Incase you're interested

My AS level English language coursework.
The brief was to write a piece of a persuasive nature.


42% of 11 to 16 year old girls admit to cutting down or restricting certain foods in a bid to lose weight.
Increase of 800,000 sufferers of mental health conditions since 1993.
Upto 100% of images in women’s magazines airbrushed.
Guardian.co.uk, Thursday 31st March 2011

To Mr Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Media, Olympics and Sport.

I write to you regarding the fact that the UK population is facing a crisis. There is a generation of young women with crippling low self esteem because they are having their minds poisoned and distorted by the daily bombardment of images of women who appear to be flawless. The seeming permanence of images in the public domain via the media and advertising industries that are digitally manipulated to show an unnatural and warped view of what beauty and the female form is a national scandal. This has been proven by a report from the Mental Health Foundation to have a direct link to the shocking rise in mental health issues and eating disorders being suffered by young women in the UK, the figure stands at around 800,000 more sufferers of such conditions than in 1993.
Further evidence of this came to light in 2009 when Girl Guiding UK, in conjunction with Beat and Child Wise carried out research called the Girls Attitudes Survey on over 1200 girls and young women aged 7 to 21, it looked into five areas; Education, training, skills and careers, Environment and world events, Family and relationships, Health and well-being and Society, community and culture.
The results of the Health and Well-being section were alarming, it revealed that 50% of girls in the 16 to 21 year old category would consider having surgery to alter their appearance, also 42% of girls in the 11 to 16 year old category admit to cutting down or restricting certain foods in a bid to lose weight.
National Health Service research shows that Anorexia Nervosa affects 1 in 200 women and 1 in 2000 men, whilst Bulimia is estimated to affect 8% of women at some point in their life time and women are also ten times more likely than men to suffer from Bulimia.
This research started a campaign by Girl Guiding UK to help improve the self esteem of both its young members and the wider population. The Dove Foundation funded a unique educational resource aimed at tackling body image issues, schemes such as this have been noted to help curb the anxieties felt around body image in girls and young women.
Air brushing is not a new technology; an early example comes from Stalin and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the 1930s. A photograph from 1920 picturing Lenin giving a speech with Trotsky in the foreground, later as political tensions emerged Trotsky was removed from the image and film was destroyed. In the 1980s the use of airbrushing became much more prevalent, most home computers have software to alter images and many professional photographers working on weddings and such like will edit the final images to remove imperfections. It is now seen as normal to simply airbrush away any undesired features.
The publishing industry will not release facts on how many images they publish that are digitally altered but research indicates that in women’s magazines close on 100% of all images are in some way altered.
The American National Press Association hold a Code of Ethics which is adhered to by all its members, it states that restraint must be used in the degree to how drastic an alteration can be made to an image without it carrying a warning caption, however it is not known how widely this is enforced. The UK government could use this Code of Ethics as a starting point for any law which may be created.
Katie Metcalfe, 21, from Whitby suffered from Anorexia between the ages of 14 and 19, she says “The pressure of being the only girl with hormone-raging teenagers was enormous. I had no self-confidence, and my body became a focus of paranoia, coupled with family disruption and daily media bombardment of images featuring perfect women I set a New Year’s resolution to lose weight and gain a perfect body similar to my idol Mary-Kate Olsen”
Katie describes that as she lost weight, she began to “feel that life was worth living. At last I seemed to be achieving something. A voice began to whisper in my ear, and as I lost more weight, it became louder. Eventually, it was all I could hear. Nothing mattered more than satisfying the voice’s need for weight loss and, ultimately, perfection.”
Eventually Katie’s weight dropped by 3.5st to under 5st, this caused her hair to fall out, periods to stop and skin to crack and bleed. Despite this Katie would cycle between 8 and 15 miles per day in a desperate bid to lose even more weight, this led to her collapsing. Finally Katie had to be admitted to hospital, where she stayed for 9 months, costing the tax payer in the region of £50,000 for this extremely long hospital admission.
In August 2010 a petition was launched by Girl Guiding UK calling for the compulsory labelling of all airbrushed images, so that the British public as a whole, but with particular emphasis towards girls and young women can make an informed decision and be able to distinguish between real and digitally altered images. The hope is that if the labelling of images came into effect it could halt the rise of eating disorders and enable a generation of self confident girls and young women to emerge.
By November 2010 more than 25,000,000 people had signed the petition when it was presented to a committee of MPs by a group of young members of Girl Guiding UK. An official response to this petition has still not been given and the matter has not been debated in parliament.
I urge you through your role as Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport to push for a full House of Commons debate on the issue and support the motion for the compulsory labelling of airbrushed images in an attempt to help the emotional well-being of girls and young women. This alone will not curb the alarming rates of eating disorders and mental illness suffered by young women in the UK but it will go some way to help.
Further funding of specific Personal, Social, Health and Emotional education in schools and through youth and community organisations such as Girl Guiding UK would mean that girls who already suffer low self esteem and body image issues can get the help that they need to mature into confident young women.
Key Demands
A full House of Commons debate into the issues surrounding the ‘Air Brushing’ campaign.
Government support for a law compelling publishers to label all air brushed images.
Further funding for educational projects targeted at improving the self esteem and metal health of young people.

Signed,
Colette Morgan, Student
Siobhan Bedford, Youth Worker
Victoria Wallace, Student
Nicola Foyle, Teacher
Chloe Pilbeam, Physiotherapist
Katie Reynolds, Student
Di Harrington, Data Analyst
Pippa Gardener, Student
Vicky Powers, Policy Advisor
Bridget Wilson, Childrens Nurse
Sylvia Chanford, Lawyer
Sam Orchard, Support Worker
Alex Boniface, Designer
Helen Morris, Artist
Nicole Cooke, Cyclist
Kirsty Thorpe, Student

Emma Thompson, Actress
Annie Bowden, PR Officer
Stacey Moore, Solicitor
Cherie Booth, QC
Tregi Worsley, Theatre Technician
Marion Jenkings, Librarian
Kate Silverton, News presenter
Elizabeth Albery, Church Assistant
Nicola Rowlson, Mediator
Ellie Cooper, Student
Laura Duncan, Healthcare Assistant
Katie Beverly, Chemist
Barbara Morgan, Facilities Manager
Pixie Lott, Musician
Nikki Thompson, Chef
Tracy Abegg, Linguist

Lisa Taylor, Environmental Scientist
Mandie Young, Lecturer - Maths and ICT
Jo Beamish, Foster carer
Pam Paige, Retired
Viv Hamilton, Business owner
Helen Peterson, Sales Rep
Anne Lynn, Civil Servant
Jennifer Hill, Teacher
Denise King , Chief Executive
Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Athlete
Marie Pearson - Teacher of the deaf
Helen Sharman, Astronaut
Dame Kelly Holmes, Athlete
Carol Pike, Business Change Manager
Katie Webber, IT Technician
Jacqueline McComish, Occupational Therapist