'We're being unfairly accused': Teen Vogue dismisses 14-year-old girls during meeting after anti-Photoshop protest

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An article from the Daily Mail shows how a group of young girls stood protesting outside Teen Vogue's offices in July. They were protesting against the use of Photoshop in their Magazines and asked Teen Vogues to commit to putting images of real girls in their Magazine. Out of all the girls protesting outside the offices, a couple of these girls, who started the Protest were allowed to meet with the Teen Vogue Editors. Whilst inside, Carina Cruz and Emma Stydahar, handed the Editors a petition containing over 20,000 signatures. One of the Girls told of how whence inside, there was no handshake, no greeting, none of that, they just told them to 'sit here - you wanted this meeting, what did you want to say'.

The girls told of how the Editors were quite rude to them, they girls explained what the petition was about, what it was for and the Editors began to pick at the unpublished Magazine, choosing pages containing post-it notes, within these pages were images of what Teen Vogue believed were diverse images. The Girls stated that - 'Most of them were thin African-American models. It was a good start - we love seeing women of color in these magazines. But two or three an issue - and all of them super stick skinny - isn't what we're looking for'. 

One of the girls added that the meeting consisted of the editors telling the teenagers that they hadn't 'done their homework', and that 'Teen Vogue is a great magazine, being unfairly accused.'

Both Emma and Carina were inspired by 14-year-old fellow Spark member Julia Bluhm's recent quest and anti-Photoshop protest against Seventeen magazine.

(Copy) Jezebel wrote: 'What Emma and Carina are asking for goes beyond banning Photoshop. They want a wider variety of faces, disclosure if a pimple is removed - a magazine they can relate to.' 

As it states in their petition, the girls only want magazines to stop altering natural bodies and faces so that real girls can be 'the new standard of beauty'.

The petition continues: 'It's time for an end to the digitally enhanced, unrealistic "beauty" we see in the pages of magazines.'

The girls also explained their reason for targeting Teen Vogue, simply because they see the magazine as the leader in its teen-targeted field, with the most power to affect change.

Teen Vogue’s Senior Public Relations Director, Erin Kaplan, said in a statement: 'Teen Vogue makes a conscious and continuous effort to promote a positive body image among our readers. 

'We feature healthy models on the pages of our magazine and shoot dozens of non-models and readers every year and do not retouch them to alter their body size. Teen Vogue pledges to continue this practice.'