Teen Girl Petitions Seventeen Magazine to Stop Airbrushing Models

Julia BluhmJulia Bluhm, 14, is an eighth grader from rural Waterville, Maine. She loves ballet and attends class six days a week. She is also gaining national attention as an activist who is challenging the media to take responsibility for the way it warps girls' self-esteem.

"I've always noticed how a lot of the images in magazines look photo-shopped," Bluhm tells Yahoo! Shine. She wants all girls to feel comfortable in their own skin. "Girls shouldn't compare themselves to pictures in magazines," she says. "Because they are fake."

Eleven days ago, she launched a petition to ask one of her favorite magazines, Seventeen, to feature one un-retouched photo shoot a month. "They have already done a lot to help girls improve their body image. Their Body Peace feature is great. I thought that they could take it one step further with an unaltered photo spread." This morning, she is leading a protest outside of Seventeen's offices in Manhattan which will include a mock fashion shoot."I'm a little nervous. But excited."

READ THE FULL STORY

Documentary 'Girl Model' reveals underbelly of modelling world

Girl Model focuses on Russian girls in Japan, but the issues raised in the documentary are industry-wide, says Blais. When she was 18, she lived in New York City, trying to survive on $120 a week and forced to borrow rent money from her agency.

The issue made headlines in February, when models in the U.S. launched the Model Alliance, a non-profit rights group that seeks workplace standards to address some of the issues raised in the film, including child labour laws.

“Because the modelling industry is crossing so many different borders, and all the laws are different, there’s not a unified force that’s regulating (the industry),” Sabin told the Star. “They’re self-regulating and that’s extremely problematic when you’re dealing with youth.”

READ THE FULL STORY

Women's History Month? What About 'Women Making History Month'?

March is Women's History Month. Doesn't that sound dreadfully boring, like some required course from college? These thirty-one days actually commemorate women's courageous struggles for self-determination and justice, but with that almost academic label on it, it all seems rather, well, passé. History, obviously, is all in the past. So, what if we re-named March "Women Making History Month"? Because this month in 2012, we certainly have some history-making to do.

READ THE FULL STORY

Invisible Children's "Kony 2012" viral video stirs emotion and controversy

enoughproject.org | kony2012.com(CBS News) If you're on Facebook, chances are a link titled "Kony 2012" has appeared on your news feed this week.

The video, which was uploaded to YouTube on March 5, tells the story of filmmaker Jason Russell's personal mission to take down Joseph Kony, the Ugandan leader of the guerrilla group Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

Produced by the non-profit group Invisible Children, it has all of the elements of a powerful viral video: heroes and villains, heart, purpose and a call to action (the filmmakers also make good use of Facebook Timeline as storytelling tool). In less than a week, the video has garnered over 26.6 million views, but it's also sparked controversy.

Invisible Children recognized the critique that they oversimplified the issue and admitted that the film was meant to serve as an entry point to the topic. 

"In our quest to garner wide public support of nuanced policy, Invisible Children has sought to explain the conflict in an easily understandable format, focusing on the core attributes of LRA leadership that infringe upon the most basic of human rights. In a 30-minute film, however, many nuances of the 26-year conflict are admittedly lost or overlooked," the group said in a statement.

Ultimately, Invisible Children want to shift the conversation so that critics and allies, alike, continue to raise awareness about Kony and the LRA.

"Let's focus on what matters, and what we DO agree on: Joseph Kony needs to be stopped. And when that happens, peace is the limit," the organizers stated.

READ THE FULL STORY

150 Women Who Shake the World

They're starting revolutions, opening schools, and fostering a brave new generation. From Detroit to Kabul, these women are making their voices heard.

SEE THE FULL LIST