Body Image inquiry starts today
The inquiry into body image anxiety, led by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Body Image, begins today. Over the weekend the inquiry received some good coverage in the Independent on Sunday: featuring comments from Jo Swinson MP (the group’s chair) and Rosi Prescott, Chief Executive of Central YMCA (the APPG’s secretariat), and describing the inquiry as ‘landmark’.
Today the inquiry will kick off its ‘academics’ session with experts from the Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England, as well as representatives from the University of Westminster and King’s College London. In the coming months it will also be gathering evidence from diet companies, psychologists, representatives from the fashion industry, advertisers and ministers. The inquiry is also very keen to hear from members of the public, whose evidence will also go toward the final report – find out more here.
Parliamentary Group on Body Image seeks your views
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Body Image set up in April 2011 as a cross-party Parliamentary forum to debate the causes and consequences of body image anxiety in the UK is about to start conducting an inquiry on the subject.
Body image anxiety can manifest itself in many ways, including depression, low self-esteem and recognised clinical conditions like Anorexia Nervosa and Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Those seeking to achieve an ideal appearance can often resort to dangerous behaviours such as adopting strict diet regimes, taking laxatives and diet pills, undergoing cosmetic surgery and taking steroids.
The group is keen to find out as much as possible about body image anxiety, with a view to producing a report into practical solutions to improve body confidence in the UK. Over the coming months the APPG will hear from a range of organisations and individuals in Parliament (who you can read more about here), as well as from the general public – we’re currently seeking contributions to the inquiry, which you can get involved with here.
The Schools Health Education Unit recently published ‘Young People into 2011′, a report on the lifestyles of more than 83,000 young people aged between 10 and 15. Some of the statistics published are particularly concerning:
- 32% of 10-11 year old girls, 50% of 12-13 year old girls and 56% of 14-15 year old girls said they’d like to lose weight, with some taking measures as drastic as skipping meals in order to achieve their ideal weight.
- More than 22% of 10-11 year olds have been picked on for the way they look.
The report shows that despite worries about safety, money and friends, appearance remains a big concern for young people of both genders across a wide age range. A summary of some of the report’s findings are available online here: http://sheu.org.uk/content/page/young-people-2011, or you can read coverage of the report in the Independent here.
Young girls increasingly fed up with media portrayal of women
Our body confidence campaign partners Girlguiding UK have released their 2011 Girls’ Attitudes Survey of 1,200 girls and young women, which shows that over half of girls aged between 11 and 21 do not believe women are portrayed fairly in the media, and a massive 90% believe that TV and magazines focus too much on what women look like, instead of what they achieve.
These statistics represent a large increase compared with last year’s survey, and show that concerns about the media and its focus on appearance are growing among young women. The report concluded that the media needs to improve its portrayal of girls and young women to reflect their true interests and experiences, instead of focusing on how they look. To read the report in full go to girlsattitudes.girlguiding.org.uk
Media literacy lessons developed for kids
A new ‘media literacy’ teaching pack to help build children’s resilience to unrealistic images in the media was backed by Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone today.
The teaching materials, developed by not-for-profit company Media Smart, are available online for primary school teachers to download. The lessons explore how and why idealised images in advertising and the media are used and how this can affect our body image.
Commenting, Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone said:
“Young people are being set an impossible standard by the images they are confronted with on a daily basis from the media and advertising and there is evidence to suggest this has a negative impact on self esteem. I want children to recognise from an early age that their value is worth so much more than just their physical appearance.”
The development of these teaching materials is a positive step towards protecting children from dangerous images in the media. Additionally, to make sure body image education has a place in the classroom, don’t forget to have your say in the Government’s PSHE Review; more information here.
Fashion industry embracing women’s true colours?
When it comes to how both men and women are portrayed in advertising, the lack of age diversity is a real concern. However, in some positive news, a number of new fashion campaigns, including those for Marks & Spencer, Nivea and Clarks, are using models in their 40s and 50s with natural grey hair.
Fellow CBC campaigner Caryn Franklin, co-founder of All Walks Beyond the Catwalk and former presenter of the BBC1 Clothes Show, has spoken about how aging is represented in the media:
“Our culture is fearful of ageing, and especially ageing women. I say, ‘Stop apologising for getting older. Embrace it.’ I have deliberately chosen women with grey hair for the award-winning initiative I co-founded, All Walks Beyond the Catwalk. Two of our models have naturally grey/white hair and women love them.
“I want young women to see that beauty ages beautifully and there is no need to feel that getting older is something that has to be medicated, managed with surgery or be obsessed about.”
Read more here…
‘MAC Me Over’ ad campaign embraces diverse beauty
Cosmetic brand MAC has recently launched a new collection, Mac-Me-Over, using no professional models in its advertisement campaign. Instead, advertisements for the collection feature 6 makeup enthusiasts of different races, ages, body types and gender.
The models include 58 year-old Sharon, who wants to show that a woman can look her best ‘without having to look 20’, and Shirley, left, who says her ambition is to ‘change the world one smile at a time’.
The ad campaign represents a positive step towards embracing the diversity of beauty, and we hope other brands will follow MAC’s example.
More information on the collection can be found at www.maccosmetics.co.uk.
Children’s dieting story book is deeply concerning – Jo Swinson
Campaign for Body Confidence co-founder Jo Swinson MP has criticised a new children’s book, which tells the story of how dieting transforms the life of an insecure schoolgirl to the school soccer star.
‘Maggie goes on a diet’, by Paul Kramer, will be published in October this year. The book is aimed at 6 to 12 year-olds, and its damaging message has already attracted widespread criticism from parents and experts alike.
Commenting, Jo Swinson said:
“A book about dieting aimed at 6-12 year olds is deeply concerning. It sends a careless message to young and impressionable girls that being skinny is the only way to succeed in life, and perpetuates the myth that dieting is healthy. Instead we should be promoting healthy lifestyles and encouraging children to develop confidence through activity and sports. Our visual culture is full of unrealistic and idealised imagery of women’s bodies as it is, without this new added pressure from a children’s story to see being thin and the be-all and end-all.”
For more information on Maggie Goes on a Diet, see www.amazon.co.uk/Maggie-Goes-Diet-Paul-Kramer/dp/0981974554/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314787857&sr=1-1
No7 launches airbrushing-free campaign
On Wednesday the Boots cosmetic brand No7 will launch its new ‘Ta Dah’ campaign, using non-airbrushed, age-appropriate models who have not had plastic surgery.
The campaign will show close-ups of the models without using enhancements such as false eyelashes, as No7 have stated that the campaign will not ‘misrepresent the efficacy’ of its products.
Feh Tarty, creative director of Mother, the company behind the adverts, has commented that No7 is ‘breaking the mould’ by not retouching or digitally manipulating images. The ‘Ta-Dah’ campaign launch closely follows the recent ban of two misleading L’Oreal cosmetics ads by the ASA, and could mark the beginning of a movement away from excessive pre and post-production techniques in cosmetic advertising. We look forward to seeing the unairbrushed campaign hitting the high streets soon!
PSHE Review announced by Government – have your say
You may have noticed that last week Campaign for Body Confidence co-founder Jo Swinson MP made the case in Parliament for body image education in schools being tied into Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) classes, to give children the confidence to accept their bodies as they are (see the full text here).
The Government has just announced a review of PSHE, which the Campaign for Body Confidence will be responding to and encouraging the Government to use PSHE lessons as a vehicle for delivering body image education. The review will report to the Secretary of State for Education, and look at the quality of PSHE teaching in schools as well as its content.
The Department for Education is welcoming responses from teachers, parents, pupils and other interested parties. You can have your say by 30th November 2011 – email PSHEEducation.Review@education.gsi.gov.uk to let the government know your views on the content and quality of teaching of PSHE.
For more information, see www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/inthenews/a00192561/review-of-pshe-education
