The Airbrushing Debate

Female body image has become a subject for intense debate in recent years - eating disorders are an increasing problem amongst young women and studies have revealed that a shocking 43% of teenage girls would consider cosmetic surgery.

As you can see from the article below a petition has been launched calling for the labelling of all airbrushed images. The organisers have stated that young girls do not always realise that images have been digitally altered and, if they do, they may not be aware of the extent to which models have been changed. They argue that this can cause girls to aspire to look like something which doesn't really exist.

However, will the labelling of images make a difference? And what effect would it have on the magazine and advertising industries?

I am a student journalist putting together a series of reports on the subject. If you have any thoughts on the issue of body image and/or airbrushing I would love to hear from you.