By Laura Barnett
Posted on Aug. 4, 2011. Listed in:
Two L'Oréal ad campaigns (featuring Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington) were pulled this week after Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson complained that they were unrealistic to the Advertising Standards Authority. She explains why she is so passionate about preventing women's flaws being airbrushed.
Here's what Jo Swinson had to say in an interview in the Guardian with Laura Barnett
"Firstly, there's the basic principle that honesty in advertising should be upheld. But there is also the wider issue about its role in contributing to a negative body image.
There's a wealth of evidence to suggest that we have major issues in the UK: one in four people say they're depressed about their bodies, and a survey by Girlguiding UK found that among 16- to 21-year-old women, half of them would consider cosmetic surgery. Meanwhile, eating disorders have more than doubled during the past 15 years.
I'm not saying that airbrushed adverts are the only contributing factor – upbringing, parenting and education play their part. But the visual culture we live in has a strong impact: not only adverts, but magazines, TV and films, too. It's not that one advert showing a size-eight model is a problem; it's when every advert shows a size-eight model, who is usually white and in her teens or early 20s, that a clear message is sent out about what is considered beautiful.
Of course most women – and men, but these images are most often of women – know that these adverts have been airbrushed and are peddling an impossible dream. They can say that when they see the pictures, but they still look in the mirror and have negative thoughts about themselves. There's also convincing evidence to suggest that looking at images such as these can make it more difficult for people to recover from eating disorders.
Some people dismiss this issue as trivial, but these conditions can paralyse people. Advertising is just one part of the wider battle to change our visual culture, but it's a good place to start"
Its an interesting debate that will no doubt go on for a long time yet...but its interesting to see the media starting to be held more closely to account. Maybe it might happen on more issues as well.Do you think they might take the debate away from the pretence at a debate on the science of climate change to one that focussed on solutions...or are we getting carried away here?
