We’ve all seen them. Those fatally skinny models, parading down the runway with their ribs piercing through their flashy designer outfits. And yet, most of us have come to idolize this image of starvation. The fashion industry, along with the powerful force of the media, seems to have forced “thinspiration” upon us. Sure, some women are naturally skinny but there is a huge difference from being healthy to the “skin over bones” look.

“In order to be a model I think that you don’t have to look as if you’re on your deathbed,” says sophomore Rochelle Rojas.

“Some women are naturally skinny,” says sophomore Leah Pederson. “But others are using drugs or starvation to be considered a runway model and are putting their lives at risk.”

Nowadays the public has come to believe that in order to be “beautiful” we have to be extremely emaciated.

“They are making it seem as if the only way a woman can be sexy and beautiful is if she is extremely skinny,” says Rojas.

“Men base their standards of beauty and attractiveness on this ideal and young women do the same,” says Pederson.

“It isn’t right that these modeling agencies have these standards for women,” Rojas says. “It isn’t healthy at all.”

In light of the recent death of 21 year old Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston, who weighed a mere 88 lbs for her 5’8” stature at the time of her death, the fashion industry has come to realize that their standards are not only unhealthy but they’re frankly deadly. Reston is not the only model who fell to the same fate; recently 3 other models have died due to Anorexia. The most recent death was that of 18-year-old Uruguayan model Eliana Ramos, who was considered to have been under the World Health Organisation’s level of starvation. She was said to have been on a “diet” of only lettuce and diet soda to slim down for a fashion show in capital Montevideo. Not surprisingly her sister, Luisel Ramos 22, died six months earlier, collapsing dead on the runway at the same fashion show.

Due to these shocking events, some fear that the unbearably thin standards of the modeling industry (and celebrities alike) is sending the wrong message to today’s youth and overall causing a rise in eating disorders.

“I do believe that this is causing a rise in eating disorders,” says Rojas. “Most girls now feel that in order to look beautiful and just like a model you have to be a stick,” she continues. “There will be more and more cases of eating disorders just because of the modeling industry.”

Taking steps to correct this wide spread problem, Spain was the first country to enforce bans on pencil thin models in their fashion shows last September. Italy soon followed afterwards. Other leading fashion
moguls, such as those in England, were left debating the ban in their shows. The overall ban stated that any model who’s body mass index (a.k.a. BMI) was below 18.5 would be banned. This means, for example, that a 5’8” model weighing less than 122 lbs would not be hired. (The World Health Organisation states that the “normal” BMI is between 18.5-24.9. Under their standards, anyone under a BMI of 18.5 is underweight.)

“I’m completely in favor of this ban,” says Pederson. “It will project a better message about beauty and body image. This ban will hopefully send out a counteractive message that tells males and females alike
that beauty comes in all forms.”

NYC has also made steps towards the crusade on reinventing the unrealistic image of beauty that has been recently set in society’s minds. Although a ban on extremely thin models has not been passed as of yet, the Council of Fashion Designers of America has issued certain guidelines to alleviate the deadly state of today’s models. These include: banning models under 16 years old from the runway entirely, educating the industry about eating disorders, and serving healthy food during fashion shows while banning the use of alcohol and smoking.

Models and their employers are divided on the topic. Some believe it will not only help today’s models but it will also help those up and coming models who go to extreme measures to gain fame. Others, mainly designers, want to stick by the old system, believing that “skinny sells.”

The models that are in favor of the ban are such super models as Claudia Schiffer and Tyra Banks. Banks even stating on her TV show in a tearful speech (as reaction to the criticism she has recently faced for gaining weight) that, “if I had lower self esteem, I would probably be starving myself right
now. That’s exactly what’s happening to women all over this country.”

Why can’t we just come to the realization that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes? “Women are beautiful whether they are overweight, tall, short,” says Rojas.

Yet, it’s shocking how women in our society tend to underestimate their own beauty. A recent study done in 2004 only proves this. According to Glamour magazine, the results showed that only two
percent of women believe themselves to be “beautiful,” with less than one percent of the participants stating that they are “gorgeous.”

Maybe it’s because more and more we find ourselves trying to measure up to the unrealistic, airbrushed, emaciated images that are drilled into our minds on a daily basis. We’ve come to believe that the image of beauty is this one specific ideal, when in reality beauty is emanated through the unique individuality that everyone possesses.

Sure, maybe the regulations and bans that have been made for models will help alleviate the situation but after all it is up to us to change our mind sets on what we view “beauty” to be. Constantly we may
find ourselves pointing out the defects without looking past the flaws and realizing how beautiful we really are. Only when we come to embrace ourselves, how we truly are, will we finally be able to feel
beautiful inside and out. ’Cause baby, you’re beautiful!

LORENA CHOUZA
Published in the April 18, 2007 issue of The Metro.