If Dolly wasn’t persisting with its Model Search competition, which returned last year having been sensibly done away with by previous editors, I could probably have given this issue the thumbs up. Lydia Turner, Managing Director at BodyMatters Australasia, and I have written before about why this competition – won in 2012 by a 13-year-old – is harmful to girls for re-enforcing global norms about perfect bodies in an era rampant with body hatred and eating disorders. (see also ‘Girls still getting the wrong messages about their bodies’). Dolly is trying to cover over the criticism with lots of body friendly rhetoric such as ‘beauty that is more than skin deep’, ‘beauty comes in all shapes and sizes’, ‘the winner will be selected for being a relatable role model for teen girls.’ But the fact remains, this is a modelling competition and unless the entrant conforms to body limiting stereotypes and conventions, she won’t make it. Girls continue to be taught what matters most is to fit some cookie-cutter mould of what women should look like and Dolly isn’t helping. Read more here.
