Are fashion models endangering themselves because of the weight requirement pressure of the fashion industry or is it the models natural weight and decision to be very thin?
In a post entitled The Incredible Shrinking Model, Emily Nussbaum interviews a few fashion models who think that the fashion industry limits them to weight requirements. Some of the fashion models think the opposite of the fashion industry. Which side will you
believe?
Nussabaum had the chance to interview fashion models such as Nataliya Gotsii, Natalia Vodianova, and Anna Wintour. Each of the models believes that the criticism they are getting from the media is ridiculous. They feel that they are thin because they grew up in an environment where food was not a big issue as long as the food was healthy. Most models come from countries that are the poorest countries and there is not a lot of food for the amount of money their parents earn. Most of the models that come from other countries are very young. Modeling agencies hire models starting at the age of fourteen. Anna Wintour proclaims that this is how they take care of themselves and families back home.
Some modeling agencies believe being thin is healthy and being thin gets the model jobs. Most modeling agencies prefer models weight to be at least 106 pounds or under depending on the height of the model. A theory that model agencies have is that “models need to be skinny because they need to be invisible. Clothing stands out best when the body is a blank”. But can being blank be a bit much on the models? Fashion model Nataliya Gotsii share some examples with Nussabaum about how the weight requirements and eating disorders can harm models. In August of 2006, a fashion model named Luisel died after being on a restricting diet of lettuce and Diet Coke. In November of 2006, a Brazilian fashion model Ana Carolina Reston died weighing just 88 pounds.
In a post entitled Fat is a Fashion Issue by Caroline Weber, Fashion designer Valentino Garavani uses the term normal women to describe his models. Garavani think that models that are too thin are like skeletons.
It is believed that these models will do anything such as almost kill themselves and I think it is all because the money is great, they get to explore and travel to see different cities and countries, and they can now help to support their family.
4 comments:
Thank you for this well-written post that sheds some light on the pressure to be thin in the fashion world. The weight of fashion models is such a serious health issue for these young, impressionable women lured by the money. I think the fashion industry should be held liable for making such low weight requirements that women die trying to maintain them.
Not only are the model affected by these standards, but other girls and women who view them in the media and try to emmulate them are at risk. A more responsible and healthy image needs to be portrayed and deemed the standard for women in fashion. A blank slate for the clothes seems to be a non-existent person. Why not hang the clothes on a clothes hanger? At least then the fashion industry wouldn't have so many skeletons in their closet.
I enjoyed reading this post. I thought it was interesting that people think that skinnier models will provide for more focus on the clothes they are modeling, but I don't see it that way. If I saw a girl walking down the runway with an obvious eating disorder, the clothes would be the last thing to grab my attention. I am hopeful that this problem will be alleviated though. I've been hearing talks of possible weight requirements for models in the news recently, so maybe this will spark some change.
I work with a girl who modeled at 16. When I asked her why she gave it up, she told me that she was tired of the dieting. The lifestyle was more provocative than the money, but I suppose that one begets the other. Anyhow, she would now be considered 10 lbs overweight for her modeling career--at 110 lbs!
On the other side of the coin, some women are naturally that thin. I think a lot of people are also quick to throw someone under the bus for being naturally thin. Cutting someone down because they are too thin and can't help it is comparable to cutting someone down who is overweight with a hormone problem. It can cause the same kind of emotional damage and sometimes I think people tend to be more bold in publicly remarking on someone's being too thin by their personal standards. Friends of mine have received questions like, "do you ever eat?" or comments like, "maybe you shouldn't throw up after you eat." Some people are born the way they are, but you're right--being healthy should be the focus instead of being invisible. This reminds me of Ethel Granger who has the record for the smallest waistline--it was 13 inches. She acheived that by doing waist reduction using a corset. It seems painful.
Personally, I'm on the fence. There's no way to tell whether most models legitimately want to be skinny or whether they are essentially being forced into this type of life style. Your always going to get those testimonials by the models who are made at the industry after being fired who proclaim they were forced to diet and on the other hand you'll get the testimonials from the models still in the game that say it's not a big deal. I just don't really see a way to tell.
Having had friends who have, and still are, battling bulimia, it's a bit of a personal issue for me. As long as the models are eating healthy and getting their minimum daily intake of calories and vitamins, it shouldn't affect their health too much.
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