Can Governments Regulate Thinness?
The adage "you're never too skinny or too rich" is losing luster at least in Spain.
Three models banned from fashion show in Madrid for being too thin.The week-long Cibeles show in Madrid banned models with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 18, believing them to set an unhealthy ideal for teenage girls. The three models rejected by the organizers had a BMI of less than 16.
"A BMI of 16 is extremely low," said Susana Monereo, a nutritionist and endocrinologist who weighed the 70 models due to appear at the show. Organizers refused to name the models and said that they were not necessarily in danger. "Their health might be OK, but their appearance is extremely thin," Dr. Monereo said.
Spain passed a law in 2006 banning models with a BMI of 18%. This was prompted after several models died of starvation in 2005 and 2006 and based on the the World Health Organization's guidelines for a healthy weight (anything below 18.5% BMI is considered underweight).
Milan has a similar law. London hasn't passed one but they now do not allow catwalk models to be under the age of 16.
Do you think excessively thin models are unhealthy role models? Should we have similar public health laws focusing on the fashion industry here in the United States as a public health measure?
What do you think?
[Image: Pravda]
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IF A MODEL IS NATURALLY THIN THAN I BELIEVE SHE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO WORK. THE PROBLEM LIES NOT WITH THE WEIGHT OF THE MODEL BUT RATHER WITH THE IDEALISED INTERNAL IMAGING EACH INDIVIDUAL HOLDS THEMSELVES TO. MODELING PROMOTES BEAUTY AND IT SHOULD ALSO PROMOTE HEALTH DESPITE ONE'S SIZE,WHETHER A MODEL BE THIN OR PLUS SIZE.
I think that if a model is naturally thin she should be allowed to work, as this is just her body type. If she is intentionally starving herself, then no, she is setting a horrible example and should not be allowed to portray such an image. Its more of a health issue than anything else.
It's about time people recognize the effects these things can have on society. Unfair as it may seem to prevent these undernurished women to set the standards of what it means to be beautiful we can't obviously discern between the models that are naturally super-thin and the ones who starve themselves to get that way. To protect models from the temptation to starve themselves I think this is a brilliant step in the right direction.
It's about time people recognize the effects these things can have on society. Unfair as it may seem to prevent these undernurished women to set the standards of what it means to be beautiful we can't obviously discern between the models that are naturally super-thin and the ones who starve themselves to get that way. To protect models from the temptation to starve themselves I think this is a brilliant step in the right direction.