It’s not because I believe Seventeen’s statements that their publication is diverse and they do not enhance their photographs. I’m choosing not to boycott Seventeen because:

1. I’d rather see changes occur willingly. I want Seventeen to see the light. I want them to understand that girls worldwide are unhappy with the size-zero, light-skinned, zit-free, cookie-cutter models we see today in their magazine. We want to see real girls. Let’s open the door for continued conversations with Seventeen and brainstorm ways they can begin to create healthier media.
2. There are so few magazines, and resources in general, focused on teen girls.  I don’t want to be divisive and undermine another girls’ publication. I’d rather educate them about the unhealthy side effects of this constant stream of negative media. Low self-esteem, eating disorders, and teen depression are just a few of the issues that girls face today. There are steps all publications can take toward creating healthier media. Example: In 2009, French Elle printed a “no-makeup” issue. And in recent news, Vogue said they’ll no longer employ underage or underweight models.
3. Boycotts are generally short lived. If enough hundreds of thousands of people banned together, we could probably make a significant impact in Seventeen’s revenue. But for how long? If Seventeen can just hang in there for a few more weeks, they’ll find a way to smooth this over with some good PR. Eventually something else will stir up public attention. Society will move on to boycotting something (or someone) else.
4. Seventeen is not unique.  Like most businesses, Seventeen is a company that financially supports itself through advertising. They’re always in a constant struggle to keep their advertisers happy. And the reality is that advertisers need girls to feel ugly and ashamed so that we’ll buy their products, which “guarantee” us beauty. This issue is larger than just one magazine. Seventeen isn’t the only publication that uses extensive makeup, lightening, and photo editing. The issue lies much deeper in the roots of our society’s standards. Objectifying women and making us feel poorly about our bodies on purpose is not okay.

I’m not saying I’m going to run out and buy a copy of Seventeen magazine. (I don’t, in fact, buy the magazine on a regular basis.) You may or may not want to yourself.  If you’re morally opposed to the content inside the publication, it’s okay if you make a personal decision not to purchase it. What I am saying is that rallying your sisters together for a full-fledge boycott is not a fix-all solution.

Instead, I pledge to:

1. Sign the petition, and talk about it with the teen girls in my life. Unlike my initial gut reaction to jump on board with the boycott, signing the petition and becoming actively involved (i.e. sharing and discussing this issue) has allowed me to truly think through and understand my personal viewpoint about this issue. I’ve digested the information and issue in a much deeper way than I would have had I just signed on for a boycott.
2. Raise my voice to make my concerns known! Even by writing this blog, I’m getting my thoughts and concerns into the open. You can do the same. You can even write an Op-Ed for your local newspaper (or even The New York Times). If we leverage public forums, like blogs, twitter and petitions, we can hold our ground for much longer than if we were to just boycott. We can spark discussions, conversations, and maintain our momentum on the issue, not to mention, garner the support of tens of thousands of people easily. Being vocal about the issue will keep this healthy media issue in the spotlight.
3. Tweet about the petition, and spread the word about how others can get involved.
4. Share articles about the amazing work Julia, Izzy, and other girls worldwide are doing to promote more real images of girls, and healthy media, in general!
5. Promote alternative magazines that already portray real girls without photoshopping them, such as Teen Voices. Our girls are gorgeous—just the way they are! But we also know that they are more than just their pretty faces, so we focus on their ideas and experiences, not just their looks.
6. Become involved with organizations that empower teen girls and support healthy media and education for girls. To name a few: Teen Voices, SPARK, MissRepresentation, GRLZ Radio, Strong Women Strong Girls, Proud2BMe.org, Girl Up, Girl Scouts, and She’s the First.
7. Be a conscious consumer of media. When I look at an ad or watch a television show, I’m aware that these models and actresses are wearing makeup, and have their hair styled by professionals. I know the advertiser has a mission to sell me something, and I’m skeptical and analytical of their advertising strategies before deciding how I feel about their company and products.
8. Promote acceptance of a wide variety of images of women’s body types.  Let girls and women see that just as there are a range of skin tones, there are many body types in the world, and many ways to be beautiful—au natural.  I rarely wear makeup, and have learned to embrace the fact that my thunder-thighs, big nose, and goofy ears are here to stay.
9. Practice promoting positive body images by giving out compliments to friends, family, and even strangers about the ways they are already beautiful—without enhancements. And be sure to include compliments that don’t focus on their appearance at all. Thank those you love for being honest and trustworthy. Congratulate your colleagues for their organizational skills, or creative thinking. Because when all is said and done, it’s really inner beauty that matters most.

I’m sure that other traditional women’s and girls’ magazines and advertisers everywhere are thinking: “I’m glad this happened to Seventeen and not to us! What a press nightmare.” But I hope they’re all paying attention because Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and Abercrombie, you could be next. You need to be a part of this conversation too. We all do.

Maura Kelly: Heavy People Shouldn’t Kiss on TV

By editorial intern Lauren Castner

On October 25, Marie Claire posted an entry from blogger Maura Kelly about finding overweight people on TV “aesthetically displeasing.”  Kelly spends a large portion of her post railing on overweight people featured on shows like the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly.  In her mind, heavy people should not be intimate with each other on television.

The blog post has caused such a stir that not only has Kelly updated it to add an apology for the tone, but Marie Claire has started a series of response posts from other editors and bloggers discussing the issue.  One of the responses comes from Fatshionista, a blogger independent from Marie Claire.  The responses bring up many valid points about the lack of full-figured television characters that look like the rest of us.

Many websites and blogs are weighing in too, including Jezebel and the Huffington Post.  The integrity of the editors who allowed the post to be published has been called in to question – people want to know who thought the post was a good idea to publish in the first place.  While I was reading the original post, at least 35 more comments were posted about it on Marie Claire’s site.  Many women have publicly declared that they are cancelling their subscriptions and are calling for others to join them in doing so.

Body image and self-esteem issues run rampant, and fashion magazines such as Marie Claire play a role in perpetuating these issues.  Instead of appreciating our bodies and all that they can do for us, we focus on being too fat or too thin.  Let’s praise the fact that there is some diversity of size and shape on TV, not shove it into a corner. Being healthy, no matter what your size, is much more important than being thin.

What do you think about Maura Kelly’s post?  Does it change the way you think about Marie Claire? Tell us what you think!

The Case for Unaltered Celebrity Photos

By Sarah Binning
As unaltered photographs of Jennifer Aniston hit the Internet, airbrushing has again made headlines. The original photo shows Aniston’s freckled, lined face, while the magazine cover of Australia Madison indicates perfect skin sans freckles and wrinkles.
Most of the viewing public knows media images are edited. A recent study by the Good Surgeon Guide, indicates that nearly 90 percent of teen girls are aware celebrity images are edited. This leads us to an important question: If people know that these photos are unrealistic, why do is there so much interest in Photoshopped images?
Do you think celebrities would be less famous if media portrayed the “unedited” versions of them? The Merrriam-Webster definition of “celebrity” is the “state of being celebrated.”So what are we actually celebrating? Their talents? Accomplishments? Looks? It’s easy to focus on “celebrating” so much that we forget they are human. We all age, get wrinkles, and sport the occasional dreaded pimple!
Maybe if we all saw more unedited photos of these celebs, we could recognize them as “normal” and create a newer, more positive standard of beauty. And isn’t it possible that their flaws would make them more likable to us, not less?
Teens may understand that media images are unrealistic, but that doesn’t mean the images don’t affect their self-esteem. This summer, Teen Voices’ teen editors spent an entire week discussing and analyzing media representations of women. The teen editors also uncovered the types of females who are represented in film and TV, and, more importantly, which types are left out. Our girls discussed how easy it is to feel your self-esteem lowered, and to feel like a failure when you can’t reach impossible beauty. These standards might be unrealistic, but they can still deeply impact the way teens view themselves.
We’re always happy to see groups taking steps toward combating false representations of women. OneStopPlus.com, a top plus-sized retailer, will showcase only plus-sized models during their show at New York Fashion Week. The retailer is taking a lot of heat for participating in Fashion Week – but we’re looking forward to seeing these curvy women in the show!

Girl Scouts Is Ensuring Healthier Media for Girls!

By Teen Voices guest blogger Stephanie Harig

Stephanie Harig is an intern at Girl Scouts of the USA’s Public Policy and Advocacy Office.

Every day we are bombarded by unhealthy media images of girls and women.  Even though we know that these depictions are not based in reality, many of us still define our self-worth by how we measure up to them.

A 2010 survey by the Girl Scout Research Institute found that 60 percent of girls compare their bodies to fashion models and 47 percent say fashion models give them a body to strive for. And only 46 percent of girls believe that the fashion industry does a good job of representing people of all races and ethnicities.

The problem is not only what girls think – it’s also what they do. The same survey found that more than half of girls admit to going on a diet to try to lose weight and 31 percent admit to starving themselves or refusing to eat. Moreover, 42 percent of girls say they know someone their age who has forced themselves to throw up after eating, while 37 percent know someone who has been diagnosed with an eating disorder.

We are smart and powerful, but there is no doubt that unhealthy images negatively influence our body image and self-esteem. So is there anything we can do about it?

The answer is YES!

Girl Scouts is taking steps to ensure that healthier media images of girls and women become a reality. First, our newest program, It’s Your Story, Tell It!, will be released this winter.  It will empower girls to use the media as an agent of change and vehicle for self-expression, effectively helping them build their self-esteem.

Girl Scouts also supports The Healthy Media for Youth Act (H.R. 4925), which was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswomen Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).  The bill addresses unhealthy media images of girls and women through three avenues:

• grants to support media literacy programs;
• research on how depictions of women and girls in the media affect the health of youth;
• and, the creation of a National Taskforce on Women and Girls in the Media.

Current media images of girls and women set unrealistic standards that distract us from what is important and make it harder to believe in ourselves. This is not the reality in which we should have to live!  The Healthy Media for Youth Act is a step toward a new, girl-positive reality!

Imagine a world full of healthy media images of women and girls. Positive images of girls and women in the media would foster self-esteem, positive body image, and healthy relationships.  Girl Scouts further encourages the media to highlight strong female role models, more women in leadership roles, and body type, racial, and ethnic diversity.

If this is the world you want to see, then TAKE ACTION!  Join Girl Scouts as we advocate for healthier media images.  Visit www.girlscouts4girls.org and send a letter of support for the Healthy Media for Youth Act (H.R. 4925) to your Member of Congress. By using our GIRL POWER we can change our reality!

Glamour Magazine Highlights Curvier Models

By Teen Voices editorial intern Ally Betker

The November issue of Glamour includes a spread titled “Supermodels Who Aren’t Superthin,” showcasing “plus-size” women who proudly bare it all. This article is part of Glamour’s body image revolution that Teen Voices tweeted about back in September.

Glamour’s efforts to highlight “plus-size” models started when they ran a picture of 21-year-old model Lizzi Miller in a story about feeling good in your own skin. Positive responses flooded in, with readers clamoring for more images of natural-looking women like Miller.

Glamour’s highlighting of models who maintain a healthier weight than the norm has helped spark a conversation about what “plus-size” really means. The modeling industry calls anyone over a size six plus size, but the average American woman wears sizes 12-14. Should magazines turn their focus to this size since it represents the majority of their audience? Or would this just move the pressure to naturally thin girls and make them feel negative about their body type instead?

Glamour says that every body size, shape, and color should and will be represented in its pages. Editor-in-Chief Cindi Leive writes, “Turning the tables so we can bash one type instead of another isn’t the answer. Celebrating the fact that we’re all born different is.”

Check out the rest of Leive’s blog post here and visit www.teenvoices.com for more empowering ideas about accepting yourself!

Love Yourself as You Are… Unless We Think You Look Chubby?

Teen Voices intern Courtney Shane MacNealy

Last month, Self magazine featured an interview with pop singer Kelly Clarkson, who has recently been facing tabloid criticism for her supposed weight gain. In the article, Kelly radiates confidence, saying, “When people talk about my weight, I’m like, ‘You seem to have a problem with it; I don’t. I’m fine!’ I’m never trying to lose weight–or gain it. I’m just being!” While Kelly is comfortable with her size, apparently Self‘s editors are not–the magazine cover featured a doctored image of a drastically slimmed-down Kelly.

Check out Jezebel to see the real Kelly and the edited photo.

Unfortunately, we are used to seeing heavily edited or Photoshopped images of fashion models in ads–but we expect more from a magazine like Self, which focuses on healthy living and gives women fitness and nutrition advice. We want to see a happy, natural-looking woman on the cover, not a teeny-tiny model. Editor-in-chief Lucy Danziger addresses the controversy on her blog, stating, “Did we alter her appearance? Only to make her look her personal best.” Hey, Self! Skinnier isn’t always better. Lucy also writes, “Self tells women, ‘Love yourself as you are and reach your goals.’” Yet by heavily editing Kelly’s cover photo to make her look skinnier, Self certainly doesn’t seem to love her as she is!

Read Lucy’s blog posts on the topic here and here.

Lucy says that magazine covers should “inspire us to be our best.” But if magazines continue to show us altered pictures, women are going to aspire to unrealistic, unattainable ideals, and we will never be satisfied with our own bodies. It seems that Lucy herself is searching for that unrealistic image. She says, “When I ran the marathon five years ago, I was so proud of myself for completing it in under five hours and not walking a single step. But my hips looked big in some of the photos (I was heavier then), so when I wanted to put one of them on the editor’s letter in Self, I asked the art department to shave off a little. I am confident in my body, proud of what it can accomplish, but it just didn’t look the way I wanted in every picture.”

Lucy’s message is contradictory: she claims she is confident, and yet she is not confident enough to publish an unedited photo of herself.

We need to embrace our bodies’ unique shapes and all the wonderful things they allow us to do, from playing an instrument to running 26.2 miles. We applaud Kelly Clarkson for loving her body, and hope we can soon see the real Kelly on a magazine cover.

TEEN VOICES BLOG to the rescue!

By: Jocelyn Perez

The blogs and websites of magazines like Seventeen, People, and CosmoGirl can make a smart girl want to______.This is when blogging hits the spot.

What kind of world do we live in? Everybody is so caught up in the idea of weight, makeup, boys, celebrities and other useless things teens shouldn’t be worrying about. We should be focusing on our education and learning about the world. We could contribute to our society instead of supporting the ideas the media puts out to make us feel bad about ourselves and the way that we look.

Even though we may not know it, every time we look at that “perfect” girl or that “perfect” couple, it eats away at our self-esteem little by little.  I believe this is what makes us think we aren’t beautiful and that we have to change the way we look.

It isn’t our fault society is caught up in artificial thoughts and we shouldn’t have to pay the price. The media makes you think that you should look a certain way so you can buy products to “help you.” UGH! Finally, we have TEEN VOICES BLOG to the rescue because this stuff is ridiculous.

Teen Voices is a teen magazine but not just ANOTHER teen magazine. This magazine is written by teen girls and is different because it focuses on real teen issues and not on celebrities which have nothing to do with us. Teen Voices Blog will tackle and pick at the important things in life and real teen girl issues. This would be issues like: teen drug use, teen plastic surgery, GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) information, school budget cuts, sexual abuse, teen dating violence, body image problems and other stories to help you grow as a person and prepare you to become a strong, young woman.

Feel free to write us about anything and everything you think about our blog posts because what really matters is what YOU have to say. Leave a comment 🙂