Plus size supermodel Robyn Lawley. Plus size supermodel Robyn Lawley.
BRING on the ''real women'' photo spreads: Australia's glossiest images can now vie for the federal government's Positive Body Image Awards.
In an echo of the Australian Heart Foundation's tick campaign, winners of the new awards will be able to use a Body Image Award Winner symbol on their products such as magazines, websites and advertising campaigns.
''I certainly believe that companies would want that symbol,'' said Australian Women's Weekly editor Helen McCabe, who will chair the award panel. ''Women are now very aware of pictures that have been overly Photoshopped or digitally altered.''
Last year's Women's Weekly cover of Prime Minister Julia Gillard did have a Photoshopped neckline (to increase modesty), but many believed mistakenly it was heavily airbrushed, McCabe said.
The awards complement last year's voluntary code of conduct for fashion media, which recommended using models of a healthy body weight and disclosing when images have been digitally altered.
It follows a spate of high-profile special editions of fashion magazines, such as Vogue Italia's curvy bombshell cover in June, and the current Vogue Australia's first bigger woman fashion spread, featuring plus-size Australian supermodel Robyn Lawley.
Award panel member Karen Webster said the use of Photoshop itself isn't a problem, but believes it should be made transparent ''so people acknowledge it's not a realistic body image''.