Mike the Mad Biologist

For Heaven’s Sake Eat Something!

Posted by Mike on September 11, 2006
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More than a few blogs have discussed the kerfuffle over the Australian fashion designer who had a runway show with women who were not emaciated. Not much to add, but I came across this survey of 100 models at Fashion Week. What shocked me weren’t the eating habits, but their ages:

14-15 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
16-17 . . . . . . . . . . . 26

18-19 . . . . . . . . . . . 41
20-21 . . . . . . . . . . .24
Over 22 . . . . . . . . . . 4

That’s right, 31% were younger than 18 (paging John Derbyshire…). Only 4% were over 21. What’s even worse than the emaciation fetish (although that’s pretty dreadful), is the obsession with age. Twenty-two isn’t ‘too old.’ And based on no evidence whatsoever other than my personal experience, I think this ‘reverse ageism’ affects women far more than men: few think a man in his 30s is ‘old’, but far more think a women in her 30s is old.

The only saving grace is that the number one downside to being a model was “dirty old men”…

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Comments

  1. #1 Scorpio
    September 11, 2006

    Right. They look like children because they *are* children, a huge number of them being way too young to marry in any civilized country.

  2. #2 sparc
    September 11, 2006

    According to the German news magazine “Der Spiegel” organizers of the Madrid fashion week “Pasarela Cibeles” only hired models with a BMI > 18 due to a 1999 recommendation of the Spanish parliment to prevent young girls from wrong role models (please note that they needed seven years for this action). BMI < 16 is referred to as bullemia or annorexia. Thus, BMI = 18 (56 kg at 1.75 m) does not appear too healthy either.
    ou will find the article here:
    http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,436029,00.html

  3. #3 sparc
    September 11, 2006

    According to the German news magazine “Der Spiegel” organizers of the Madrid fashion week “Pasarela Cibeles” only hired models with a BMI over 18 due to a 1999 recommendation of the Spanish parliment to prevent young girls from wrong role models (please note that they needed seven years for this action). BMI lower then 16 is referred to as bullemia or annorexia. Thus, a BMI of 18 (56 kg at 1.75 m) does not appear too healthy either.
    ou will find the article here:
    http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,436029,00.html

    I should have previewed my comment before posting. Unfortunately, one can not use bigger and smaller signs because they are needed for XML.

  4. #4 mirc
    March 23, 2009

    thanks