Teen Vogue Snubs Anti-Photo Retouch Activists
Inspired by the successful campaign to get Seventeen to stop airbrushing its models, two New York City girls, backed by other young activists, staged a protest outside of Teen Vogue's offices in Times Square today. Carina Cruz and Emma Stydahar tell Shine the morning's mock fashion show and photo shoot were received enthusiastically by crowds and journalists on the street, but when then the two were invited up to meet representatives from the magazine, the empowered mood tanked. "It was crushing," says Cruz.
Related: Teenage Girl Wins Victory in Seventeen Photoshop Battle
"We were so excited," says Stydahar. "We were asking for something that is good for girls and we thought we'd be successful." She continues, "Our meeting lasted for about five minutes. They didn't ask us our names or introduce themselves." "We felt like we were at the principal's office," adds Cruz.
The girls launched their own petition to demand Teen Vogue to stop using photo retouching in May. It now has more than 28,000 signatures. Stydahar says she used to subscribe to the magazine but stopped because it was making her feel negative about her own body. "There is a statistic that of girls are depressed after reading a fashion magazine for just three minutes," she says. "A lot of great things have come from digital age but photo shop is not one of them."
Despite the disappointing day, the girls say they are going to keep fighting. "We want Teen Vogue to know we haven't given up on them," says Stydahar. Cruz adds, "We want them to celebrate all kinds of beauty."
To read or sign the Teen Vogue Petition, click on change.org.
