Kids Taught How Media Airbrush Celebrities

01 Oct 2011
by Michelle Clifford, Sky News
Quoted by Sky News: "Before and after pictures of the singer feature in new body image lessons, which are designed to improve confidence.

Pupils at Surrey Square Primary School in London are some of the first to take part in the programme and had not realised the models and celebrities they aspire to be like are often not as perfect as they seem.

Debating with his friends, Daniel Lewis said: "I didn't know they got changed and airbrushed. I thought they were proper figures."

The pupils talked about how perfect images can make them feel less confident and it was a relief for some to realise that things are not quite what they seem.

One 10-year-old girl said: "It makes me feel more comfortable with the way I am. I am happier with myself."

That was the hope of equalities minister Lynne Featherstone, who is keen to see the programme rolled out across the country.

She told Sky News: "Young people are being set an impossible standard by the images they are confronted with on a daily basis from the media and advertising and there is evidence to suggest that this has a negative impact on self-esteem.

"I want children to recognise from an early stage that their value is worth more than their physical appearance."

The packs being given out to teachers contain digitally-enhanced images of models and airbrushed make-up adverts.

Children will be asked to consider what counts as beautiful and what makes a good person.

Paul Jackson, chairman of Media Smart which developed the lessons, said trials found "children responded really well when they realised that most of the images they saw were altered and are aspirational but not realistic."



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