Empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones.
That’s how author J K Rowling describes today’s fashion models . Rowling was quickly joined by former Marie Claire editor Liz Jones who also adds her opinions of the glossy magazine industry. Her words are cutting, insightful, – and oh so true.
“Unless they promote women as toothpicks, they will lose their chauffeur-driven jobs and front-row seats at fashion shows,” she wrote. “[Designers] want you to believe that you are not beautiful enough or young enough or thin enough, and they do that by draping cadaverous 16-year-olds across double-page spreads so you will feel so wretched that you will have to buy their products to make yourself feel better.”
The fashionistas carefully dance around the issue. The magazine editors blame the designers, and then go on to point out how “A person with anorexia has loads more issues than just wanting to look like a model”. True – but they didn’t become anorexic overnight.
Skinny Imagery Everywhere
There is a very real problem with the abundance of skinny imagery that abounds in popular media. I challenge any person who denies such a thing: just look over a single days worth of comments on this very site (www.diet-blog.com).
There are so many troubled girls – and so many of them mention the thin models they see. No I’m not talking about people diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa – I’m talking about the thousands upon thousands of young women spend half their waking hours burning with self-hate – fueled in part by the abundant obsession with skinny models.
The first time that I went on a diet (at age 12) was to lose weight for the summer to look skinny compared to my classmates and to be able to wear cute belly baring tank tops. I was so influenced by the skinny models in magazines and the stereotypical hot girls from MTV’s spring break. I didnt know at the time what kind of hell and demons I’d be unleashing on myself (a comment on College Women and the Culture of Dieting)
Magazine Editors to blame?
I’m sorry magazine editors. You cannot pass the buck. You cannot deny this. The gap between our current average body weights and sizes – and the ‘emaciated clones’ is so enormous – that it drives some people toward goals that are simply unachievable.
Here is a brief skinny-o-meter survey from the Independent article:
ELLE
Read by: young and stylish. No. of pages: 298. No. of fashion pictures: 160. Regular models: 17. Skinny models: 143. Skinny-o-meter 8.9
VOGUE (UK)
Read by: Late twenties and beyond fashionistas. No. of pages: 352. No. of fashion pictures: 109. Regular models: 15. Skinny models: 94 Skinny-o-meter: 8.6
BLISS
Read by: Teens watching trends. No. of pages: 162. No. of fashion pictures: 62. Regular models: 10. Skinny models: 52. Skinny-o-meter 8.4
What do you think about skinny models?
Here is a thought, do something about the obesity problem! People are only complaining that the goal is unreachable because they are dumb enough to think there is such a goal to be reached. Shifting the focus to how media portrays beauty does nothing to solve the obesity problem.
If the media were to attempt to glorify the average person, consumers would have little interest because the media is just showing something everyone sees everyday. So the options are either the fatties or the skinnies. Lets face it, a skinny person in a bathing suit is far more sexier than a fatty. So there is no mystery why media uses skinny models!
Anorexia is a mental condition that leaves the person suffering not only mentally but also physically while they try to starve themselves into SKELETONS. Anorexic people usually have bad skin, nails, and hair due to malnutrition. We don’t see anorexic people on magazine covers because of this.
So there is a line between what is acceptably skinny and what is too skinny. So long as that line isn’t crossed, you have yourself an ‘interesting’ model. Not average and not fat.
The problem being addressed in this article is not the obesity epidemic, but the eating disorder epidemic. Yes, we have a problem with obesity in our country, NO it is not relevant when talking about the the skeletons with skin and designer clothing draped over them marching down runways, half naked on covers of magazines, and engraving the thought that all females should look this way in people as young as 6 or 7 years old.
People would still be interested in the models if they were more of an average, or HEALTHY size. When I’m waiting in line at the grocery store or wherever I may be, my eyes are drawn to the women with some breasts and an ass, rather than the woman with ribs that appear about to bust through her skin.
And thirdly, yes, anorexia is a mental condition. Therefore there are different extents of anorexia. Someone may be anorexic, yet still eat very little, such as a piece of lettuce for lunch or an egg white for breakfast. If they look at themselves in the mirror and see their flaws, and even if they weigh 70 pounds and stand 5’11″ they still see themselves as fat, that is an eating disorder. A person does not have to be emaciated, have bad skin, nails, and hair to be anorexic.
And even once a person is an anorexic with all of those problems, they can still be photoshopped to look different. Yes, we do see anorexic people on magazine covers. Isabelle Caro, who weighed 58 pounds before she died, was still displayed on French fashion magazines before she died of her disorder.
15 kg are 33 pounds and 40 kg approx. 89 pounds.
Sorry for my English. I hope it is undernstandable.
I absolutely aggree with you. I know thin people who complain because they don’t want to be so thin and they are unhealthy because they need 15 kg more. What about people who needs to lose 40? At the same time they are saying this (and I recognise it can’t be easy because of course your genes cause part of the thin problem) they just eat until they feel full (they don’t do major efforts to eat more) and, in turn, don’t go to a specialist, because if they go, they don’t go there till the end (if in the first month they have gained 3 pounds they say is no worth it, and don’t analyse the causes).
They also say that they feel the same as overweights. So false!. Some people may insult them with some stupid jokes, ok, and it is not funny; but, they also benefit from our distorted society: some (at least not all, but an important number) of litterally thin-minded men admire them (before knowing them inside) just because their body means fashion. Companies who recruit stewardesses prefer skinny bodies, not to mention models. They don’t have important problems when finding clothes. Skinny is (from the outside) desirable. Fatness isn’t, never. We should promote BMI’s from 19.5-25, and not restricting to the skinny models.
I don’t think at all that women buy clothes just because an skinny-skeleton is wearing these clothes. In fact, they provoke kind of a sick phenomena on potential consumers, that result in the destruction of some possible buyers: normal and big sized women. The majority, after all. And they are really bored of rectangular-ultra-long shapes.
sorry! but i bet you tell the same to a boy. Have you ever seen Tara Lynn? She is gorgeous, and, despite not being in a perfect 21 BMI is hundred times more attractive and sex-appealing than any other giraffe-skell-pencil.
Let me remind you that between the unhhealthy 16-17-18 BMIs of all the models there is wide range of healthy (19.5-25) and more curvy but sexy after all (25-30) BMI’s of women who would sell everything a lot better just because their faces are not sucked…and do have curves!!!!!
I don’t think at all that women buy clothes just because an skinny-skeleton is wearing these clothes. In fact, they provoke kind of a sick phenomena on potential consumers, that result in the destruction of some possible buyers: normal and big sized women. The majority, after all. And they are really bored of rectangular-ultra-long shapes.
Who says taller is better? You people are so brainwashed.
sweetie, i can guarantee you that every single woman in this world has hated herself at one point in time. and don’t listen to statistics, according to statistics 50% of married couples end up in divorce, so what? statistics are never on a large scale, it’s always done on small groups, usually 100 people, sometimes 1000 people, but there are millions in America and billions around the world. statistics really mean nothing. boys your age really only care about sex and i promise you they will have sex with the largest girl at your school if she would allow them too. beauty has nothing to do with getting a boys attention at your age. i grew up thinking older people didn’t know what they were talking about so if you think of me that way, that’s okay, but i promise you i grew up and learned that almost everything they said was true. so i say that to say this: you are only a teen once, you will be an adult for the rest of your life. enjoy your childhood. forget about being sexy and having the best boyfriend or whatever it is you are thinking to keep you from enjoying your youth. what matters now is experiencing life as a teen and learning from your mistakes. making good grades in school and dreaming about a career. no skinny is not the only way to be beautiful. loving yourself and being confident is beautiful. i know women who are twice to three times my size and they are beautiful and men are very attracted to them, because those women radiate beauty and confidence. and they radiate that because they KNOW they are beautiful regardless of what the world thinks. sweetie, as you grow up you will learn beauty is in the eye of the beholder, some men look at me and think oh she’s skinny and pretty and other men look at me and think yuck, she needs to eat something. i look at me and hate that i don’t have a big butt or big boobs, i hate that i look flat on both sides like a wood plank. but my man fell in love with me for who i am, not what i look like. i mean i’m not ugly, but he calls me beautiful even tho i don’t see it. so to end this long message, enjoy your life, don’t get stuck up in the material world or the media world telling you who you are. they have no clue who you are, they just want to make you feel like crap so you’ll buy their products in hopes of looking like their models. you want to know one fact? even the models don’t look like they do in the magazines, air brushing takes away all flaws. they are not perfect, don’t care about perfection on the outside. no one marries a vain woman with no personality or compassion. work on who you are on the inside, if you want to fix your body eat right and work out. starving yourself is not the answer. if you want to starve yourself because you want to die then that’s another problem that needs addressing. not saying that’s what you meant, but i’m worried. you should talk to someone you trust. hope u learn to love yourself young one, many people need to learn to do so, even me.
okay anorexic girls are not “fine the way they are” obviously there is something wrong. skinny is fine, of course it is, as long as that’s how you’re built. just like being big is fine as long as you’re healthy. skinny does not equal healthy and being labeled overweight does not make you unhealthy, however being anorexic MAKES you unhealthy. you’re body needs nourishment, that’s a fact. please don’t go around teaching young girls that being anorexic is fine because that is far from the truth, it’s a disease that needs to be cured. if you are anorexic then i hope you can tell someone that loves you like a parent, other family member or close friend. then find some help. if you are not then that’s great and i apologize for assuming.
girl u just haven’t ran into a man yet that loves you for you. i married a man that loves big butts and boobs and i have neither, but just because he finds a curvy woman appealing, he fell in love with me and who i am. i’m short and skinny and to my dismay i have no butt and boobs. i love how both features grew while i was pregnant, but my fast metabolism sucks me dry after i give birth. he finds me attractive even tho i don’t like being so skinny and he tries to make me feel beautiful, but it will never work as long as i don’t think so. but you know what turned him on to me? my confidence? i find a way to be confident regardless of how i feel about myself. i know that i have a big heart, i give and never want anything in return, i am loyal and so on and so forth. find your confidence. men are not only attracted to appearances. i’ve met women who make me feel like an ugly duckling, but once i get to know them i know why they can never keep a man. a real man falls in love with a real woman who is confident and wifey material. someone they can rely on to help pay the bills instead of spend the car note on a new purse, the ones who will sleep by their hospital beds instead of in another mans bed. you have a lot to offer and until you learn that no other man will.
*claps!!* i’m glad someone in here gets it. love who you are, no matter what you look like. of course it’s easier said than done, but i’m just glad i’d rather look healthy and curvy instead of being as thin and flat as a plank. plus i’m glad that our media is getting over having models that look like they’re about to fall over if a large gust of wind picks up, and replace them with women that look like they eat 3 times a day.
correction, not everyone desires to look like they’re starving. i’d choose to have Beyonce or Kim Kardashian’s body over a thin rail anyday. stop thinking so generally, they are just what certain people desire to be. not everyone.
u’re going to use Kate Moss as an example? the one who chose to drug herself up? i’m glad she went to rehab and all and i hope she’s still not doing drugs, but as far as being beautiful is better than being smart, intelligence will always outlast beauty. it’s sad that so many people think that beauty is what makes the world go round. do you think the people that run those fancy magazines and fashion shows are just beautiful? no, they can retain information because they are intelligent. beauty will get you places to a certain degree, but having knowledge that is useful will get you much further.
wow, u come off very rude. no, not everyone is a “fatass” as you put it, but not everyone is skinny either. there are women of all sizes and shapes and it’s sad that so many women are not more accepting of who they are. like this girl here saying she’s not a model under the fat and she’s only 105! beauty is in the eye of the beholder and just because you see skinny and tall as beautiful is fine and i hope you love your body as well as i hope everyone does, but don’t go saying short and fat would ruin the outfit, the only way that would happen is if they wore an outfit that was one or two sizes to small or big. women should wear clothes that fit them and if the clothes these models wear were made in appropriate sizes anyone could wear them.
Whoa, whoa! O.o
Ok; first: cool it, girls!
I KNOW this is a very personal issue for some of you. As some of you have attested, you’ve watched people you care about suffer from weight-related issues, or experienced them yourselves. So it’s only natural that you’d have very strong responses in this debate. You’ve been hurt or deeply marked by a negative experience; and no one here has ANY right to deny you that.
However, we shouldn’t forget that the person on the other end of this computer is someone entirely DIFFERENT from you. Not criminals or sadists; just ordinary, average PEOPLE who happen to have a view that clashes with yours. So; maybe you think they’re being stupid/ ignorant/ insensitive, and just MAYBE they are; but I can bet you anything that those words weren’t purposefully targeted at you. Remember; they didn’t come here to hurt YOU; whom they’ve likely never met, or to spread hurtful propaganda like some leftist cult. After all, we’re all just folks exercising our right to speak!
So, there’s no need for the harsh insults, alright? Even if they really grate you up the wrong way; ‘cos, not only does it make an enemy out of a previously neutral stranger, they’d be even less likely to change their minds or accept your view.
Okay; end of the line. Everybody take a breather.
All I’m saying is….I understand that maybe you feel that people are picking on you because you’re thin. But I find that really hard to believe. Lol. I’ve spent my entire life being picked on for being fat. But when I was very thin (5’3″, ll5 lbs) while I still got picked at for this and that, I NEVER experienced getting picked on for being overly thin. Because thin is desirable, thin is what people want to be.
I honestly find it kind of sad that someone could consider being thin and looking good a problem. Or thinking that men desire larger women. It’s just not true, it’s completely unfounded in reality. Have you ever thought when people say things like “how do you stay so thin” or “wow you’re so skinny, i could never fit into that!”…that maybe, just maybe they mean it as a compliment? And that you have decided that skinny is bad because you have self esteem problems, so you take the compliment the opposite way?
Complaining about being too thin is like complaining about being well endowed, or complaining about being too lean and muscular. Just makes me want to say…can we please get some people with some real problems? Why are you going to complain about what our culture finds acceptable and attractive? You’re belittling people who have real problems, not just problems in their head.
I have been doing T-Tapp.com a 15 min. work out. I am a size 12 and about 5′ 5 1/2″ tall. I am over weight and age 50. In High school I was a size 12 and 20lbs thinner. They changed the sizes to fool people. Curves are better. My goal is to be a size 8 which is really a 1970′s size 12. I only want to lose about 20-25lbs. I don’t want to be supper thin like models. I use to starve myself in my late teens and early twenties to be 125lbs which is way to small for my frame. My ribs were showing and my Mom said, I looked sick. At that time my ideal weight was more like 135lbs but, people would tell me I was fat. I have pictures and I was not fat. I really like looking at lean people who work out and have muscle. Those people tend to weigh more and are healthy looking. I would like for the fashion industry to change, to models who weight more, eat and work out. Hard to say……..be different break the mold. I believe I gained weight in rebellion to the fashion industry. Got tired of people telling me what I should look like. I tried being a model in HS. My legs are not straight so my confirmation is not model stuff. I am knee knocked which makes me swing my hips as I walk. Husband says it is sexy, LOL. I was really thin when I met my husband. He said way to think. I never want to be as thin as I was in my 20′s. Curves are in. The fashion industry missed the Q from the people.
JK Rowling, I just loved you a little bit more.
I started dieting when I was in 3rd grade. THIRD GRADE! All throughout elementary and middle school, I would miss social events because I was terrified that the people there would think I was fat. It got so bad, I would never leave the house except for school. I was constantly searching the internet for better diets and formulas. Nothing worked. I tried just eating crackers for days, and then just not eating all together. I would always cave, and then binge. All the while, my body was going through puberty and putting on more weight.
Now, I’m 5’7 and 145 lbs. I’m also an hourglass, with 32DD boobs. I KNOW I’m not fat, but I’m constantly judged at school. I have a healthy BMI, but I always get sidelong glances, and people pointedly not talking about weight around me. Also, whenever we have to hand out uniforms for sports, I always get stuck with some insanely large size that swallows me. It is so hurtful because people actually assume I’m that big.
Look, I play sports three seasons a year, and work out approximately 10 hours a week. I eat better than anyone I know, including my super skinny friend who weighs less than 100 pounds. So before you judge someone for being ‘fat’ take a look at their life.
THIS is why the fashion industry is so hurtful. It is utterly corrupts, and destroys lives. I missed out on years of friends, and nearly committed suicide once because of all the pressure. I have spent hours crying myself to sleep because I believed that I was ugly. Statistically, the fashion industry is off the hook because I was never anorexic or actually killed myself. But they were the cause of making my elementary and middle school years a living hell.
No eight year old girl should ever have to go through that.
I agree that the models in fashion are an unrealistic representation of the average woman, or man for that matter, but we can’t forget that the reason why the gap in sizes is growing is because of the problem of obesity. We are so caught up in telling young girls that big is beautiful that many of the people who are actually fat are becoming comfortable with an unhealthy weight. If anything I think weight instead of dress sizes should be stressed. A size 6 is healthy on some and not others just as much as a size 14 is healthy on some and not others. Also, I’m tired of the media being blamed for so many of the world’s problems. Their goal is to give their audience what they want or else they won’t be successful. So really, what does that say?
dear, curvy=fat FUI…
skinny models are beautiful AND they are the living image of how everyone desired to be…
Excuse me, but skinny is beautiful. As Wilde once said, being beautiful is better than being smart, but being smart is better to being ugly. That is because beauty needs no explanation, as it is just beautiful. Take Kate Moss, she is a gorgeous independent and great woman. ´People should stop worrying about underweight people, who are, at least, beautiful, and start worrying about fat obese disgusting ones, which exceed skinny poipulation many times over.
XoXo,
Frederick
well maddison or what ever u got to be the biggest bitch i have ever heard because we r all perfect and short or tall who cares cuz i sher dont like ppl briggen ppl down i mean im only 13 and i am 5″3 and weigh 118 i dont look fat but i think i am because ppl like u are sayin u have to be skinny when i was lik 8 i went in depressin cuz i was chubby i cry and cry cuz ppl called me fattt but know im still messed up cuz even if some one seis u gained a lil wieght i start to hate my self im on a diet right know so i can fit in a size 1 agen and im like a size 3 so i say put short chubby talll in magezin it would give us a lil self confodins ok i alredy now im gunna be tall so what
I think it’s funny, all these women saying we should have women of all shapes and sizes representing us on fashion magazines. I think this is such a politically correct thing to say and not at all truthful. Yes, it’s nice to see a variety of women on fashion magazines but who want’s to see some fat lady on the cover of vogue? Not me! Let her have the cover of some inner beauty magazine or cooking book. The truth is sex sells in the fashion and beauty world and Fat isn’t beautiful and will never be beautiful. Sorry the truth hurts! Models are models because they are role models of what everyone wishes they could be. I don’t hear anyone in the girls locker room saying, “Dam I wish I could gain a few pounds!”. That’s because women always wanna be thinner!
Some of the people on here seem to forget that many people out in the world, AREN’T super skinny anymore. I believe there should be models of all sizes to represent all women, and young girls. I’m 15, and I know how hard it is to stay thin, for many girls. And guys alike. Maybe some people are born with good genetics, I’m happy for you. But many people are not. And many people are fat from when they are kids, not necessarily their fault. Parents do play a role in the childrens diet when they are infants, and kids. No kid is going to be like “This has too many calories, I won’t eat it.” When you’re a kid, if it tastes good, you simply want it. Maybe certian people on here, need to stop being so rude about “fatasses” and make sure your hands are clean before you point any fingers. Thanks. (:
I do agree with J.K. Rowling. Girls are so pathetic and lame. The ones that way 95 pounds and pretty much resemble to a giraffe are self-obsessed, and care to only try and make us girls with normal weight look fat. Well, for one, I’m not fat, and idc what anyone thinks. I’m very curvy and thick. I’m happy with my shape. I’m very healthy, and unlike you stuck ups that eat maye two celery sticks a day to look like “jack Skellington,” as skinny as you are, I actually look full and unboney, as most guys would like. So therefore, if you are not fat but not skinny, then don’t try to lose weight. You don’t need to look skinny or let the models make you feel obligated… because in reality they have problems and the only thing that is in their mind (replacing brains) is to look (in their definition) “good.”
Hey I’m thirteen and I’m suffering from a binging disorder. Luckily I play field hockey and soccer year round and swim in the summer so I’m constantly burning calories… But since I can’t control my binging i have always been on the verge to obese… Everybody says I have amazing curves “nice ass” and “big
Boobs” but what I really want is to overcome this disorder and be happy with my body again. Seeing the pictures of models in magazines is so discouraging
hey i’m a skinny girl too, i really hate it when people assume i have a eating disorder. its just in my genes and i cant do a damn thing about it. my dad is tall and thin and my mom is thin and short. i’m 5’7, 19 and 100 pounds. i don’t like my size, i think i’m too thin, but no matter what i do, now matter how much i eat, i never gain weight. i’ve tried a lot if different methods too…vitamins, ‘weight gain’ shakes, i’ve even went through 4 large bags of candy in one sitting…and nothing. i’ve even tried working out and gaining muscle, and that worked temporarily..but it was a lot of work for just a few pounds. i am learning just to accept who i am. and all you people out there who think skinny people look gross, i agree with you! but i guess you cant always get your way.
your kindof being pious little bitches…there is no body for a “real woman” of some swort of way or pattern… LOOK.if your over 19 and you were born with a vagia… your a god damn woman. get used to it. some are fat, some are skinny, some are tall, some are short, some are attractive to lots of people…some are atractive to very few people… some are fit to be a model, some arent… just love yourself cuz no one wants 2 put up with your over emotion low self esteem whining… and heres a tip; obsessing is rly unatractive
When young girls flip out that their bodies are not good enough, it is very annoying. First of all, from the heights/weights I was just reading, everyone seems pretty healthy & skinny to me…One cannot go around thinking they are fat when they aren’t. We live in a society where we are TRAINED to think we are overweight even when we aren’t. Beauty is made to be so unattainable that it hurts women. Personally, at 5’7″ and 145 pounds, I am happy. I have 34 DD and I wear a size 7. I look sexy. Ask any guy out there, they would rather have some curves & they don’t even notice stupid imperfections that a lot of teens and women worry about.
That is NOT to say that skinny women aren’t beautiful, they definitely are. My point was, to love the way you look and not try to be someone you can never be or are not. Skinny, fat, curvy, short, tall, average, it’s YOU. It is also whats on the inside all in all. I say we stop worrying and live healthy lives. :]
Lol, I disagree with that last part. I’m 5′ 2″, aka short, and around 85 pounds, so i’m thin. BUT i still have no curves. I look like a ruler, or a boy, or a short model.
Being a 15 year old girl I do have to admit that I am constantly comparing myself to other girls and I can’t stand the way I look most people say,”Oh!You should be a model your tall and skinny.” But I hate it I hate the fact that No matter how I look I will never be happy with myself I feel fat no matter what anyone says I stare at myself in the mirror constantly pointing out problem points and seeing other girls with their ribs out of their backs and legs very slender and I think to myself “so that is beautiful…” then I try to achieve it Honestly I see my self as an inferior girl not only for my body shape but because of my race I see all these statistics of black girls never getting married and such. I think to myself, “Well then is there ever hope for me?” I feel unlovable and in my mind I see myself as “bad” Everyone asks me if I am okay because I seem distracted and it is because I am so busy comparing and hating myself that I become depressed and I don’t feel myself. My head starts to float somewhere above my head.Sometimes it becomes so unbearable that I think about starving myself… I know I could die but somewhere buried deep inside me I want to…It’s like a light that I had before flickered and went out.
You are simply beautiful for being on the verge of womanhood don’t be shrouded in the stupidity of others opinions. There is much more to life and much more you can accomplish than the perfect figure. There is no perfect figure just reckless people who try to portray that there is. You are so much more. Be proud of who you are and feel sorry for those who judge you, they are hollow inside.
Listen. You judge. Skinny girls can just be skinny as they are. They are fine no matter what. And anorexic girls can be anorexic. They are also fine how they are. Please don’t judge. It hurts.