Take this for what it is worth.MADRID, Spain (Reuters) -- The world's first ban on overly thin models at a top-level fashion show in Madrid has caused outrage among modeling agencies and raised the prospect of restrictions at other venues.
Madrid's fashion week has turned away underweight models after protests that girls and young women were trying to copy their rail-thin looks and developing eating disorders.
Organizers say they want to project an image of beauty and health, rather than a waif-like, or heroin chic look.
But Cathy Gould, of New York's Elite modeling agency, said the fashion industry was being used as a scapegoat for illnesses like anorexia and bulimia.
"I think its outrageous, I understand they want to set this tone of healthy beautiful women, but what about discrimination against the model and what about the freedom of the designer," said Gould, Elite's North America director, adding that the move could harm careers of naturally "gazelle-like" models.
Madrid's regional government, which sponsors the show and imposed restrictions, said it did not blame designers and models for anorexia. It said the fashion industry had a responsibility to portray healthy body images.
"Fashion is a mirror and many teenagers imitate what they see on the catwalk," said regional official Concha Guerra.
The mayor of Milan, Italy, Letizia Moratti, told an Italian newspaper this week she would seek a similar ban for her city's show unless it could find a solution to "sick" looking models.
Quality, not size
The Madrid show is using the body mass index or BMI -- based on weight and height -- to measure models. It has turned away 30 percent of women who took part in the previous event. Medics will be on hand at the September 18-22 show to check models.
"The restrictions could be quite a shock to the fashion world at the beginning, but I'm sure it's important as far as health is concerned," said Leonor Perez Pita, director of Madrid's show, also known as the Pasarela Cibeles.
A spokeswoman for the Association of Fashion Designers of Spain, which represents those at Madrid fashion week, said the group supported restrictions and its concern was the quality of collections, not the size of models.
Eating disorder activists said many Spanish model agencies and designers oppose the ban and they had doubts whether the new rules would be followed.
"If they don't go along with it the next step is to seek legislation, just like with tobacco," said Carmen Gonzalez of Spain's Association in Defense of Attention for Anorexia and Bulimia, which has campaigned for restrictions since the 1990s.
Anything that helps young women's self esteem by eliminating very unhealthy ideals is a good thing in my book.
sounds like restraint of trade.
Let's ban morbidly obese women (50% of San Antonio women?) from public places so as to discourage young women (who are not yet overweight or obese) from following their clinically diseased example.
Obesity and all its correlated/caused diseases are much more widespread problem than anorexia.
Last edited by boutons_; 09-13-2006 at 03:00 PM.
Holy , I actually agree with something Boutons says..........however, I have a young cousin who is 12. She's on a ING DIET. So the problem goes both ways.
That's an interesting angle the government is taking with the BMI measurements. It at least hints of objectivity. Doesn't really make it right.
The designers might want to rethink their sponsorship choices if they don't like the meddling.
I don't know, seems to me anorexia, although not as popular a problem is more immediate than obesity. Extreme desnutrition kills a lot faster than obesity. Plus, I think we can all agree noone is going to strive to look like a 300 pound women/man. The ironic thing is people tend to identify obesity as unhealthy and undesirable more readily than they do malnutrition.
My point is people often confuse skinny with attractive and therefore emulate, I don't think thats the case with obesity. Nonetheless, I do agree obesity is a much more widespread problem (in developed countries that is).
IMO this is a good step. This sends a message to the models as well as the public that being being exessively thin is not always the glamorous thing magazines make it out to be.
An outright ban on "overly thin" models is ludicrous. The ideal scenario is that models would come in all shapes and sizes.
Why villify skinny women? Just don't hold them above the rest. There are millions of very thin women who are not anorexics.
Another idea with good intentions that only creates new problems.
I believe it was Vogue that tried interspersing more "normally proportioned" women in the pages of their magazine. They were quickly dropped because everyone complained about all the fat chicks.
They are not banning the models altogether - just for this show. And, they are not indiscriminately choosing who to ban. They are using the BMI. They used the normal range used by doctors, etc. and they banned any model who had a BMI of less than 18 - which is the very lowest end of the normal range.
I think this is a good idea - it's time to stop advocating the "heroin chic" look and using models who are more healthy looking. Do you know that Cindy Crawford would be considered too fat by today's runway standards?
Personally, I think the designers like the waif look because the vast majority of them are gay men and they want the women to look like young boys - no breasts and no hips.
"more immediate than obesity."
Are you in the USA? The level of obesity, including morbid obesity, is astonishing, and disturbing, for many foreign visitors.
Diabetes alone caused by obesity is at epidemic proportions. NYC is in a full-blown crisis from diabetes. Overweight and obesity correlates positively with a wide range of diseases that are probably caused or worsened by excess weight.
Anorexia is famous, but in terms of health impact and costs, not on the radar with obesity, in USA.
There is very little cultural sanction for being overweight in the USA as overweight and obesity have become the average condition, esp for women, with no moral stigma (lack of self control, letting yourself go) or indication of lack of self-respect.
The airlines caculate they lose $100s of $Ms per year in excess fuel having to haul lard-butts for the same ticket price as lean bodies. Air freight is charged by the pound, maybe personal air ticket prices should be, too?
" o madame,
A ticket for SFO to MIA? 5'5", 250 pounds? Let's see, $4.50 lb for that distance. That'll be $1125, each way."
I think everyone would agree that both obesity and anorexia/bulimia are unhealthy lifestyles. The answer is for moderation - neither extreme should be accepted or applauded.
But in the modeling/acting world, a woman who is a size 10 (which is below the national average) is considered a "fat cow"! Think of the sex symbols of the 40's and 50's - Jane Russell, Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable - none of these women were less than a size 12!
immediate as in which kills faster. Who dies first? the person who eats to little or the one that eats too much?"more immediate than obesity."
Are you in the USA? The level of obesity, including morbid obesity, is astonishing, and disturbing, for many foreign visitors.
Diabetes alone caused by obesity is at epidemic proportions. NYC is in a full-blown crisis from diabetes. Overweight and obesity correlates positively with a wide range of diseases that are probably caused or worsened by excess weight.
Anorexia is famous, but in terms of health impact and costs, not on the radar with obesity, in USA.
There is very little cultural sanction for being overweight in the USA as overweight and obesity have become the average condition, esp for women, with no moral stigma (lack of self control, letting yourself go) or indication of lack of self-respect.
The airlines caculate they lose $100s of $Ms per year in excess fuel having to haul lard-butts for the same ticket price as lean bodies. Air freight is charged by the pound, maybe personal air ticket prices should be, too?
" o madame,
A ticket for SFO to MIA? 5'5", 250 pounds? Let's see, $4.50 lb for that distance. That'll be $1125, each way."
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