A Fashion to Die For
A friend's recent exposure to a Brazilian model's struggle with anorexia nervosa got me thinking about the law behind the health of models and the regulation that doesn't seem to exist. In a class discussing the disease anorexia nervosa, two pictures of a Brazilian model that died in 2006 were shown to demonstrate the effects of the disease. One picture displayed a typical, but presumably healthy, woman, while the second featured the same model looking emaciated and sickly. The second picture was shocking and unnerving as it revealed her bulging rib cage.
When I saw the second picture displaying the extremely thin and clearly unhealthy body, I thought to myself, "Why would the modeling agency allow her to continue working? Can't they see that she is very sick?" While I know that BFOQs protect the agency's right to require that models meet certain physical qualifications, shouldn't the law be regulating the requirements so that the models aren't endangered when meeting or exceeding the weight requirements? In an article written the week of the 21 year old model's death, in 2006, it was reported that she had the body mass index of a 12 year old girl. Shocking as this may be, it was this body that was allowed to continue working as a professional model. How did the industry allow this model, and so many others like her, get this far? Are the agents too closely connected to the industry to be able to clearly see when the models are in danger? It is my concern that the modeling agency may not be in the best position to make the decision of what models are healthy and what ones in need of assistance because they so regularly accept very thin women as normal weight. Considering this fact, it seems that external regulation from legislature should be used to assist in determining what models are at a permisible weight. The inclusion of external regulation is not done due to the fault of the agency, but is imposed based on the truth that sometimes outsiders can see the truth easier than insiders.
In 2006, the modeling industry banned underweight models from walking in one of Spain's largerst fashion shows. I applaud the industry's attempt, but still in 2008 with the popularity of modeling television shows, I see that not much has changed. The owners of modeling agencies pinch every inch of skin and claim that the models need to lose weight. My questions are: Was the ban on underweight models used to make a one- time statement? And where is the lawful enforcement of a much needed regulation?
To read the referenced article visit: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,230326,00.html
To see the referenced Google images visit:
http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,230326,00.html
http://amha.be/renegirard/share/mannequin anorexique.jpg
When I saw the second picture displaying the extremely thin and clearly unhealthy body, I thought to myself, "Why would the modeling agency allow her to continue working? Can't they see that she is very sick?" While I know that BFOQs protect the agency's right to require that models meet certain physical qualifications, shouldn't the law be regulating the requirements so that the models aren't endangered when meeting or exceeding the weight requirements? In an article written the week of the 21 year old model's death, in 2006, it was reported that she had the body mass index of a 12 year old girl. Shocking as this may be, it was this body that was allowed to continue working as a professional model. How did the industry allow this model, and so many others like her, get this far? Are the agents too closely connected to the industry to be able to clearly see when the models are in danger? It is my concern that the modeling agency may not be in the best position to make the decision of what models are healthy and what ones in need of assistance because they so regularly accept very thin women as normal weight. Considering this fact, it seems that external regulation from legislature should be used to assist in determining what models are at a permisible weight. The inclusion of external regulation is not done due to the fault of the agency, but is imposed based on the truth that sometimes outsiders can see the truth easier than insiders.
In 2006, the modeling industry banned underweight models from walking in one of Spain's largerst fashion shows. I applaud the industry's attempt, but still in 2008 with the popularity of modeling television shows, I see that not much has changed. The owners of modeling agencies pinch every inch of skin and claim that the models need to lose weight. My questions are: Was the ban on underweight models used to make a one- time statement? And where is the lawful enforcement of a much needed regulation?
To read the referenced article visit: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,230326,00.html
To see the referenced Google images visit:
http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,230326,00.html
http://amha.be/renegirard/share/mannequin anorexique.jpg
posted by songbird at
1:34 PM
1 Comments:
I think in this situation, we open a can of worms by regulating what people ingest in terms of food. Anytime we introduce new laws, the thing we need to ask is, who will enforce them? We constantly create new rules/laws but what does it mean in the end? Technically, you cannot panhandle in downtown Austin,TX. It illegal and against the law. But really happened? Nothing changed. So to introduce regulations into "modeling", we need to do something that would actually change the current course while letting the business maintain a sense of their own, if we are doing this in a free market enterprise.
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