Real Life Doesn’t Need Retouching

I am sure that when most government’s come into power they search for ways to leave a positive legacy – something they will be positively thought of for generations to come. Something that I think the current Victorian State Government (VSG) will be able to proudly claim as part of their legacy is their work on body image – particularly how it relates to young people.

The VSG have been pioneers when it comes to body image being, I believe, the first government in the world to call an official Parliamentary Enquiry into the impact that negative body image has on young people & ways this negativity can be adressed. This enquiry took place in 2005 & was acted upon by the VSG when the enquiry’s report clearly showed that body image was of great concern to young people & that it was an issue that was impacting on their quality of life. Many strategies have been put in place by the VSG since 2005 to support young people to develop greater body confidence via their Positive Body Image Strategy.

I think the most recent parts of this strategy are very impressive. The VSG have created advertisements targeting young people with the theme ‘Real Life Doesn’t Need Retouching‘ which are being placed prominently on My Space. The ad encourages young people to look beyond the glossy veneer of the marketing & advertising worlds where they as consumers are so often targeted by images that are photoshopped, airbrushed, formulaic & incredibly removed from real life. I think they are fantastic. The VSG’s youth website – Youth Central - also prominently features young people’s thoughts on body image & I think their voices are amazing. I encourage you to look at these Body Image Vox Pops - the young people have some great things to say which many adults could learn a great deal from.

I also love the VSG’s recent youth photography competition aimed at promoting postive body image. 16 year old Christina Maniatakis was named the winner for this photograph of a young girl lying on a pile of magazines, seemingly turning her back to the glossy magazine world.