anyways, for my english 2010 class we had to write a persuasive paper for our final paper. my paper seemed to be applicable towards the blog, so i have decided that for this post i would share my paper. :)
i hope you all enjoy - be warned, it is a little long!
Healthy Sells
Audience: Federal Government
The modeling industry has grown
significantly throughout the years, with more fashion companies and magazines
making their marks on the world. However, that isn’t the case with their
models. Over
the past twenty years models have been shrinking - not in height, but in
weight. Models are still the tall and very desirous women that they have always
been, but they no longer look “normal”. They look thinner than ever, and
modeling companies are lustful for even skinnier models. Twenty years ago,
models only weighed eight percent less than the average woman, but now they
weigh twenty-three percent less than the average woman (Media Influence). The
modeling standard has been raised significantly over the years, and it is not
only affecting the models. The extremely
skinny model aura is unhealthy for the models, women nationwide, and has
exhibited many misconceptions to the public, because of the excessive amount of
photo shop that is being added to the pictures to make the models look even
skinnier than they actually are.
I believe it is
clear that there is a problem with the models of our society being too
skinny. Our models have to strive to
live up to a standard that is completely unreasonable and very unhealthy. For example, model Kim Noorda, was just
fifteen years old when she began modeling. When it was time for her first
catwalk show she weighed only 110 pounds at a height of 5’10” (Odell). It is
obvious to anyone that at that height and weight Kim was suffering from extreme
anorexia. However, it was something that she deemed necessary in order to fit
in the tiny sized dresses that were provided backstage. Kim Noorda shares her
story herself:
“I
was fifteen when I started, and by the time I was eighteen I did my first
catwalk shows. I struggled to prevent gaining weight, whereas already I was
considered to be a “heavy” model compared with the others. My agent told me I
was beautiful as I was, but I had to make sure that I would not gain more. She
encouraged me to lose at least some of my weight. I was ashamed that I had to
diet. At home I was thinner than everybody else, but compared with other models,
I was heavier” (Odell).
It
is a very sad story when beautiful and skinny girls are being told that they
need to lose weight. It is causing them
not only physical damage, but emotional damage as well. Once Kim was able to get help with her
anorexia, her nutritionist suggested that she gain one pound a week. Kim didn’t like this idea at all. Her nutritionist ensured her that no one
would even be able to tell that she had gained weight, and Kim replied with, “People in the fashion industry
see every gram of fat” (Odell). The
immense amount of pressure that was put on Kim by her agent and her company is
sad. We don’t want our women to believe
that they aren’t beautiful exactly how they are.
The fashion
industry’s models are affecting girls as young as ten or eleven years old. Many girls firmly believe that society is
telling them that they need to be super skinny and very sexy. Studies have
shown that only eighteen percent of grade-school aged girls reject that “model
body image.” It is interesting to note, that girls in this percentage had much
higher self esteem than the girls that did accept and strive for the so called
model body image. Over 70% of young girls think they need to strive for an
image that they will never truly be happy with. Many girls even refuse to
participate in any sports because they are afraid that they will bulk up and
that it isn’t “girly girl” enough (Hellmich).
They go to extreme measures such as skipping multiple meals to try to
unnecessarily lose a few pounds. Why is
this phenomenon hitting younger girls so badly? It is because modeling
companies often hire girls as young as ten years old to strut the runways in their
high fashioned line of clothing. Modeling companies prefer younger girls
because they have yet to develop their womanly curves, which makes them seem
even thinner. Kelly Cutrone, owner of
People’s Revolution states that, "Clothes
look better on thin people. The fabric hangs better" (Hellmich). Is this
something that we as a country want to promote? Do we want young girls to think
that it is necessary to be anorexic in order to model? No. We want to teach
them to love themselves and how to love their bodies. We want them to understand what healthy looks
like and how to become the healthiest person that they can be. I believe that
movie star actress Jennifer Lawrence says it best, “I
knew that if I was going to be naked in front of the world [in 'X-Men: First
Class'], I wanted to look like a woman and not a prepubescent 13-year-old boy.
I'm so sick of people thinking that's what [women are] supposed to look like” (Peiffer).
Modeling companies
such as Vogue have recognized this
problem and are setting up certain guidelines to help end anorexic modeling in
the industry. They are not only trying
to end anorexia, but they have agreed also that they will not hire models under
the age of sixteen. They have admitted to unknowingly hiring girls as young as
fourteen years old, and they are putting an end to it by requiring their models
to have their I.D.’s checked before photo shoots. Sara Ziff, head of The Model Alliance
states that the age restriction is important for other reasons too. "The
use of under aged models is linked to financial exploitation, eating disorders,
interrupted schooling, and contributes to models' overall lack of empowerment
in the workplace," she said. "We simply believe that fourteen is too
young to be working in this very grown-up industry, and we're glad that Condé
Nast International is making this commitment. In addition to agreeing not knowingly
work with models under sixteen or with eating disorders, the Vogue pact says
the magazines will help "structure mentoring programs" for younger
models and raise awareness of the problem of model health. The magazines said
they would encourage healthy working conditions backstage and encourage
designers "to consider the consequences of unrealistically small sample
sizes of their clothing, which limits the range of women who can be
photographed in their clothes, and encourages the use of extremely thin models"
(USAToday).
Since Vogue has such an
influence in the fashion industry, I believe they are acting as a frontrunner
for these much needed changes. I believe that because Vogue has acknowledged these issues and have shown an effort to fix
these issues within their company, other modeling companies will strive for the
same goals.
In our world of
constant media bombardment, women of all ages are being influenced by the
images they see in the magazines. Whether it is purchasing a magazine at the
airport while waiting for a flight or standing in line at the grocery store,
women of all ages are exposed to the work of modeling companies across the
country. When older women see these
skinny and even anorexic models they think, “I will never look like that.”
“Does my husband want me to look like that?” The teenage girls think, “I want
that to be me.” “I want to look like that.”
Women at all ages of the spectrum have a moment of worthlessness, a
moment of not being good enough, not being skinny enough, and not being pretty
enough. Sadly, I have been subject to this mentality as well. I don’t believe that any woman is immune to
this feeling. I even sometimes feel the
need to go on a diet simply because I don’t look like the girls in the
magazines. "The
promotion of the thin, sexy ideal in our culture has created a situation where
the majority of girls and women don't like their bodies," says body-image
researcher Sarah Murnen, professor of psychology at Kenyon College in Gambier,
Ohio. "And body dissatisfaction can lead girls to participate in very
unhealthy behaviors to try to control weight” (Hellmich). Is this the standard that we want to set for our
society? Do we want women to feel as if
they need to be anorexic in order to be skinny?
Women are striving for a figure that isn’t healthy or realistic. This
being said, I believe that it is important that we as a country strive to
promote a different ideal to the fashion and modeling industry. I am very aware of the fact that “skinny
sells”, but I believe that so does healthy.
I don’t think that we need to
promote anorexic models for the magazines or the clothing within the magazines
to sell.
The saddest part
about all of this is that although many of the models are already anorexic, the
modeling companies think that they need to use excessive amounts of photo shop
to make these women look even smaller than they are currently. I find this to
be outrageous. Companies are already using skeletal women in their magazines; I
find no need for them to further photo shop any about these models. This is creating a false sense of body image
to everyone who sees these photos. Models begin to compare themselves with other
models. Teenage girls begin to compare themselves with other teenage girls as
well as models. The list can go on and
on. Women are comparing themselves to an image that is unattainable. They are becoming unhealthy and unhappy
because of an unreachable and unrealistic image that has been set for them to
strive for. It is an issue that has gone
on far too long without being addressed.
There needs to be a plan to fix this problem. We need to band together to not only help
protect our models, but to protect the general public as well. As Americans we
need to strive to set up our citizens for a healthy and happy life.
I believe that the
only way to fix having anorexic models is to set a law that all modeling agencies
must follow. The law will state that there must be a dietician on hands at
every agency. I believe that the dieticians will need to check up on the models
frequently and to set a minimal weight that each individual model can be,
depending on their height and body build. Before each shoot, the models would
need to be weighed and measured to ensure that they haven’t gotten below their
baseline requirements. If they have
fallen below their requirements, then they are out of a photo shoot. I am aware that this may seem rather harsh,
but I firmly believe that unless the consequences are extreme, the problem will
not be fixed. I believe that a law is necessary for this to be enforced within
all the modeling companies across the nation.
Without a law, certain modeling companies will think that they are the
exception and will not ensure that all of their models are healthy and
promoting a healthy lifestyle to millions across the country. This law will not
only benefit the models but women nationwide.
By stopping the problem where it is originating (within the modeling
agencies) it will only be a matter of time until the unhealthy model image is
being rejected on college campuses, in high schools, junior high schools, and
even elementary schools. I am not saying
that it will stop anorexia completely, or that women will never be self
conscious about their body images ever again.
I am saying that this will help.
I am also saying that by having the government establish laws that
promote healthy models, they will be encouraging the rest of society to be
healthy as well. Show Americans that you care. Yes, skinny does sell, but so
does healthy.
have an amazing day and i will post again once i am done with finals!
xoxo,
lil kate ♥
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