This past summer, a group of girls stood outside the offices of Teen Vogue with signs protesting the use of Photoshop on the teenage models in Teen Vogue’s magazines. 
The girls are part of the SPARK Movement, an activist group to combat sexualization of young girls in today’s society. 
Kristin Miller, a senior communication major, was a model for Fashion Board at Mississippi State during her teenage years as well.
“It is appalling to me that extreme photoshopping is being done to teen girls for other teen girls to see and look up to,” she said. “Teen Vogue’s audience is girls that are in a very fragile stage in their life. The confidence they have in their teens will carry on with them for the rest of their lives.”
Miller said she has been fortunate to work with The Confidence Coalition through her sorority, Kappa Delta. 
The coalition was created in 2009 to help promote self-esteem and confidence among young and teenage girls. 
“In just the first year it went to having nine founding members to more than 40,” Miller said. “Together, they are committed to reaching the women and girls in our nation with the message that they are good enough, that they can make their dreams a reality.”
Caty Steele is the current president of Kappa Delta sorority at MSU.  The communication major said the Coalition’s goal is to help promote self-confidence in the younger generation of girls and help them reach their greatest potential. 
“The Confidence Coalition is made up of many organizations, some including: Distinguished Young Women, Girl Scouts of the USA, Prevent Child Abuse America, The White House Project, Vera Bradley, Mary Kay and Justine Magazine,” Steele said. 
Both Miller and Steele said they find it relieving to see a group of younger girls stand up for their beliefs and what is right.
“It is very refreshing to see young people stand up not only for what they believe in, but also standing up for the many young girls in America who don’t think that they are good enough because they don’t fit the mold that is portrayed in magazines,” Steele said.
Charles Freeman, assistant professor in the School of Human Science, said he believes the issue of body images has long been a problem with society in the entertainment world.
“The concepts of body image, self-esteem and fashion beauty ideals have been a controversial issue since the 1950’s,” he said. “Fashion magazines, namely those focused on women’s apparel, have long been the torchbearers for communicating new styles, fashion tips, hair and makeup trends and, ultimately beauty ideals to their readers regardless of age.”
Haylee Hull, a senior in the School of Human Science, said she hopes to become a counselor when she graduates from Mississippi State and will be faced with teens who have body images and self-esteem issues. Hull said she is ready for a time to come when girls can look inside a magazine and relate to what they see.
“I think that’s where insecurity starts with girls; in the magazines and with the media. If a model isn’t good enough to not have to have Photoshop done, how can a young girl be good enough? It’s time for the younger generation to look in a magazine like Teen Vogue and see what they see everyday, someone who is perfect the way they are,” Hull said.
For Miller, Steele, Freeman and Hull, it comes down to defining what is beauty and expressing yourself the way you want to be expressed.
“Fashion is about finding beauty in the everyday, expressed through clothing and style – which all starts with finding the beauty in yourself,” Freeman said.
For more information about the SPARK Movement, visit sparksummit.com.