Vote in This Week's Poll: Should women who are considered 'too thin' or unhealthy be banned from modeling and runway shows?
The U.S. is also concerned, particularly when it comes to protecting young girls and women from eating disorders that some say are influenced by, among other things, the media and the fashion world. In fact, the Council of Fashion Designers is asking the question how thin is too thin? and, more importantly, what can we do to send more positive messages to young girls?
This begs the question: Should we regulate who should model and who shouldn't? Do skinny models play a role in eating disorders? How much do the images we see on a daily basis influence what we think about ourselves? I think this is an interesting issue and one that has more than one answer. What do you think? Vote in this week's poll and share your thoughts.
Poll: Should women who are considered 'too thin' or unhealthy be banned from modeling and runway shows?
1. Yes
2. No
3. I don't really care
4. I don't think it matters to the general public what runway models look like
5. Other - Please explain in comments
Comments
If they are under the lowest number for their BMI, then yes.
how can you ban anyone from their chosen vocation based on appearance. whether they are too thin, too fat or too ugly anyone has the right to pursue any career they desire, and if a modeling company wants to hire that person and pay them to be in a runway show how can you or i or anyone else say that that shouldn’t be done.
what are you people, nazis?!
No, this is another form of discrimination. I am 5′4″ and 110 lbs and people are constantly accusing me of anorexia when in reality I eat more than all of my friends. I am naturally thin and we deserve to be treated with the same respect that overweight people are trying to command.
No,never!
I believe there is to much to do made about physical appearance. Inner beauty is so much more important and so much less cultivated. There are so called “Ideal” woman and (men for that matter) that are total void of anything but their egos. It is time to stop allowing the press and movie industry to tell us what is beautiful and destorying thousands of lives in the process. A sweet sincere over weight person is far more beautiful than a crass ego centri Bambi.
THEY SHOULD BE REMOVED UNTIL THEY CAN GET THEIR WEIGHT BACK TO NORMAL FOR THEIR BODY TYPE.
No… Its discriminating! I understand helping someone if they have a problem w/weight (i.e. skinny in a unhealthy way or over weight in an unhealthy way). I understand what the modeling industry is trying to accomplish, but they need to go about it a diffrent way.
i think that inner beauty is what really matters the most because big people are beautiful too and so are skinny people. no matter what you look like you are still gonna be the same person. thats why people have self asteem issues and think they are ugly because the media nowadays are tellin people who n what is beautiful. everyone should be able to have a chance at what ever dream they desire ya digg.
Yeah, celebrate obesity!!! BS, I say. Although I do not find super-thin models attractive, why should they be banned? I don’t find gigantic models attractive either, and no one would dare say “ban” them for fear of repercussion.
Yes! Vogue magazine has gone too far when they are showing photos of Gisele Bundchen doctored to look curvy when in reality she is 34b-29-33, small breasted and hipless. The fashion world has screwed up the heads of young girls for too long and a ban on too thin models is a great idea. An even better idea is a return to the 1950’s when all women from Audrey Hepbrun to Anita Ekberg were considered fashionable and all women had hip to waist ratios. Too thin equals unhealthy just as being overweight does, runways need to stop celebrating the former.
Would you ban overweight men from being a bouncer at a club? Or how about overweight people eating at fast food restaurants?
Yes, I believe that girls and women study the way clothes hang on skinny models and when they go to try the same thing on, with their curves, it upsets the best of us. The slightest curve can change the look of a garment.
What we need to do is tell the young girls that are seeing these ultra-thin models and thinking ‘I need to look this way.’ that this is NOT what all women look like. Yes, some people are naturally skinny and bony; I have quite a few friends like that, and they eat more than me. But many women are not, and what those young girls need to focus on is being healthy and active, not constantly trying to shed pound after pound to look super skinny. Curves are okay, and all bodies are beautiful. That’s the bottom line.
No! Who is to judge what is “TOO THIN”? BMI measurements do not give the whole picture and can’t be used to judge what is healthy.
If this were proposed for FAT people, everyone would be having a fit about it. I’m a runner and am quite thin, and VERY healthy. I hate the way people judge and assume I must starve myself when I eat like a horse.
It should be left to the designer, who is, in fact, the artist, to freely choose who they would like to model their clothing. Clothing hangs better on thinner people. Also, a small percentage of women are naturally thin and it’s equally wrong to discriminate against thin women as it is to discriminate against fat women. The size of your body is your personal choice, and not the government’s business.
Most of what these so called style setters deem attractive is only perceived to be because of rabid media hype. A lot of clothing looks awful on skinny models, especially anything cut for an hourglass figure or a bustline. Much of the clothing like slip dresses, micro minis and other trashy Paris Hilton type garb is made for that ultra thin body type but is it made for reality and people with class of ANY size? NO!These idiots who have far too much say over what is beautiful could use a little leash tightening.
What about women who are naturally thin? I’m not talking about 6′1″ and 90 pounds, but according to BMI standards, a woman who is, say, 5′10″ and weighs 130 is considered “underweight” and by some rules would be banned. Just as someone with a BMI of 27 isn’t necessarily overweight, neither is a person with a BMI of 18 necessarily underweight. For the record, I don’t support using girls under the age of 16 for fashion modeling, but beyond that, these are adults who should be free to make their own decisions.
Women who are naturally thin are usually very healthy but most of the modeling world wants a VERY skinny, rangy UNATURAL look. Remember it was when the models became the healthiest (Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer etc) that the Kate Moss waif suddenly appeared.
The fashion industry would never want women to feel too comfortable or they’ll stop being desperate and not be spending money. Have you been to a runway show or seen what a shoot for Vogue is like? I would look at how abusive these magazines are with their power and then ask myself why I’m splitting BMI hairs and defending them. I love clothes, makeup and fashion but I’m disgusted by the last few years where stylists and designers are now as important as singers and artists and I could care less if the fashion world is troubled.
NO! why? cause there are all shapes and size of women and we all would like to dress nice… No! and i think there should be all size and shapes on the runway.
I think unhealthy role models should be more of the focus. Too thin is too general.
I feel that instead of banning the models that it might be benifical to offer them education and recovery tools for those screened to have an eating disorder. I also would like to see money donated to programs and treatment for the public.
As a former eating disorder victim I feel it is absolutely necessary for the modeling industry to set a healthy standard for models. It has nothing to do with whether it is attractive or not, but in reality the question is, is how much influence if at all does the fashion world play into the lives of models and young women around the world. The answer to that is obvious: it plays a huge role. I’ve attended body image workshops and the feedback in regards to girls feeling pressure to look like celebrities and famous models is incredible. And for people who say it the same as discrimination are not considering that it is not based solely off of looks, but rather a medical perspective. Living a life with an eating disorder is horrible and is often misuderstood by the general public and even some health professionals. And a lot of people, like Wendy who commented above about her natural smallness are trying to categorize themselves in the same group as anorexics. This is not the case. A woman such as Wendy can be naturally Anorexic looking by definition of today’s society but the the distinction of a person with anorexia and a person that LOOKS like an anorexic are totally separate entities. The DSM-IV requirements for all disorders are very specific about the weight and BMI levels for abnormal eating. Even in the current anorexia category a mandatory presentation of Amenorrea exists. Wendy, you are not an abnormal eater and it sucks that overweight people cannot be knowledgable enough to understand genetics is pivotal in determining physical body shapes. But you also cannot defend the model world just because they have naturally thin clietele. Because models in most cases are NOT naturally thin (some are though such as gisele). The real issue is the message that the fashion industry is making by letting these girls go untreated and even promote such an ideal figure…after all that is what a “model” is doing. Models make statements, they are art in motion and for a designer, the person expressing their creations is very significant in how they feel the clothing or whatever should look. But, by the industry not promoting a healthy BMI or proportionate standards based off of genetics and age, they are enabling the acceptance of the disease itself.
so now we have the thin police, just another way for people to decide what everone is supose to look like.
They should not be banned, but other shapes and sizes of women should be included.
Banning will be ruled unconstitutional, at least in the USA. Test the culpability of the designing industry in court taking the same tack used to attack the cigarette industry. While it might seem a bit sleazy, the threat of higher costs has real impact on the corporate world.
Typically, this issue runs so much deeper than simply banning “thin” models. Issues about body image need to be addressed in a “grass roots” fashion. Each of us as individuals need to monitor our attitudes about outer looks and we need to try and change societies attitudes. Has anyone asked the designers why they design for twig thin women? If one looks at a stand of magazines with pictures on them doesn’t one gravitate toward the mags with the thin beautiful model on the cover? Women say, I want to look like that. Men say…I want that! Maybe beauty needs to be redefined!!! GOOD NEWS!!! There are some very beautiful voluptuous and curvy entertainers out there…Queen Latifah, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce…to name a few! Marilyn Monroe was no skinny mini either. Maybe that re-definition has already started.
Our body images are constantly challenged by the media with pictures of beautiful, well put together models who appear to have the perfect shape. Young girls growing up and struggling with their own body image try to mimic them and some will be susceptible to eating disorders because of this. I think models with realistic body shapes and sizes can be role models to these young girls to show them it is okay to eat healthy and look healthy.
I can’t believe some of these comments. Of course ANOREXIC MODELS should be banned! Nobody — NOBODY — is NATURALLY 5′10, UNDER 100 pounds, and not STARVING. If discrimination means telling some 80lb “beauty” she has to put on a few, so be it!
Do you not realize that runway models are setting the standard of beauty? That means when we can see exactly where their joints connect, their ribs, their individual vertebrae, their collar bone, and their pelvis, we’re not only telling people that beautiful = thin, but that THIN = SKELETAL. Thin equals being literally *MOMENTS AWAY FROM DEATH BY STARVATION.
Discrimination MY NOT-FAT ASS. I don’t see anyone bitching about fat women being discrminated against for being too big! And you know what, obese people should be banned, too! That’s unhealthy, too!
Discrimination, sheesh…unbelievable.
I think that banning the girls based on how thin they are is simply an opposite reason as the girls who are too fat. Maybe we can concentrate on a healthy body and embrace the several different types and shapes of women. Women used to feel bad for being too skinny, now it’s too fat. We should just be and embrace all these differences and live out our personal preferences **Wouldn’t that be a challenge to a designer? Having to design clothes for multiple kinds of bodies, I think we should take the opportunity to see how good these designers really are.
A Random Thought: Instead of banning them,lower their earnings until they obtain a ‘healthy’ BMI.
-If someone mentioned this already; my apologies… I’ve not the time to read the conversation(s)here.
95% of fashion designers are NOT artists! An artist is De Sica, Ken Russell, Chagall,Tori Amos, Joni Mitchell or Diane Arbus. Don’t kid yourself and think that someone who makes their fortune having their creations sewn in sweatshops by underpaid exploited workers or who buys leopard cats skins from China is going to change and start designing for ‘all figures.’ They’d kill themselves first.
This is what I find disgusting about capitalism and post-modern airhead pop culture:
“Everybody knows that the norm in fashion is thin. But excuse me, there are people born with the right genes for this profession,” Gisele Bundchen said.
“Right” genes? So what is she a “Klaus Barbie doll” too? Would she even understand that reference?
It also helps that Vogue and Victoria’s Secret photoshops your waist, bum and breasts so you look like you have unattainable natural curves, when you are reed thin and hipless. That’s why Gisele reeks of stupidity because she’s passing herself of as curvy AND giving out this crappy bogus advice.
Take it from Super Amanda, Gisele couldn’t be curvy if she swallowed a Rand McNally road atlas.
Unhealthy women should not be runway models because it causes other women to aspire to that unhealthy standard. However,banning them will never work, because they can, and will, sue for discrimination.
okay, I buy the line about some women are naturally skinny-what about saying that they should make up the same percentage of models as they make up of the population? Why don’t we actually *gasp* show that body type varies from person to person and many can be attractive.
I think it’s time for everyone to take a look at what we’re really talking about–a cultural issue, not just an industry standard. True, it isn’t entirely the fashion industry’s influence that has convinced so many women (and some men) that they *must* be thin to be accepted and loved. Many families, beauty pageants, sports programs, musicians, actresses and so forth have done the same thing. As for regulating the size of runway and ad models, I’d say it’s a good start … down a long road.
i think they need to keep a serious check on these women and ensure that they are not only above a certain weight, but that are presenting themselves as healthy individuals. These models are what our children strive to be, do we really want them killing themselves to look like a toothpick in a magazine?
I dont think skinny modols should be banned. Should people who weigh over 300 lbs. be banned from McDonolds?
We need to quit blaming other people for our mistakes, and just face it. If your a weak person,and have to shove that food in your mouth then you deserve to be 300lbs. If you are a weak person and realy feel you should only weigh 80lbs. then your weak and have bad self worth. You know when something is not healty,dont act stupid and blame it other people. Survival of the fitist!
The question was unhealthy/skinny models, not underweight but healthy models. Some comments are confusing the two.
The fashion industry is brutal and only encourages unhealthy habits of self-abuse to stay thin. If the industry is finally taking some responsibility for their actions – good. However, if these girls really have problems (most of them do), the industry should also provide counseling. Simply telling them to go eat won’t work. As a result, those girls will be booted and a new batch of skinny but not so unhealthy models will fill in the holes. Guess what, those girls will also get sucked into the unhealthy habits of the industry. It’ll become a cycle and will just shorten the industry-lifespan of a model.
Enforcing a weight minimum is a good start, but if the industry doesn’t back it up with supportive measures, it won’t do a thing. It may even encourage depression and a higher suicide rate among models.
models get more work when they are skinnier – so it sets up a very strange rewards system. if they lose weight, they get more work, more money, and more recognition (as well as praise!). this is an unhealthy standard to set.
I don’t think this can be answered with a simple yes or no. After reading the other comments most people stated their answers with added restrictions. Models, unfortunately, are who children and adults think they need to look like. If they are too skinny people have proven that they will go to extreme measures to make themselves the same. This should never happen. The best way to make sure everyone is taken care of is for a panel of doctors to be made. Models must go before the panel and get checked up regularly to make sure they are healthy. There will still be skinny models, but the public will then know that they are healthy and skinny models.
I feel that the health of the women who are modeling is the prime factor. “Forcing” someone toward eating disorders for the sake of dollars in someone else’s pocket is cruel and inhuman. For the same reason we barred children from dangerous factory work, we should bar women from jobs that require them to become unhealthy to be acceptable. The woman and her doctor should decide what is too thin for her.
Tom P.
I don’t think they should be banned… However, what concerns me is our society’s standards of what is beautiful & perfect. I think that more emphasis needs to be put on what is healthy for an individual. Some women are naturally thin, others are not. I love Dove’s “campaign for real beauty”… It’s wonderful… Women of all ages need to know that they are beautiful period. Not that they are only beautiful if they are tall & thin…. The problem is not with the runway, but with our own standards of cookie-cutter “beauty”
So, some of us are advocating discrimination based on body type. If that be the case, then why not discriminate based on body color, hair color, eye color, etc. Mary wants to set the demarcation based on BMI- Well then, Mary, we will have to discriminate against all people outside of their BMI- high or low. And let us not forget Tracie’s comment- If you can distinguish bones on a woman, then she must be anorexic- Tracie, may we please see your medical diploma and your medical licence, so that your diagnosis can be verified and all these women can be sent for an evaluation and rehabilitation- someone, please call Dr. Phil. Ah, Super Amanda- I do believe this issue has struck a cord with you. You are insensed to the point of anonymously insulting another woman- to knock her down a peg (Back-Biter). Your chit-chat will not make any difference to any of the people you hope to discredit. DO NOT BE A MINDLESS TWIT! If you believe these women are unhealthy and underweight, then DO NOT follow their example- Do Not let your daughters follow these examples. Do Not buy fashion magazines- Do Not watch ET, the Oscars, and all that celebrity trash on TV. If you do not support this practice within the industry, then DO NOT purchase items from these designers- Hit ‘em where it counts- Right in the Wallet!!
First of all this was in the 1960’s that I’m talking about. When I was younger and until I got pregnant I weighed 87 pounds. No matter what I did I couldn’t gain weight (wish it were true now). If these ladies are making themselves thin then I am against it. But if these ladies were in the same boat that I was before I got pregnant then that’s different.
Hey DK, I’m no mindless twit, I help run a non-profit w/ 501 c 3 and if you read my fashion writing or watch my work on youtube you’ll see I have brains-do you?
“Ah, Super Amanda- I do believe this issue has struck a cord with you. You are insensed to the point of anonymously insulting another woman- to knock her down a peg (Back-Biter). Your chit-chat will not make any difference to any of the people you hope to discredit. DO NOT BE A MINDLESS TWIT! ”
WHO DID I KNOCK DOWN? I was very clear that Gisele is an ignorant fashion model who is a great example of how the industry breeds stupidity, speaking of which, can you read?
I struck a cord with YOU and you can’t deal with it.
No! Someone should be the example for the rest of the hogs out there. It’s disgusting to look around anyplace, anytime and see women who could be pretty and good looking, but instead, look like slobs. If we let models be a little hefty, think what will follow.
As a (completely healthy) size 0, I can say it’s ALREADY hard for those of us under a certain size to shop for clothes. I, like some other posters, constantly get told I’m too thin, as well, and sadly this rude behavior is slowly becoming acceptable. I am happy the way I am, and I should be able to have whatever career I wish. I’m also against the height discrimination already practiced in the modeling industry. I think the problem isn’t the models, it’s the dietary habits of society. It bothers me to open a clothing (or worse, lingerie) catalog and see mostly size 16+ women. I realize that that’s the average now, but mainstreaming it makes it okay to just let yourself go.
And Alicia, it bothers me a healthy 5′9 38DD-26-38 to open a clothing catalog, much less a lingerie catalog and see size 0 such as yourself! YIKES!
“sadly this rude behavior is slowly becoming acceptable.”
You should know girlfriend! Backatcha scrawny!
“And sadly this rude behavior is slowly becoming acceptable.”
Oh Alicia, i feel your pain! As a healthy 5′8, 38E-26-38 (your husband would love me I’m sure…) I’m sickened when size 0 women such as yourself models clothes much less lingerie! Ack!
Back atcha scrawny!
If girls are overweight they can’t be models so why let the ones who are underweight? I agree with the first gal Mary, go by the BMI!
It doesn’t make a difference if they are banned or not. They will still continue to starve themselves so that they can fit into the small sized clothes the designers make. Perhaps the designers are the ones who should be prohibited from exhibiting their clothes.
i agree with justin, you must hit the influencial people, not the models. you tell a model to eat and she loses 1000’s of dollars because she’s considered too fat. tell designers not to book anyone under 120 lbs and watch the models eat…no one wants to lose out on work which brings money
I thing that there should be a minimum fat percentage to be admitted in any kind of modeling career. If too low, you are inadmissible.
If super skinny models are responsible for the increase in anorexia amongst teenage girls, does that mean that Dawn French is responsible for the obesity problem? This witch hunt against skinny models is driven by green-eyed, diet obsessed women who cannot accept that we come in all shapes and sizes and so attack those that they secretly aspire to be.
size queen: i like how you posted twice…with two different measurements. does it make you feel good to tell alicia that her husband would like you? lol. i’m sure there is a reason he’s with her! very nice 4rd grade “insult” nontheless.
some people on this board really need to relax and gain some self-confidence…
anyways, i have always been the brunt of many “you’re too thin” comments and i eat a lot more than most women i know. i love to eat, and i eat what i want when i want! but i also work out regularly to keep myself in shape. people come in all sizes and can be healthy at many different weights. obviously, someone that starves themselves or someone that constantly over-eats, are not healthy people.
too many models are anarexic, thinking that is how the judges like them, but honestly, it is disturbing, and I do think they should be banned to taech them a lesson to EAT!
To many models are anarexic, thinking that is how the judges like them, but honestly, it is disturbing, and I do think they should be banned to taech them a lesson to EAT!
tu es muy skinny!
Okay, some of these comments are completely inspiring and thoughtful while others are just plain catty. The truth is, this weight issue exists OFF of the runway and quite within today’s society. It seems that most people are just either completely bored with their own lives or completely miserable with their looks, so they somehow find it easier to judge those who seem to look different in hopes of falsely attaining confidence instead of tackling their own weight issues head on.
I’ve been skinny my whole life and, like some commentators here, have heard rude and ignorant comments about how I must not eat because I’m skinny. The problem here is that people who usually say this to me are clearly suffering from their own overweight issues. And I wonder how they would feel if I responded by asking them if they could loan me a few pounds because they could definitely lose it!
The point is that people are mean when they feel threatened. That’s not psycho-babble. It’s a fact. Who the heck are we to walk up to somebody and tell them that they need to gain or lose weight? It’s really and truly none of our business. Yet, with 60% of our population being “obese,” skinny people have become the enemy and the brunt of many cruel comments by those who can’t understand why some people are just naturally skinny and they are not.
True confidence definitely comes from within, but for all you people who have nothing better to do than to make skinny people feel bad or gross about their weight in attempts to make yourself feel better about your own, heed this advice: If you don’t like something about yourself, then change it. YOu don’t like your weight, then do what you can to lose it. But don’t approach me when I’m walking down the street and tell me I need to gain a few pounds when your insecurity and hostility really stems from your own weight struggles. We need to stop judging others for their weight when we should be focusing on ourselves. Don’t you people see how pathetic you look?
To all those who feel the need to inject your 2 cents about what other people should look like, why don’t you just focus on yourself and your weight issues instead of judging skinny people in attempts to make yourself feel better.
I’ve been skinny my whole life, and I can’t tell you how many times someone who is overweight has approached me and told me I should gain a few pounds. Enough’s enough. Focus on your own weight and stop discriminated against skinny people in attempts to make them feel as bad about their weight as you do about yours. Confidence comes from within…rude comments about other people’s weight is ignorant, immature and truly pathetic.
“Super” Amanda, the postmodern world allows us the opportunity to be anything we want: everything is beautiful and yet nothing is beautiful. Your obsession with skinny women seems a tad too unhealthy. Who cares if the modelling world praises them, and who cares if they are considered the beauty ideal. If the modelling world really wanted someone with curves they wouldn’t have picked Giselle what’s her name. They are going after a particular ideal, and unfortunately not everyone fits into it. So create your own. Don’t become so bitter to the point of self-destruction. Instead of resorting to personal attacks, write about the elustive quality of beauty – of how it can never be quantified and marketed. My feeling is that your carry such a haterad toward Giselle and the like because you want so very much to be like them. It is so sad.
I think it is really just the advertiser’s choice to do that. of course, we want to see pictures that are more realistic, not ALL pictures skinny. maybe advertisers can be more objective. like what i saw in fitfactory site, not all are skinny. some have more meat, but it’s healthy. i think fitness sites are more objective that way. but the difference is, those who use skinny models are fashion icon brands. maybe, we should just build confidence of the youth and keep them self esteem up by letting them healthy like fitness first, fit factory, gold’s gym, whatever healthy. thank you!