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Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Heroin-chic models banned from Madrid fashion show
Boing Boing: "Madrid's fashion week has banned runway models who are 'underweight,' as determined by their body-mass index, and Milan is threatening to follow suit."
7 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I can practicaully hear the outcry already, labeling this move as a new form of discrimination. For my part, I think it's an excellent move, both for the health of the models and the self-esteem of the women who see them daily in advertisements.
BMI could be a job requirement. A fireman must be able to pull 170lbs. 200feet, why can't models have a weight requirement. It is long over due.... yeah for the fat crowd!!!!!
I wonder what the fashion designers have to say about this. I mean, I guess they can't say much, seeing as how that is a fashion capital. However, don't they specify garment measurements by certain body types...i.e. heroin chic? I bet their shops are scrambling to make adjustments as we speak.
I suppose one way for this to be kept from becoming a discrimination lawsuit in America (for that matter, does anyone know anything about the legal code of Spain? Could this even be an issue in their country?) would be to require runway designers to design for a specific, common, size or set of measurements and set the size of the clothes, not the size or weight of the model. If the designer wants to put something 5 sizes too large on a model, they'd be allowed, but it wouldn't look right. It gets the same effect as the BMI requirement, without directly telling models you have to have to get on a scale, and is all the easier to defend as representing a typical woman.
You do have to wonder though, if they do manage to change the sizing of models internationally, how many models will choose to bulk up, and how many will try to find other work?
its funny how things switch perspectives, its used to be people got upset when someone said you were too fat to be a model, now its going to you are too skinny to be a model. somewhere in between is the perfect person. i dont think anyone will ever be satisfied.
I think this poses a very interesting question though. If I told someone that they were too fat to be a model, I am certain that they would be rather offended. This will be the exact opposite. (Although if they are anything like me, they should have not problem gaining a few pounds!) At the same time, it was their career choice that forced them into the habbits that lead to their current body composition. The industry that in the past forced them to starve themselves in order to be employed, is now telling them that they cannot be employed.
In response to Julie's comment--the firefighter has to meet those requirements because the physical demands of the job require it. Underweight models are more than capable of wearing clothes and walking down a catwalk. I think that if FDNY required all of its firefighters to look good topless so that they could sell more calendars, there would be a lot of contreversy. . .and definitely lawsuits!
I can't make up my mind if I am for or against this new regulation of body size. I think that the idea is great, and I am all for healthy girls, however i don't really know that this is the industry to start that in. I think that first the movie stars and hollywood need to take a good look at the kind of women they are presenting and the prevalence of eating disorders among them. The number of 12 year old girls that are looking up to Mary Kate Olsen are probably higher than the number of girls that can even name a Spanish supermodel. It also requires a look at the industry and why the norm for the models has become the teensy thing that it has. I think that this is a situation which requires a lot of self-reflection and alone time to think things over.
7 comments:
I can practicaully hear the outcry already, labeling this move as a new form of discrimination. For my part, I think it's an excellent move, both for the health of the models and the self-esteem of the women who see them daily in advertisements.
BMI could be a job requirement. A fireman must be able to pull 170lbs. 200feet, why can't models have a weight requirement. It is long over due.... yeah for the fat crowd!!!!!
- Julie
I wonder what the fashion designers have to say about this. I mean, I guess they can't say much, seeing as how that is a fashion capital. However, don't they specify garment measurements by certain body types...i.e. heroin chic? I bet their shops are scrambling to make adjustments as we speak.
I suppose one way for this to be kept from becoming a discrimination lawsuit in America (for that matter, does anyone know anything about the legal code of Spain? Could this even be an issue in their country?) would be to require runway designers to design for a specific, common, size or set of measurements and set the size of the clothes, not the size or weight of the model. If the designer wants to put something 5 sizes too large on a model, they'd be allowed, but it wouldn't look right. It gets the same effect as the BMI requirement, without directly telling models you have to have to get on a scale, and is all the easier to defend as representing a typical woman.
You do have to wonder though, if they do manage to change the sizing of models internationally, how many models will choose to bulk up, and how many will try to find other work?
its funny how things switch perspectives, its used to be people got upset when someone said you were too fat to be a model, now its going to you are too skinny to be a model. somewhere in between is the perfect person. i dont think anyone will ever be satisfied.
I think this poses a very interesting question though. If I told someone that they were too fat to be a model, I am certain that they would be rather offended. This will be the exact opposite. (Although if they are anything like me, they should have not problem gaining a few pounds!) At the same time, it was their career choice that forced them into the habbits that lead to their current body composition. The industry that in the past forced them to starve themselves in order to be employed, is now telling them that they cannot be employed.
In response to Julie's comment--the firefighter has to meet those requirements because the physical demands of the job require it. Underweight models are more than capable of wearing clothes and walking down a catwalk. I think that if FDNY required all of its firefighters to look good topless so that they could sell more calendars, there would be a lot of contreversy. . .and definitely lawsuits!
I can't make up my mind if I am for or against this new regulation of body size. I think that the idea is great, and I am all for healthy girls, however i don't really know that this is the industry to start that in. I think that first the movie stars and hollywood need to take a good look at the kind of women they are presenting and the prevalence of eating disorders among them. The number of 12 year old girls that are looking up to Mary Kate Olsen are probably higher than the number of girls that can even name a Spanish supermodel. It also requires a look at the industry and why the norm for the models has become the teensy thing that it has. I think that this is a situation which requires a lot of self-reflection and alone time to think things over.
- Jen
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