In the last year Britain has placed a ban on airbrushed photographs in advertisements targeted at children that portray “overly perfected and unrealistic images” of women. The Liberal Democratic Party proposed the ban this past fall in order to raise discussion and awareness around the constant misrepresentation of women in media. With unrealistic ideals of beauty constantly portrayed in advertisements, the party found an unacceptable current trivializing a woman’s place in society. By taking this action, Britain has created a huge milestone in the combat against falsehood in advertising, and France is not far behind.

Image courtesy of Alysse Fischer

French parliament is in the works to pass a law this spring requiring warning labels to be placed on advertisements and images that have been retouched. Conservative parliamentarian Valérie Boyer finds retouched photographs to be a detriment to reality and proposed the law to provide a sort of accountability to the media. Mirroring labels like those found on food or cigarettes that contain anything detrimental to physical health is an idea Boyer thinks should be applied to emotional health. If a photograph has been changed from its original form people have the right to know.

Boyer’s stride to tell the truth goes beyond the simple airbrushing in advertising and takes on photographic art as a whole. The proposal states if companies fail to do so they can be fined up to $55,000. But why place such a high price on a cut-and-paste image?

The price isn’t for the image alone but what the image portrays — an altered and unattainable reality. Boyer suggests those flawless curves and sexy eyelashes seen in advertisements only create an aura of happiness lasting about as long as it took for the shutter to snap the picture. Even with the right combination of beauty products, hair extensions and cosmetic surgery, women are left on the street searching for the next hit of altered image reality.

Part of every advertisement is promoting a product and part of every advertisement is telling a lie. Each one specifically designed with a lure selling the idea that a brand, product or company is intrinsic to attaining an improved quality of life. But the cost is always more than bargained for when it comes to self-image.

Beauty is not a bottle of makeup or thick black eyeliner. It is not a two-dimensional image of three different women to create an impeccable image of one perfect woman.  Beauty lasts longer than 1/1000 of a second and is more than the size of your jeans. Government action is a huge act, but merely an echo of the first steps in claiming real beauty.

Watching young girls strive for an excellence that’s digitally created is what caught Boyer’s attention. As a mother of two teenage girls, Boyer found the issue vital and recently stated in a New York Times article, “It’s the closeness I have to adolescents that drove me to become interested in these subjects.” Through her efforts, Boyer shows that standards need to be altered, not images.

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Roz Savage, a record-setting eco-rower, has proved that change occurs one stroke at a time. In 2005, she rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Then, in 2008, she became the first woman to row alone from California to Hawaii—the first stage of a three-leg journey geared toward raising awareness about ocean pollution.

Savage is doing this three-part adventure from California to Australia to bring attention to crises impacting the oceans. The Britain-native said it took her 99 days and 1 million strokes to make the 2008 voyage from California to Hawaii, but Savage said it takes many small steps to make a change.

“I want to be living on a comfortable and safe planet in the future,” Savage said. “I think we’ve realized we are living together on this little planet and this is all we’ve all got.”

In addition to her public speaking engagements, Savage is spreading the word about ocean pollution utilizing social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace and Youtube. When she is not blogging, she is tweeting on Twitter.

In May, the five-foot-four, 120-pound adventurer will begin the second leg of her journey to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific. Her mission: row from Hawaii to Tuvalu, 2,620 miles of vast open water.

Using hand-held cameras, Savage will document her entire voyage through what has been dubbed by marine experts as the “garage patch” of the Pacific, or the North Pacific gyre. Plastic pollution in this area outweighs plankton 30 to 1, according to the Algalita Marine Research Foundation.

“We are just trying to figure out how to get people to care.” Savage said. “If we’ve got sick and dying oceans, we’ll have sick and dying people.”

Savage needs $25,000 in total for the next trip. And with about 60 more days to find the funds, Savage is unyieldingly optimistic. To meet her financial needs, Savage is soliciting contributions from the public at www.rozsavage.com.

“The more funds we have the more we can do with our outreach.” Savage continued, “And I really believe if I’m doing the right thing for the right reason. The money will turn up.”

The data networking technology company Brocade is Savage’s main sponsor, contributing about $100,000 for the entire Pacific row. Go Pro has donated cameras, but funding is still needed for other provisions such as freeze-dried food, among other necessities. Tech-savvy volunteers are also needed to help upload Savage’s archived blogs.

Safety is something Savage will not compromise to cut costs. She knows firsthand the dangers of the sea, as her first attempt crossing the Pacific (from California to Hawaii) ended with a U.S. Coast Guard rescue. Then on her second and final attempt rowing from California to Hawaii, Savage nearly ran out of water. She was helped by fellow seafarers and hydrated enough to complete the journey.

The launch date’s looming, but Savage has not slowed down. She will speak at the Blue Planet Summit this month along with Philippe Cousteau. “To be honest, I don’t get a kick out of the rowing, but I get a kick out of helping people,” Savage said. “I really enjoy the correspondence and I love doing the motivational talking.”

Before growing her sea legs, Savage had a lifestyle most would covet: a lucrative career, a husband, and a red sports car. Jaded about her corporate life, Savage wrote two forms of her own obituary. The exercise helped her realize her potential. Savage got a divorce and became a nomad. She has been rowing ever since.

“For many many years I had dreams, but I didn’t’ think I could do them.” Savage added, “I found since I started living life this way—life has been just brilliant.”

photos courtesy of roz savage

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