The folks at Seventeen just sent me a press release about their new initiative to promote "The Seventeen Body Peace Project." From the release:

"We're facing a crisis in teen body image," said Seventeen Editor in Chief Ann Shoket. "This campaign adds a profound new dimension to Seventeen's position as the fashion and beauty authority for teen girls. While it's our goal to help girls look great, our mission is empty if they don’t feel great too."

The year-long initiative will launch in the November 2007 issue (on newsstands October 16). Each month in the magazine, with the advice of body image expert Jessica Weiner, Seventeen will tackle the mixed messages girls get from skinny celebrities, their body-critical mothers, and their friends who bond over how fat their thighs are. To help spread the message of Body Peace, Seventeen is launching an online Body Peace Treaty that asks girls to pledge to stop obsessing about the shape of their bodies. Fourteen celebs, including Ashlee Simpson, Fergie, and Brittany Snow have signed the treaty, and their signatures appear alongside the pledge in the November issue. Seventeen has set a goal to get a million girls to sign the pledge in the next year. Girls can take the first step toward treating their bodies with more respect by signing Seventeen’s Body Peace Treaty at seventeen.com/bodypeace, starting October 16.

Separately, the magazine plans to honor one celebrity each month with the Seventeen "Body Peace Prize," for renowned women who positively embrace their body image.

In support of this concept, Seventeen has also partnered with the Dove Self-Esteem Fund, which is committed to building self-esteem in girls and women globally. The resulting Seventeen/Dove Self-Esteem Fund Body Image Survey takes an in-depth look at how teen girls truly feel about their looks: 91 percent of teen girls feel anxiety or stress about some part of their looks when getting ready in the morning. Fifty-one percent say they know they should feel better about their body, but the pressure to look perfect is too intense.

"We all have a responsibility as marketers, educators, mentors and role models, to change the way we communicate with girls," said Kathy O’Brien, marketing director for Dove. "We may not be able to decrease the number of messages girls receive, but we can educate girls about how they perceive them."

The last time I flipped through an issue or Seventeen or any teen magazine, it's filled with ads that show idealized images of beauty, thin models and the same messages this campaign wants girls to make peace with. Seventeen wants to arm its teen readers with content and tools to make peace with their bodies, but is forced to run ads that contradict this message in order to survive. I'm all for these efforts, don't get me wrong, but don't you think teens will see this contradiction, too? Is Ashlee going to talk about why she had plastic surgery? Or is the message, "one way to make peace with your body, especially when there is a part you're really not happy with, you can surgically alter it!" Why not also come out and make a pledge like, "We will no longer airbrush our cover models" or "We are actively engaging our advertisers in a discussion around creative that is more empowering to girls." Ok, getting off my soapbox now....

Posted by anastasia