thegrindstone.com: In the 1980s and ‘90s, fashion models were superstars. In the 2000s, they became nameless automatons. Now, finally, they may to be finally turning into just plain working women. That’s thanks in part to the Model Alliance, an organization that advocates for worker’s rights for these beautiful — but often underpaid and exploited — women and girls. The group launched just seven months ago, and already it has claimed prominent supporters and a handful of victories, including Marc Jacobs’s assurance that he planned to — gasp! — actually pay the models walking in his runway show this week. Model Alliance founder Sara Ziff, who began working as a model at 14, talked with me yesterday about why it’s so hard to generate sympathy for models, how she hopes to see the industry change, and whether she regrets working as a model at such a young age.
3 comments:
I remember reading another article about this in the Spring and I'm continually impressed by Sara's efforts. As I read the last section of this article, the section about why these protections don't yet exist in the modeling industry when they do in other entertainment industries, it reminded me of the ever-popular "Is cheerleading a sport?" debate. Guess what? Cheerleading is a sport. And modeling is a profession. As far as I know, the child labor laws for film, television, and theatre are very stringent. It doesn't make sense that it should be any different for young girls (or boys) in the modeling industry. They have to miss school for shoots and they do the same things that young actors do, except they are shot with still photography instead of being captured on video. Another thing that really struck me during this article is how models can be paid in unusable samples, even for big name brands/designers. That's disgusting. How are these models supposed to support themselves? I'm surprised there hasn't been more lawsuits or protests regarding this issue. It's great that Sara and her supporters are finally speaking up to make working in the modeling industry better for all.
I am shocked to find out that models are not paid to walk down the runway, and that there are not more rules regulating the modeling industry, especially when it comes to children workers. It is essential that people like Sara Ziff take action to not only create change for the better in the industry, but also inform the general public. We are constantly exposed to advertisements featuring pictures of models, but rarely do we stop and think about how similar their profession is to theater performers, and wonder whether or not they have the same protections and rules.
I'm really surprised by the information in this article. And it doesn't even make sense to me. Why would the laws about modeling be regulated by the Department of Education instead of the Department of Labor? It doesn't seem to me that education has anything to do with the modeling industry. Also, Sara stated that "There’s no policy about age of consent regarding full or partial nudity, and no provisions for chaperones like there are for other child performers". Wouldn't that be child pornography, which would be illegal?
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