Girl Guides and Lib Dems join forces to ban airbrushed ads

5.06.46pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 11th Sep 2009

Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson: "Adverts that feature heavily retouched images of perfect skin, perfect hair and perfect figures mean that women and girls increasingly feel that nothing less than perfect will do."

Girl Guiding UK is backing a Liberal Democrats campaign to ban the airbrushing of models in adverts aimed at young people.

The campaign, which is also endorsed by the National Centre for Eating Disorders, encourages people to complain to the Advertising Standards Agency and the Committee of Advertising Practice about adverts that show "unrealistic body images".

Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat MP who chairs the party's working group on women's policy, said advertisers should be "honest and upfront" about the extent of airbrushing that goes on.

She said: "Adverts that feature heavily retouched images of perfect skin, perfect hair and perfect figures mean that women and girls increasingly feel that nothing less than perfect will do."

Advertisers who "take already underweight women and then slice off pieces of their thighs or hips in the computer suite" are simply irresponsible, she added.

Jo Swinson says a ban on such airbrushing would allow children the space to develop their self-esteem without "constantly being bombarded with a narrow range of manipulated images that promote conformity".

Kaisu Fagan, policy and public affairs manager at GirlGuiding UK, said: "The issues we speak out on, such as airbrushing, have been identified by our young members through our innovative research programme, Girls Shout Out!, and in supporting the Real Women Take Action campaign we are privileged to provide a platform for their voices to be heard.'