Deflating the airbrush

The airbrushing secret to picture perfect models has been out for many years. But even now, despite knowing about this highly underhanded tactic for making gorgeous models look even more alluring, us lesser mortals gaze at magazine covers and wonder how they manage to look that bloody good!

So when I read in this morning's papers that French politicians want a health warning on airbrushed glamour photographs, I couldn't help but applaud. A group of about 50 French leaders want the health warning law to fight eating disorders that ordinary women develop in their quest for the impossible figures they see in commercials and glossies. They have proposed a hefty fine of 37,500 euros or 50 percent of the cost of the advertisement if the law is broken.

Whether or not their efforts succeed, I believe these French politicians are fighting for a good cause. Coming a few years after the ban of size zero models on runways in some of the world's fashion capitals, it will advance the struggle for a world of women without serious body image issues.

No matter what we say, images of lissome women with curves in all the right places, flawless skin, legs that go on forever and sparkling pearlies do affect us. Take me, for instance. I have never been obsessed with physical appearance, but I do try to look presentable. I've fought a looooong battle against weight since my two pregnancies. After years of consistent exercise, I am approaching a respectable size and feeling good about myself. But when I see pictures of actresses and models my age, who are also young mothers, looking just as luminous, taut and perky as they did a decade ago, I can't help but get a little disheartened. And this is even though I am fully aware of airbrushing! So I can't even imagine the effect these pictures have on impressionable young girls who don't know of this cunning method of hiding flaws.

I get seriously worried when I see little girls these days. Firstly, the lack of physical exercise (which has become a common problem in most cities) has made many of them tubby. Then, they come to parties dressed in sequin-covered cutaway blouses or dresses and caked with make-up. Unfortunately, most of them end up looking like tarts-in-the-making. I know it isn't a nice thing to say, but it's absolutely true! I suppose it's only to be expected because they live on a daily diet of MTV and Channel V that play non-stop Hindi music videos showing full-size versions of what they're trying to look like.

At times such as these, I thank my stars for being the mother of boys. I can't imagine what these girls' moms live through. (I heard a hair straightener appeared on a seven-year-old's Christmas wishlist last year. This isn't hearsay, it's someone I know!) When misguided little girls hit adolescence, they take to all the new fad diets in an effort to starve themselves into shape. If a parent doesn't catch on, the child can end up with serious and lifelong health problems.

The problem of body image issues is very real. Especially for young girls, but even for older women. I think this health warning idea is a good one.