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It's New York Fashion Week, and all eyes are on the models. This time, though, they are facing a new kind of scrutiny.
In 2006, Madrid's Fashion Week made headlines for banning models with a body-mass index of less than 18.5--in other words, a 5'9" model must weigh more than 124 pounds. The resolution followed the deaths of Uruguayan model Luisel Ramos and Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston, both from anorexia. Ramos died of a heart attack, reportedly after months of eating only lettuce and diet soda, and Ramos, from a systemic infection facilitated by months of susbsisting on only apples and tomatoes. Anorexia nervosa has the highest premature fatality rate of any mental illness.
The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), which founded New York's Fashion Week and still plays a guiding role in the event, has decided not to enforce any medical exams or minimum body-mass index requirements in New York's Fashion Week, saying that they promote, "awareness and education, not policing."
Fashion industry heavyweights have come out both in favor of and against this decision. Armani has said that his company will stop booking size-zero models for runway shows. Yet Diane von Furstenberg, fashion luminary and president of the CFDA, has a different take. Furstenberg thinks that regulating the modeling industry will only fuel our already "absurd" obsession with models. When asked by a New York magazine reporter if models would ever have to weigh in at New York Fashion week, von Furstenberg replied, "Over my dead body."
Comments
A serious problem, no doubt, but I think the particular images you are using are modified to exaggerate the models' thinness. Check http://www.snopes.com/photos/people/models.asp
Posted by: Mark | February 7, 2007 4:20 PM
Ack! You're absolutely right. I changed the above image to one that is (hopefully?) unaltered. If you want to see the original pictures that accompanied this post, check them out
here or
here.
Thanks!
Posted by: Sarah Dasher | February 7, 2007 4:32 PM
And while you're at it, take a truckload of cheeseburgers to Japan.
http://www.japannewbie.com/2006/11/26/skinny-girls/
Posted by: pough | February 7, 2007 5:25 PM
Aside from the health issues, I have to wonder exactly what it is about these extremely thin models that the fashion world thinks is so attractive. The possibilities for armchair psychoanalysis are endless and kind of distasteful.
Posted by: Mark | February 7, 2007 5:42 PM
I'm a BMI 18.3 - and had no deficiencies at my last physical. It is possible to be skinny and healthy. I'm not saying ALL these thin girls are, and I'm not saying none of them are. I'm just saying, I'm a normal, healthy person with a BMI under 18.5. Now, no one would ever ask me to model anything of course - but to think that I wouldn't be allowed is pretty strange.
I do think that the emphasis on thinness in modeling and media has a negative effect on girls and women. But at the same time the backlash against it could be just as damaging. High BMIs are as dangerous as low ones. We should be emphasizing healthy weights, not that these girls are light. We should be talking more about what normal really is and not what abnormal is. It's the "don't think of polar bears" syndrome.
To think that someone sees me and thinks I'm anorexic or bulimic is a little frightening. I'm not. Not by a longshot. I just have a rather high metablolism. I don't snack much. I almost never eat sweets. And I'm OK. I dunno. I just hesitate to jump to conclusions about these girls because I wouldn't want people to jump to conclusions about me.
Posted by: cephyn | February 7, 2007 6:13 PM
Sadly, there's been little progress on this front since Ana Carolina Reston's death in Brazil. Browyn Cosgrave covered this for the Britannica Blog back in November, discussing fashion weeks across Eurpoe.
Posted by: EB Gal | February 8, 2007 9:49 PM
"Over my dead body"
Naw, more likely over the dead body of another teenage model, Diane. It'll take a bunch more models dying before the New York fashion world will do anything about this problem.
Cephyn, you sound like you are super-skinny naturally. The girl in the picture (the non-doctored pic) probably has a BMI of between 16 and 17. Her muscles are getting eaten away by her body, and if she doesn't stop starving herself, she'll have a heart attack before she's 40. Big difference between her and you. You are healthy, she is dying. My guess is you look much healthier than her and no-one is judging you the way they are judging her.
Posted by: jen | September 17, 2008 1:51 PM
Personally, I'd eat the sandwich myself and give her a kinda sandwich board.
A t-shirt with the slogan "The middle is nigh!".
Posted by: eddie | September 17, 2008 6:10 PM
Awesome! Well I don't think she can eat 'a whole sandwich' :P
Posted by: Aurea Eagle | September 26, 2008 8:30 PM
To be honest i think its crazy that some girls actually looke up to these stick thin models there not really good role models its disgusting why someone would think stick thin models are attractive.
Posted by: Kate | October 3, 2008 2:11 PM
You guys all need to pig out at McDonalds for the rest of your lifes you are all grostly skinny and you need to gain a lot of weight for yourselfs to come back to normal so start Now!!!!!
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Posted by: flower girl dress | October 25, 2008 2:15 AM
lA mayoria de las fotos no son NI DE Luisel ni Eleana Ramos Y NOOOOOO, ERAN ANORÉXICAAAAS
PESABAN 56 KG Y MURIERON DE UNA ENFERMEDAD CONGENITA QUE NADA TIENE QUE VER CON LA ANORÉXIA Y SERÍA BUENO Q UE DEJARAN DE TENERLAS COMO EL ICONO DE LA ANOREXIA Y NOS AYUDARAN EN LA BUSQUEDA DE LA CURA D E LA ENFERMEDAD QUE LAS MATOOOOO
MAL DE BGUGADA QUE PROVOCA MUERTE SUBITA Y SE LLEVÓ A 2 SERES MARAVILLOSOS DEJANDO A SUS PADRES SIN SUS 2 HIJAS
EN NOMBRE DE SUS FAMILIARES Y AMIGOS QUE LAS LLORAMOS DESCONSOLADAMENTE, PEDIMOS POR FAVOR RESPETO Y DIGNIDAD PARA 2 CHICAS QUE NO PADECIERON JAMASSS ESA ENFERMEDAD.
Posted by: maria | November 18, 2008 8:29 PM
lA mayoria de las fotos no son NI DE Luisel ni Eleana Ramos Y NOOOOOO, ERAN ANORÉXICAAAAS
PESABAN 56 KG Y MURIERON DE UNA ENFERMEDAD CONGENITA QUE NADA TIENE QUE VER CON LA ANORÉXIA Y SERÍA BUENO Q UE DEJARAN DE TENERLAS COMO EL ICONO DE LA ANOREXIA Y NOS AYUDARAN EN LA BUSQUEDA DE LA CURA D E LA ENFERMEDAD QUE LAS MATOOOOO
MAL DE BGUGADA QUE PROVOCA MUERTE SUBITA Y SE LLEVÓ A 2 SERES MARAVILLOSOS DEJANDO A SUS PADRES SIN SUS 2 HIJAS
EN NOMBRE DE SUS FAMILIARES Y AMIGOS QUE LAS LLORAMOS DESCONSOLADAMENTE, PEDIMOS POR FAVOR RESPETO Y DIGNIDAD PARA 2 CHICAS QUE NO PADECIERON JAMASSS ESA ENFERMEDAD.
Posted by: maria | November 18, 2008 8:34 PM
The show started with Robin announcing that Beth picked up the tab for last night’s dinner with some of the other women associated with the show. This led Howard to note that Beth is generous with her money and he hopes people realize when she pays for things that she uses her money and not his. Robin added she appeared on Spike TV as a favor to Beth as well and Beth sent her chocolates for her time. Artie, who went on Spike TV as well, said he also got chocolates from Beth, as did Fred. Howard then explained Beth was named one of the Women of Spike, which was why people from the show were asked to be interviewed about her on the network.
Posted by: stare gry | November 25, 2008 7:17 AM