Eating Disorders

The modeling industry has taken a toll on young girls across the world today. Models, magazines, television even the radio advertise “thin is in.” Because of this girls feel pressured that they need to look a certain way in order to look good. People need to start realizing that you can be curvy and still look excellent. Society needs to urge the fashion industry and media to stop portraying the “perfect” skinny, toothpick image because it is causing a huge array of health related problems to woman around the world.

The modeling industry finally had a wake-up call after models were dying of eating disorders. Luisel Ramos, for example, was just starting out her modeling career and she was told that if she lost some weight she could make it big. For two weeks all she survived on was lettuce and diet coke, and as she stepped off the runway after a major show she passed out due to heart failure and unfortunately she did not survive. (Italy bans Skinny Models, 4). Another model named Ana Carolina Reston was another model that has died due to complications of anorexia. The 21 year old girl was 5’8 and only weighed 88 pounds! (Italy bans Skinny Models, 3). All these agencies tell models to lose weight when they are already thin enough, and usually it ends up resulting to cause all these models to have eating disorders. Singer/model Victoria Beckham

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made a stand to this problem and started banning ultra-skinny models from promoting her fashion line. (Size Zero Victoria Beckham Bans Skinny Models from Promoting her Range, 1). She wants to give girls a positive image and show that you don’t need to be ultra thin to be a model. Tim Gunn, who stars on TV’s Project Runway, had a strong reaction after being at New York’s fashion week. He stated, “Some of the girls caused you to gasp,” He says. “When the knee joint is wider than the thigh, it can be scary.” (Klonick, 1).

Certain countries have now taken action to ban skinny models because of all the problems that are arising. Madrid’s fashion week has turned away underweight models after protests that young girls were trying to copy their rail-thin looks and developing eating disorders. Spain now demands models to have a BMI (height to weight ratio) above 18 to participate in shows. (Skinny Models banned from catwalk, 1). Models that are 170 cm tall have to weigh at least 52 kilograms. Italy has now joined Spain in regulating the health and weight of fashion models. Both countries are now requiring that models have to produce medical proof that they do not have an eating disorder. (Italy bans Skinny Models, 1).

Although some countries have taken action on this problem a lot of agencies do not agree with these policies. Many of these agencies argue that these models are just naturally skinny. Bidler Grumbach, the head of Chamber Syndical, the body that governs French fashion quotes “ I honestly think we are not responsible for health problems, let the health ministry take care of health problems and let the fashion designers choose models according to their taste.” (Moore, 2). They think by making these models weigh in to make a certain weight will be the cause of problems. Peaches Geldolf, after seeing the Berde Lisi show at London Fashion week, fired back at Grumbach’s comment and said, “It disgusts me.” She stated, “I’ve been strong enough to

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avoid the pressure to be thin, I think it’s ridiculous, but for a lot of people when they see a model going down the catwalk they think, ‘Should I be like this?’ and it leads to disorders or bad body image and I think it’s wrong.” (Moore, 2) It is scary to think that there are people in this world that do not care what message they are sending out or portraying to society.

People everywhere especially young girls, and women look at magazines and