People in the fashion industry have a new problem. This may shock you, but some people are starting to say today’s models are too skinny.
In September, organizers of a top-level Madrid fashion show turned away models if their body mass index (BMI) was under 18. Thirty percent of the models who participated in last year’s show were turned away. This included several well-known models, such as Elle MacPherson, Gisele Bundchen and Kate Moss.
One motivating factor in the Madrid ban was the death of 22-year-old model Luisel Ramos in August. After stepping off a catwalk, Ramos had a fatal heart attack caused by malnutrition.
This ban, the first of its kind, was a reaction to the current fashion trend of super-skinny. Stores have begun carrying not just size zeros, but sizes as small as a negative two. The emaciated look is currently the most desirable for style purposes.
For years, the fashion industry has been cited as a factor in the body image obsession that grips today’s society. Eating disorders have become more and more prevalent as the stylish size ideal drops lower and lower.
Eating disorder activist groups have been lobbying for restrictions on models’ sizes for years. However, until the ban in Madrid was imposed, the fashion industry felt relatively safe.
Zero has become the average model size, with some even dipping below that mark. Something had to be done to stop the ridiculous descent of an acceptable body weight. The Madrid ban was the first step in halting the craze over super-thinness.
Many designers and modeling agencies were upset about the Madrid ban. They claimed the industry was not responsible for the prevalence of eating disorders and that it was being unjustly blamed. Others complained about prejudice against naturally thin models and designers’ autonomy.
Although no one factor can be completely blamed for causing eating disorders, media images have been proven to influence people’s perceptions of desirable body size.
If they didn’t, what would be the point of fashion shows? They are designed to influence people’s decisions. Certainly the clothes are the focal point of the show. However, if people are influenced by what the models are wearing, it’s logical to conclude that people are also influenced by the models’ appearances. Don’t make-up trends also begin at fashion shows?
The influence of thinness has somewhat of a trickle-down effect. Women model trends, and celebrities pick them up, followed by a wealthier populace and eventually reaching down to normal society.
According to eonline.com, the average Hollywood actress weighs about 110 pounds. The average size is about a four. Compare that to American women, where most are reported to wear double-digit sizes. That’s quite a discrepancy.
Say what you will, fashion industry, those images influence women. And something needs to be done to combat current size trends, or models are going to start disappearing.
Restricting BMI for models is actually not a bad idea. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) states that a healthy BMI falls between 18.5 and 25. The Madrid restriction banned models whose BMI was below 18, which the NHLBI defines as underweight.
Such a restriction is not unfair; it’s actually in the best health interest of the models concerned. It’s also in the best interest of society, especially women.