The Girl Guides have fronted a campaign against airbrushing due to growing fears that the practice puts pressure on young women to conform to an realistic body image.
More than 20,000 Girl Guides have signed a petition to David Cameron asking him to intervene and force magazines to tell readers when photographs have been digitally enhanced.
The petition demands that airbrushed images of celebrities and models should be labelled to avoid the increasing pressures on young women to have the perfect figure.
Equalities Minister, Lynne Featherstone, explains, ‘Editors have the right to publish whatever pictures they want, but women and girls also have the right to be comfortable in their own bodies and at the moment they are being denied that.’
The petition follows research conducted by Girlguiding UK, which found that 42% of girls aged 11 to 16 were dieting or cutting down on certain foods to improve their figures.
More worryingly, the research found that half of those aged between 16 and 21 would have surgery to enhance their looks.
The Guides' petition called on the Prime Minister to help shape a generation of self-confident girls and to acknowledge the damaging effects that unrealistic images of beauty can have upon young women.
Meanwhile, the Royal College of Psychiatrists have demanded that the magazine industry start informing readers when pictures have been airbrushed, saying that the practice contributed to eating disorders.
What do you think? Would you prefer all fashion magazines label every image which have been retouched? Let us know below...
