Some of you will remember a recent report from Talent Management, on 14-year-old Julia Bluhm’s quest to stop Seventeen magazine from airbrushing its models. Two months on we can confirm that this extraordinary young lady has been successful in her efforts – having rallied an impressive 84,000+ petition signatures!

Bluhm’s petition – entitled “Seventeen Magazine: Give Girls Images of Real Girls!” – gained our attention back in May when we read her comments about the ways in which she felt that photoshopped models and celebrities were affecting her peers. With a wisdom beyond her years she directed attention at Seventeen, forcing them to think twice about the message they send out to girls her age.

At the time she wrote: “Girls want to be accepted, appreciated and liked. And when they don’t fit the criteria, some girls try to ‘fix’ themselves. This can lead to eating disorders, dieting, depression and low self-esteem.

“To girls today, the word ‘pretty’ means skinny and blemish-free. Why is that, when so few girls actually fit into such a narrow category? It’s because the media tells us that ‘pretty’ girls are impossibly thin with perfect skin.

“I’m a teenage girl, and I don’t like what I see. I want to see regular girls that look like me in a magazine that’s supposed to be for me.”

Now we can reveal that Seventeen magazine has taken these heartfelt words on board. Editor-in-chief, Ms Shokot has responded to the teen’s campaign with what she describes as a Body Peace Treaty. The treaty has been endorsed by both the National Eating Disorders Association and the Commission for Positive Images of Women and Girls, and includes the promise that Seventeen will ‘never change girls’ body or face shapes’ and will ‘celebrate every kind of beauty’ within its pages.

Only yesterday Models Direct reported on controversy surrounding a Victoria’s Secret advertisement that had sparked furious accusations of excessive photoshopping and inappropriate promotion of the idea that ‘skinnier is better’. It seems that many of those within the industry still need reminders about what is and is not good marketing technique, and Julia may be the girl to do it.

Next on the list for Miss Bluhm is Teen Vogue. She has begun a new petition directed at the magazine and demanding “Teen Vogue: Give Us Images of Real Girls!” and her new petition already has over 10,000 signatures! If you’d like to add your support you can sign it here at change.org.