Thin Isn’t “In”
With all the emphasis on overweight/obesity, it’s hard to visualize having the opposite problem. But quite a few do…especially young women who aspire to be models.
Michael had started her modeling career in Texas as a 5-foot-9, 130-pound 15-year-old, and at every rung she climbed on her career ladder, she heard the same thing: She needed to take off a few pounds.
It was a couple of pounds for Dallas, a few more for New York, and even more for Paris and the big international shows. Finally, she starved herself down to 102 pounds. The designers loved her.
But when she found her hair coming out in clumps as she flew home from a show last fall, she knew something was terribly wrong. “That’s kind of when I realized this wasn’t worth it anymore. This had completely taken over.”
…Today, super-thin continues to rule. Michael learned that after deciding she didn’t want to die for her job. She followed the advice of her medical advisers and put on 7 pounds. In January, now weighing 109, she went back to Paris for another big show. Only one designer would give her any work. The others sneered at her if they looked at her at all. Her legs, they told her, were too fat.
Something is terribly, dangerously wrong if a woman can be judged “too fat” at 5′ 9″ and 109 lbs. But what the fashion industry wants, ironically, are models that don’t resemble real women.
“In general, what designers are looking for is a model who in a sense will resemble a hanger when the clothing is on her”
Leslie Goldman, author of “Locker Room Diaries“
Too true…as can be seen in this video of a recent Christian Dior show.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3jO_FoMDpU]
All that’s missing are the “Trick or Treat” bags.
Unfortunately, the images promoted by the fashion industry permeate our society, and influence our mental images of what represents a desirable weight. Even children aren’t exempt from media promoting extreme thinness as an ideal.
I’m not real big on government regulation in certain areas, but it’s nonetheless an encouraging sign to see some official recognition of the problem…at least in Europe. Earlier this year, three models were banned from a show in Madrid for being too thin. In addition, the French National Assembly passed a measure that – if also passed by the Senate – would outlaw the “encouragement of anorexia.”
Since the focus of this site is on dietary supplements, I don’t doubt we have some visitors with eating disorders (full fledged or borderline), who come here to search for appetite suppressants and other over-the-counter weight loss aids. I’ve already encountered a handful of already thin women on “Fat Loss Revealed” forum who are desperate to get even thinner. But, both Paul and I are dedicated to healthy weight loss, that involves losing fat (not weight), and gaining muscle – not achieving a particular fantasy weight. Thus, when setting your goals for weight loss, the last thing you want to do is emulate the women you see in the mags and other media. There’s more to life than simply being thin.
