Why Seventeen magazine won't change.

A petition containing 26,000 signatures asking for change at Seventeen magazine was delivered to Seventeen magazine editor Ann Shoket this week by fourteen year old Julia Bluhm of Waterville, ME. 


Julia's request was simple. She wanted Seventeen magazine to publish just one authentic picture of a girl per month.  Not a major change, but still a change.


Ms. Shoket met with Julia and congratulated her on her effort.  She then told Julia that Seventeen would not be publishing one un-photoshopped image a month.  In a press release, Seventeen magazine stated "We feature real girls in our pages and there is no other magazine that highlights such a diversity of size, shape, skin tone and ethnicity."


I agree with this statement.  My daughter had a Seventeen magazine subscription and I do remember that Seventeen does show girls of all shapes and sizes, not just "supermodels".  


The real problem here is this; Seventeen magazine would never be able to change the mind of those who advertise in their magazine.  The advertisers who show unrealistic body images of girls are the ones that need to change.  Making the advertisers change their method is where anyone mounting a petition would really need to focus their efforts.


Advertisers know what sells.  Pretty girls sell products to girls who purchase this magazine.  Of course, this isn't just in Seventeen magazine, but basically in every ad that is in print, in TV commercials, on billboards and on other magazine covers.  Next time you are in the grocery store check the covers of all the magazines displayed for sale.  How many of them have unrealistic photoshopped portraits on the cover?  For that matter, how many of them have their covers blocked from view with only the title showing because of the material or picture on the cover?   


Does the way that advertisers market to people, especially young, impressionable girls and boys need to change?  Sure it does.  But until selling products using beautiful, photoshop corrected models stops working, there won't be any change.  


Share your comments below or tweet me @triolophoto.


Here's a link to the original petition started by Julia Bluhm: 
http://www.change.org/petitions/seventeen-magazine-give-girls-images-of-real-girls