A school photography company in the US has outraged parents by offering to ‘retouch’ children’s school photos by “removing blemishes” and “whitening teeth”.
Journalist and mum Sam Walker tweeted a now viral photo of the school photo packages she had the option to buy for her daughters, aged 12 and 8.
She could go for the “basic retouching” which “removes blemishes” or the “premium retouching” which also “whitens teeth and evens skin tone”.
The girls have their school photo today and there is the option to AIRBRUSH the picture! There are two levels offered!! What the….?! Have complained! What 8 yr old needs to be paranoid about an “uneven skin tone” pic.twitter.com/6BGCx3FRZ9
— Sam Walker (@WalkerSam) October 28, 2019
Sam said she had registered a complaint, adding “what 8 yr old needs to be paranoid about an uneven skin tone”.
Jess and Soda on the Mix102.3 breakfast show were shocked by the offering, which has made news through the UK and USA.
Listen below as Jess and Soda discuss the “horrendous” addition to school photo choices.
“What kind of a message is this sending to these girls that are under so much pressure anyway?” Jess said.
“These young people are already in a pressure cooker situation of trying to emulate everyone else by looking beautiful on social media, they don’t need that.”
Soda said it was “absolutely horrendous”.
“How could a school – if they’ve contracted this particular photography company – even agree to allow them to do that,” he asked.
“My daughter is four and I’m nervous ahead for her over the next 10-15 years.”
Jess said that she couldn’t see how a parent at that school would choose to take up the option but Soda disagreed.
“The scary thing is I bet you there are some parents that choose it and that is the really worrying thing,” he said.
This is appalling. My daughter has 9% full thickness burns and we have never attempted to hide her scars in photos. We just taught her that she is amazing as she is.
— A Better Way To Work With Home Owners (@HISalesAcademy) October 28, 2019
Free body dysmorphia for every child!
— Most Excellent Majesty (@grabcocque) October 28, 2019
Back in 2015, Victoria’s Daylesford High School came under fire for choosing to Photoshop piercings out of school photos to adhere to school policy, although students also said they had blemishes and acne removed at the same time.
Photo: www.hepburnadvocate.com.au
