Blogs and Stories
What's Wrong With Skinny?
With New York Fashion Week kicking off tomorrow, expect the usual criticism of models being too thin. But the truth, says Lisa Hilton, is that these models are powerful, professional women just like athletes and that obesity, not anorexia, is the real health disaster.
Another spring, another show season. In the mercurial world of fashion, it's comforting to know that some things will never change—Anna Wintour's hairdo, an Olsen in the front row, and a tsunami of earnest media coverage on how a conspiracy of evil designers and foolish models are reducing women to jutting-collarboned wrecks, barely able to lift their heads from the lavatory bowl to make it to Barneys in time for the pre-collections.
Click the Image to View Our Gallery of Skinny Models
Let's be clear. Anorexia and bulimia are horrific psychological conditions, destroying lives and families, and carrying devastating long-term health risks even when not fatal. Sufferers deserve nothing but respect and support for their condition. But is that condition nearly so prevalent as the barrage of attention it regularly attracts actually deserves? And are women really so pathologically stupid that they are unable to distinguish the fantasy of the runway from the realities of their own bodies? Arguably, the "size zero" debate is merely another side of the infantilized, hysterical box women thought they had clawed their way out of a century ago, an insidious means of suggesting that though we can run companies and governments we're still not quite rational creatures, too dainty and delicate to cope with the dissonances between the Bambi-limbed aspirations of the catwalk and our own wretched, cellulite-smothered carcasses.
That women can be beautiful at any size, age, or color is something no serious person would dispute. But the fashion industry is ultimately unconcerned with beauty, its objective is selling clothes, and the consensus remains that in order to achieve this, models need to be thin. Whether or not this is aesthetically desirable is a matter of taste, not morality. The recent success of "bigger' girls such as Lara Stone or Daisy Lowe suggests that it does not always obtain, as V magazine's recent billboard campaign emphasizes. Even Karl Lagerfeld has jumped onboard the biscuits and gravy train with his latest shoot of Miss Dirty Martini. The fact remains that for girls chasing the big money, skinniness is professionally necessary.
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joalynicole
This article, is so tasteless. Are you FOR REAL? Wow... you LOOK like you would write this article. FOUL ON YOU.
Student
Thats ignorant!
She's an attractive woman, Thats writing an article about fashion week and the discipline these women have... i'd say by the looks of you you'd write that but im not rude like you.
This article shows girls with discipline are not in the wrong which i think is good and their should be more articles like this so people with self control are not made to look like they have a disease!
joalynicole
I look like I would write an article about the glory of skinny women starving themselves and say it is a good thing because they make money? No. I dont look like that. And this article is rude. And not researched correctly. At Least I have my picture up.
Discipline? To starve yourself and sleep with people? Okay. I'll be sure to pass that on to my daughters. What do you think the world of modeling is? It is not synonymous with the world of fashion that is for sure. These walking coat hangers are treated as such. I think that if you glorify this lifestyle for women, you are actually hrting the gender. To be proud of the fact that pornography and modeling are the only professions where women can earn more than men is...
Embarrassing.
She makes the mistake of assuming that people who want HEALTHY AND NORMAL models are PROMOTING obesity. NO. That is a straight up fallacy, and perhaps if this woman ever took a logic class, she could write this out using nothing but letters and symbols and realize that her claims hold no truth value.
Then again, the sexual exploitation of women has mande money for centuries, and if that is the "truth" that she is PROUD of, then perhaps we need LESS articles like this, and more articles potraying women more naturally.
Go YouTube the SI swim suit models chain smoking all night and not eating anything. This is what you call DISCIPLINE? WOuld you want this for your DAUGHTER? Is this HEALTHY? NO!
You can look at these women and see that they are ILL. And is we continue to glorify that and demonstrate that this is the ideal female form, we are doing nothing but perpetuating this FOULNESS.
This article is RUDE. So hence my RUDE response. But thanks for taking interest and standing up on behalf of well trained and well paid anorexics.
jaydeekay
Skinny just isn't attractive, IMO.
And from having had the pleasure of having carnal relations with a few different women of different sizes, 'a few extra pounds' feels so much better to grind against than pointy bones digging into your nether regions.
But whatever floats your boat, I say... too each his/her own.
I just wish people would learn what real beauty is.
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jaydeekay
By saying, "to each his/her own"? Angry?
Okay...
sophia5
jaydeekay just prefers women with meat on their bones, and what's wrong with that ?
Who wants to bump and grind
with . . . a won't-eat-so-much-as a-crutron-smoking-skeleton ?
Does this Dress Make Me Look Fat ???
NO . . . IT'S THE FAT That Makes You Look Fat.
Dougie1
Your point is the very point I have made to massive outrage. Skinny women add tremendously to fashion aesthetic. Just as ballet requires a specific form for the form, so does fashion.
Bongenre
So you believe the curvier women he's been with couldn't possible be desirable?
keekee77
Being vicious towards thin women is angy. Seems thin women are not entitled to the same sensitivity that heavy women are. Angry women (and men) call them pretty cruel names.
keekee77
Sophia5, thank you for making my point.
Heavy women are very angry at thin woman and especially at the fashion industry. Instead of taking responsibility for themselves, they lash out and blame the fashion industry for not only their self esteem but their eating disorders.
I point out the hypocrisy of women because I am a woman myself and I don't like living in a world created by women who don't believe they should be required to take responsibility for themselves. Men don't cry around about pressure to have six pack abs, big guns, and look like the guy from that vampire movie.
Yet women do nothing but try to assign blame for everything including their own self image problems! And what's funny about this issue, is that it's women themselves who create the standards.
Then they complain while forging the very chains that bind them.
I will point out hypocrisy and if that makes me suspect then so be it. I've spoken out before when it wasn't convenient. I pride myself on it actually.
Pupster
There's a difference between a "few extra pounds", which is indeed fine and attractive, and the epidemic of morbid obesity in this country.
We're talking more than a third of the people in our country being so fat that they could keel over from a heart attack, stroke or diabetes at any moment. People so fat they can't fit into regular-sized chairs. People so fat they can't climb a flight of stairs. People so fat that EMTs can't fit them into a ambulance or on a gurney that isn't reinforced.
C'mon people, don't you watch The Biggest Loser? The 'before' when the people first show up and they are big mounds of fat? Then watching as their abilities and self-esteem rise as they become healthier and fitter? Well, those people are at least motivated. Too many Americans are content to keep stuffing their faces and sitting on their couches. This is not healthy or attractive.
Obesity is a real problem. And it's not helpful when people dismiss and enable the problem by chanting the 'fat is beautiful' pc mantra.
luvsdogs
I am not chanting fat is beautiful, but your attitude is judgmental and not helpful. Please have compassion. Only when we realize that the people with all kinds of eating disorders need help and help becomes available will anything happen. It is fairly easy for a drug addict or alcoholic to get treatment. The same is not true for food addicts.
Pupster
Help *is* available, yet too many obese people either don't think they have a problem or don't seek it out. And it's because of attitudes like yours that keep telling them nothing is wrong. Well, there is something very wrong, and could prove fatal. That's what the "morbid" in morbid obesity means: death. Or at the least, painful chronic health problems, that because of their burden on our health care system, become the problems and expenses of us all.
So, since I'm paying in part for people's indulgence, I reserve the right to point out the truth.
jasha01
Tall, thin women have a dramatic look that makes clothing look spectacular and thats why designers like them. Take off the clothes and I think you are exactly right; this is why porn stars in general are average to slightly below average height and with nice juicy rounded features where it matters most.
GeorgiaS
Dear Ms. Hilton,
You hide a fundamental misunderstanding of the issues of pervasive images of an "ideal beauty" as part of a power structure in our patriarchal culture, behind a smooth and glib rhetoric.
In itself there is absolutely nothing wrong with skinny. Historically, we have always had shifting ideas of beauty used as a tool to keep women preoccupied with obtaining an ideal so that they can be put on a pedestal and obtain some semblance of power (one of the small areas in life that women were allowed to hold some power ). The especially pernicious character of ideal beauty today that focuses on extreme thinness (not to mention the privilege given to white, blue eyed, blond females) is that it is particularly unobtainable to the vast majority of women. Still in our society, beauty is one of the few arenas where women are encouraged to "better themselves" ---yet is a tool used to control women, just as the corsets limited the movement of women a century ago. How much can you accomplish when you are starving yourself, how much time a in life does a women lose when she spends an hour getting ready everyday compared to a man's 15 minutes?
Also, you vastly underestimate how many women this issue effects---there have been studies suggest that 45% of women have disordered eating. (Anorexia and bulimia while extreme psychological disorders are not the only issue at hand).
I say this as an academic who is interested in this issue, I also say it as a woman who watches her weight and wears make-up everyday in an effort to conform to social standards, because I know the punishment imposed on those who don't.
You are welcome to have you opinion but I find it particularly disturbing that you would write an article with a poor methodology, little critical analysis and faulty logic. It isn't the feminist interested in getting society to recognize this issue that is the problem, it is pseudo intellectuals who have fail to engage in the kind of intellectual rigor and discipline that such a complicated subject requires.
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GeorgiaS
Yes, most certainly are women being used as pawns of capitalism and marketing. That actually is part of a feminist ideology, so thanks for joining me! If you don't realize that we live in a world where men have the most power, than I suggest you do some observing. I would suggest you start with the discrepancy in pay.
By the way, criticism is essential and I welcome it, but being rude makes you lose the argument even if you have valid points.
GeorgiaS
By the way, I'm in American History, and we all know who useless that is.
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kswimmy
Well, I agree that the obesity issue seems more far-reaching in our culture these days than the prevalence of anorexia/bulimia. But it is also important to note that weight-loss is something that is pushed FAR harder than an anti-skinny campaign is. The idea that only one side of the argument has the right to be heard is just stupid.
Also, I'd like to point out that men in America have never felt the pressure, internal or external, to go to great lengths so that they can look like a jockey. Or a wrestler or boxer. Sure, there are young men who are fans of certain boxers as athletes, and who watch wrestling for entertainment. But they've never been made to feel that unless their bodies resemble those, they may run the risk of leading a very lonely life. And really...........jockeys? That's the example that you think is comparable to the far-reaching influence of the fashion industry? What a pathetic proposal.
Fashion is more than just runway too. Print campaigns do far more damage IMO. One questions why they would feel the need to airbrush 5 or 10lbs off of the likes of women like Demi Moore, Madonna, Faith Hill, etc. No normal person really believes that those ads are made just to "sell clothes" (do you really believe the average reader of Marie Claire or whatever is really going to go buy that $3000 dress that the woman is wearing in the photo?), so to use purely capitalistic motivations as the excuse seems an impossible connection to make.
To make an argument that pretends that all these things would have NO affect on self-image is a thoughtless assertion to make. I don't believe you'd find a single sociologist or psychologist that would agree that generations of women going through their entire lives only seeing images of women that look like models would have no conditioning affect. And to say that this buys into a narrative that says "poor women and their fragile minds that can't handle the pressure" is just irresponsible. If this were a game being played with men, would they be able to handle the pressure? It's not an even playing field in this sense. And anyone who says that men face their own pressures when it comes to appearance is conveniently ignoring how hard they're pushed compared to women. Turn on your TV and see a million examples of men who are successful while being fat, bald and sloppy. Now try finding images of women you could say the same thing about.
This whole article sounds like something that comes from a woman who's always been thin, has never had to try all that hard to conform to the cultural "ideal", and therefore just doesn't understand what the reality is for the other 95% of the population. It's a bit like hiring a mechanic to write an article on the day-today stresses of working in an orthodontist's office. The proposal that implies that maybe they're all just jealous 'cause the skinny girls make all the money for doing nothing is the first thing that gave you away.
kswimmy
Oh, and by the way..............the fact that two models recently died due to their eating disorders, and the many models who have come forward to talk about how they're treated by designers and magazine editors should be a huge red flag too. A large portion of these girls are not naturally as thin as the industry would like. For those who are, you'd be right......to make the naturally skinny woman feel that there's something inherently wrong with her is wrong too. But most humans, and most models, aren't naturally that way. Any other industry that requires such a high percentage of its employees to do that to their own bodies, to risk their health in a way that puts them at risk of death, in order to retain employment would have been prosecuted for it by now.
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kswimmy
Wow, aren't you presumptuous? I don't actually have weight problems anymore, since the kidney disorder that I once had has been addressed and the side effect of it (being weight gain obviously) left along with it. I never was overweight before the kidney problems and it didn't last too long, but long enough for me to feel uncomfortable in my own skin during that time. Also, some of us have been lucky enough to have evolved to the point of being capable of this lovely thing called empathy.
But I watch my friends' young daughters, still in elementary school and pre-school, and hear things that come from the mouths of 4 year-olds that are heartbreaking. This is an issue that is affecting far more than people like you are bothering to think about, and I doubt you've even bothered to read the studies that have been released on this very point. When a pre-schooler is already worried about her weight, when she's not fat or chubby or overweight at all, there's a problem brewing.
Also, it's interesting to note that you found nothing to say that could actually argue with a single point I made originally. I never said anything about thin women being a premium. I never said anything about it being sexist (if you have the ability to comprehend text, you'd see that I merely pointed out that the author used examples for comparison that were flawed to begin with, and it was therefore a comparison with no value). I also never said I thought obesity was ok and that we should accept it.
So again, maybe you should try to actually READ what the person you're replying to wrote. Otherwise, you just end up sounding like an illiterate fool who over-reacted. Oops. Too late.
kswimmy
Oh man. Scratch everything I just wrote to you. Some other people just pointed out who you are. I didn't realize. But now that I read past articles and comments you've posted, I can remember now. You're that guy who likes to comment on articles about anything that has to do with women and just say things to push people's buttons, while trying to tell everyone that you're a woman too.
Jeez. I'm so sorry, guy. I can't imagine how sad and angry you must be. I mean, you'd HAVE to be, if you have nothing better to do with your time. And if you're so self-conscious that you feel you have to lie about who/what you are in order to gain credibility. And to have to resort to this kind of stuff in order to gain some sense of power or dominance over women. How powerless you must feel in your real-life that this is how you get your kicks. I just can't continue to argue with someone who clearly has some issues to work out. I'm so sorry. There's help out there for you if you need it.
keekee77
Models have always been extremely thin. ALWAYS. No matter what other posters say about the 80s and 90s. Fake boobs do not translate into size 10. Remember Twiggy? Google Lisa Fonssagrives.
You talk about this obsession with weight like it's something new. It's not. Ever since movies have existed there have been weight clauses in actresses' contracts. If you ever get a chance to observe clothing from pre- recent history, you will be stunned at how much slimmer they were cut and how much tinier women were in decades past.
I'm surprised we haven't gotten the heavy woman's mantra yet - " Marilyn Monroe was a size 14." She was not. She never was a modern day size 14. Like any woman Monroe's weight fluctuated but she was never anywhere close to a present day size 14. In fact, the reason she appeared to be as curvaceous as she was, was because she had an unusually small rib cage. She had a 22-24 inch waist according to her studio costume records. Monroe fought her weight like any woman and if you look at the photos taken of her before she died, she was already prepared for the 60s with her de-emphasized bust and hips and much thinner frame.
If a woman is uncomfortable being heavy then she should be. There is nothing to be said for being overweight. It is not healthy nor attractive and heavy women should not expect society to tell them that.
As far as dieting four year olds. From what I've seen of children lately, more of them should be dieting. Our society is failing our children by allowing this epidemic of obesity at such an early age. I will not hand hold women into a generation of obesity.
I am personally sick of obesity and if that makes me lacking in compassion then I suppose it's just a character flaw that I willingly accept.
keekee77
You are very strange.
Marionetta
You find obesity repulsive? I find your attitude repulsive. I am a once extremely thin person. Used to weigh 115 pounds. I now weigh 186 pounds. I should be 158 or so pounds to be healthy. You want to look into my grocery cart? Go ahead. You'd find nothing but healthy foods. I don't eat junk or processed foods. I have a medical condition that has caused my weight gain. But I'm alive. And now I'm able to start losing weight. And I have a good attitude about my body. And yours, too, BTW. Everybody's different, for different reasons. Too bad your preoccupation with hating fat people colors what people think of you. And shows what you really think of yourself. What would happen to you if you got fat? You need some help. You're far too judgmental about other peoples' lives. Worry about your own life instead of mine. *****.
keekee77
marionetta, if I find obesity unappealing and undesirable then that's my opinion. No more, no less, and I don't have to answer to you for it any more than you have to answer to me. You are happy with yourself. That is your business and whether I approve or not should not register into either your self esteem or your personal health decisions. You can tell me to go screw myself and you'd be perfectly right.
But I'm still entitled to believe that obesity is unappealing and unhealthy. I'm sure there are some people who eat healthy and within their calories allowance but are still heavy but for the most part, people are heavy because they take in more calories than they burn. Period.
I look around and I see obese people every where. They run up insurance rates for the rest of us, miss more work, create logistical problems every where from airplanes to emergency services. They often endanger others in emergency situations.
Yet they are angry at the fashion industry for making them feel bad about themselves. Like our writer here pointed out, the reason models are "thinner" by comparison now more so than 20 years ago is because obesity has skyrocketed in the last 20 years and made the weight disparity even more pronounced. For every woman suffering from anorexia, there are 200 obese and overweight men, women and children. Get real folks.
So I simply do not buy the argument that the fashion industry is to blame for women's self esteem issues. And if that makes me callow then so be it. The truth usually makes people squirm and so does pointing out hypocrisy.
And if you're happy with yourself, good for you. Just don't be angry with those of us who disagree. Good luck on your weight loss goals.
kswimmy
I hate to be the one to point this out to you yet AGAIN, but you consistently argue with other people here on points they never made or asserted. Again, nothing you just said has anything to do with any of the points made in the original comment. You also continue to attribute opinions that I NEVER stated onto me, and then argue to show me how wrong I am. Why are you arguing with a point that was never made? Are you coherent by ANY stretch of the imagination?
actorkat
"Any other industry that requires such a high percentage of its employees to do that to their own bodies, to risk their health in a way that puts them at risk of death, in order to retain employment would have been prosecuted for it by now. "
oh really? classical ballet and other dancers? broadway/stage performers? movie/tv actors? and those are gender neutral... men and women are held to a certain look/standard and their ability to get work and keep that work is often tied to their physique.
kswimmy
Well actually, anyone who's read about the anorexia rehab-centers knows very well how ballet dancers suffer from this as well. So you'll get no argument there. But I guess when I said "industry" I meant mass-marketed, multi-multi-billion dollar producers of a consumer product. Maybe a poor choice in distinction on my part. I'd also note that the people I am friends with that work on Broadway productions told me that once the dancers take it too far and get to the point where their bodies are too weak to keep up with the athleticism of dance, they can't work and won't get castings.
But I think it's interesting to add that the fashion industry is responsible for terms like "heroine chic" being part of the American vernacular. You can't say that ballet or Broadway has made billions off of promoting the new "it" thing as purposefully appearing to be so malnourished and unhealthy looking as to give people the impression that you're a heroine junkie who hasn't eaten or slept for days/weeks. I know the end product is important, and if dance does that to its people it's just as wrong. But it hasn't gone out of its way to convince as many people as possible (cause the more people convinced, the more money they make, and we love money so that's all that matters) that the new, fashionable, chic look to strive for is to something that resembles impending death.
ittybittykitty
And how many people have recently died from obesity caused illnesses? How many people have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes? I think the point of this article is to contrast the over concern we have with the "too thin" trend with the under concern that we have with obesity. Both are a problem, but .5 percent who have anorexia compared to 33 percent who are obese? Wow. That is mind boggling.
kswimmy
Well, if you bothered to read the actual original comment, you'd see that the very first thing I said was an acknowledgment that obesity is a far more prevalent issue than anorexia. The main point of it in total was that it's simply disingenuous to assert that there's this gigantic backlash against skinny models while no one is pointing out that obesity is a bigger problem. Next time you're at the grocery store, look at the covers of all the mags. Tell me how many have a weight LOSS articles you see. Now count how many anti-skinny articles you see on those covers.
Every single one (that are marketed to women at least. Apparently, all the men in this country have their weight totally under control, it's just women who are fat, right?). How many have those seedy pics of celebrities caught in their bathing suits, pointing out every unsightly bulge or patch of cellulite.
I NEVER denied that anorexia is a far less frequently occuring health issue than obesity. I merely pointed out that this idea that thin/skinny people are being attacked left and right, is totally without merit. As you say, the point of this article is to "contrast the over concern we have with too thin.....with the under-concern for obesity." Do you think if you got an annual count on how many anti-skinny articles appeared, compared to how many "lose the weight!" or "look at how fat so-and-so is!" articles, that there would be any comparison? I'd venture to say the contrast in those numbers would be incredible.
bluegrrl
Why not have men with wigs and make up model? It seems that "look" is what the runway requires. Kabuki in America-we all win!!!
slvrfox857
The thing is not that skinny is bad. The thing is the disdain and contempt heaped upon anyone who does not meet this standard, and the unrealistic standard that causes people to have a distorted view of their bodies. Sizes 6 and 8 are not fat. Size zero is not just skinny. Ideal weight doesn't just depend on a dress size, ideal weight is determined by lots of other factors. Rationality may not be expected in fashion, but it would be nice if a parent could apply it when discussing such things with adolescent children who are having enough trouble figuring out who they are and where they belong.
keekee77
Lisa girl, thank you for having the guts to stand up and call out obesity for what it is. These heavy women who are promoting acceptance of obesity are the ones who are irresponsible.
Modeling is a business that calls for thin women. Just like football is a business that requires athletic skill and talent. To all those lardos who are angry at super models for making them feel all baddy waddy, get over yourself. If you are so pleased with your wide backside then you don't need to be validated by fat models. If being skinny is ugly, then you can feel smugly superior in your chubbiness.
Leave those of us alone who enjoy the mystique and beauty of fashion and don't want to see runway models that look like every wide load walking down main street.
I'm going to be so excoriated. All these lovely women who want to be accepted for being overweight are going to tell me how shallow and horrible and insensitive I am to all the poor anorexics out there. Booo hooo, hooo.
jaydeekay
http://images.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/20081205/293.page.bettie.l r.120508.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3327/3441647505_821ae21ba9.jpg
http://filmstarpostcards.blogspot.com/2008/09/bernard-of-hollywood.html< br />
http://www.hollywoodyesterday.com/IrishMccalla.jpg
http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/marilyn-monr oe-swimsuit.jpg
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All of these people you would call fat... yet all, especially the first and the last, were and are considered examples of beauty in the 1950/60's.
***but I thought that thin is what's beautiful...***
Today, according to your viewpoint, these women would be considered fat and would not be supermodels.
So... what is beauty?
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mr.beelzebozo
This is one of the best articles I have read on the Beast and definitely best in regards to fashion. Personally it's hard for me to comprehend the vicious outcry against such a mild and reasonable argument. Let's break the fashion industry's influence down into two categories: the effect it has on those within it and the effect on the rest of the populace. Hilton does an excellent job of making the case that any suffering of those within the industry is a non issue. These women are autonomous creatures who choose to subject their bodies to what are admittedly unhealthy practices. They're not sex slaves, they're girls who generally have few other marketable skills and want to experience something different. Am I to believe that they are in need of our intervention? On to the fashion industry's effect on the public at large. I will admit that Hilton introduces obesity as a straw man. Obviously nobody thinks public opinion views obesity as acceptable, but her claim that eating disorders are not major health issues still holds water. So what we are left with from critics is the claim that the fashion industry is harmful to female body image. Anyone who believes that runway models are society's ideal representation of beauty is clearly out of touch. The most recognizable sex symbol in America right now is Megan Fox. And while thin, she is a healthy and athletic individual. How ought our ideal woman differ? The truth is that generally women suffer from body image issues because they do not live up to any standard of beauty, even the one represented by the pictures above. In terms of features, they cannot due to genetics. In terms of bodies, they don't because of imperfect diet and exercise. The average individual cannot hope to attain the ideal. Otherwise it would not be the ideal. So it's best that we focus our attention on teaching girls to cope with that fact rather than fight it. To put any blame at the feet of the fashion industry is ridiculous. Besides, it's men who set the standards. Men have varied tastes. Some like tight tummies and a small booty while others pine for ample bosoms. It's easily possible for a woman to garner significant male attention within a wide range of weights If these skinny women on the catwalk are what women believe is ideal beauty, then why do so many women get fake tits every year? Any person who thinks runway models are what society perceives as ideal beauty is stupid. The fashion industry's standards of beauty are not responsible for female body image problems. Perhaps the scope of the industry, their prevalence of advertising, and pressure to attain beauty is partly responsible, but this is a separate issue. What the author asserts is that those on the runway are not causing any sort of significant damage to the female body or psyche. Why is this such a repugnant claim?
Marionetta
You need help. Seriously.
Lindseyjo22
I think what you're missing is that no one is celebrating obesity. People talk about acceptance in that if you are not a supermodel size, you can still be, and should be, thought of as beautiful. When people criticize overly thin models, its not because they want to encourage people to be overweight. Obesity and extreme thinness are equally dangerous and unhealthy. Healthy models and "fat" models as you put it, are a different thing. I understand models are supposed to be skinny, but they don't have to look like they are dying. People should be concerned about health, not size.
But obviously you don't have the compassion, intelligence or integrity to understand what I or anyone else on this site are talkling about.
lizmckenzie55
I started reading this article to hear what she had to say but stopped half-way through. I don't waste my time on people talking out of their a-hole. This woman is one of the reasons women develop eating disorders. Hey Lisa, the money you paid for any education you received - it was wasted.
cnsjasmbs
The author fails to note that during the late 80s/early-mid 90s, some of the most successful models were not size 0. Cindy/Claudia/Linda all were thin, but not breakably skinny.
That having been said, there is something paternalistic about all the worry about these "fragile girl/women." A few days ago we watched a bunch of men, largely young men, push and punnish their bodies for fame, glory and money. Most of them started as teenagers, and like the models about which we speak, while there are exceptions (Brett Farve/Naomi Campbell), their big paydays generally won't last them beyond 30 or so. And yet we don't hear that same hue and cry about these boy/men pushing their bodies to extreme limits for their profession. How is what they do - use their bodies as an instrument and meal ticket, and take some degree of abuse - here physical punishment rather than deprivation - that much different?
kswimmy
Honestly, I don't totally disagree with you about athletes. There's a lot in the point you bring up that's certainly worth talking about. It'd be great if a writer took it as a serious subject and really wrote a piece on it.
Personally, I think the distinction that I draw (and I admit, I may just not know of the statistics because they don't get much media attention) is that you don't really hear about these athletes dropping dead from their routines. You hear about permanent damage done from use of steroids by some (and sure, some pro-wrestlers that have gone crazy from 'roids and killed others and themselves), but not from a diet/exercise routine. Could it be maybe because the point for the athletes is to bring their bodies to optimum fitness/ability/strength, while what the models have to do is quite the opposite. I mean, no one would suggest that the very thin models look like the optimum in health of the body as a muscular structure.
And that's not to say that the many many horrifying affects of steroid use and things of the sort are nothing. Like I said, it's a totally valid point/argument, as well as the subject of how athletic conditioning may affect men. I just wonder if the difference is in the goal of the regimen and whether or not men who are NOT athletes feel the same pressure to conform to that physical ideal compared to the way women feel they've been pressured.
cnsjasmbs
You'd be surprised. There always are a few "the high school kid who droped dead after double summer practices in 98 degree heat" stories every year. And only a week ago, there was an article on the cover of a major magazine about the alarming amount of concussions and brain injuries in the sport. We just don't seem to have the same level of shock, notwithstanding that these are men and boys of a similar age.
scarlettsnowe
The only real threat I can see for athletes is game day. Professional athletes know what they are doing, or else they should. Most of the people who drop dead in 98 degree heat aren't hydrating properly and probably have heart problems they didn't know about. Very few athletes actually get hurt during TRAINING, though, if they know what they're doing.
kswimmy
to cnsjasmbs:
Am I incorrect in thinking that I recall instances in which the family of the young man sued the high school/coach for instances like that? Or maybe it was a college/coach. I can't remember clearly, but something about that DOES ring vaguely familiar. I'm sure you're referring to more than one case of this happening to a young athlete, but generally speaking, haven't those kind of occurrences had lawsuits come of them?
ittybittykitty
But they do drop dead. Or are paralyzed. Or crippled for life.
nadiachristina
bravo! finally an honest opinion on the issue of weight in fashion.
pleasant aesthetics notwithstanding, the nature of the clothing needs to fit on a very unique type of female form. i wrote about this on a recent post on my blog {http://laviesucree.wordpress.com/2010/01/31/the-size-issue/}. i think it is extremely important to point out that the scales are very much tipped {no pun intended} towards an obesity epidemic in this country, and having some restrictive behavior in maintaining a healthy weight is nothing to criticize. it is called self-control and that concept is lacking today among all of the very sick people who are carrying around double the weight they should be.
in terms of anorexia, you're absolutely correct: runway models and magazine spreads are not what cause an eating disorder. in fact, believing that such a complex illness like anorexia found its roots in fashion belittles the people who suffer from it.
i find your article refreshing, honest, and brave. keep it up!
Devilicia
Ms. Hilton,
While I do agree with some of your points and agree that a skinny "backlash" is hardly productive, overall I find your viewpoint to be extremely shortsighted. Citing the model who subsisted on 4 apples a day and diet coke is a perfect example of what exactly is wrong with the current standard of model beauty. By any medical standard, that is a dangerous diet indeed. What good is making millions by the time you are 20 if you've potentially done irreparable damage to your health? I don't think anybody objects to naturally skinny women, the key word being NATURAL. Living on mere scraps of food and artificially sweetened soda is hardly a natural state of being.
It is less the extreme focus on skinniness that gets people like me concerned, but the lack of variety in what is being presented. This body standard came about as an easy-to-fit dressmakers model (because the skinnier bodies are, the more uniform they become, thus making it easier to whip up samples and have fewer curves to have to tailor to; one of the reasons those Project Runway contestants seem to have panic attacks everytime they have to create something for people who fall out of that body range). Unfortunately it has now become not only a media obsession but a judgement call on anyone who doesn't fit that profile. The constant barrage of images of thin models doesn't have to drive you to an eating disorder to negatively impact your life; it's effects can range from the merely annoying (trying to find decent clothes that fit a body with actual curves on it) to the more insiduous (self esteem and confidence issues or obsession on unrealistic eating habits rather than more fruitful and worthy pursuits).
Yes, obesity is an issue in this country, though the standards, like BMI calculators, by which even that is judged are hardly reliable. Entering a height and weight and establishing a health profile based merely on those figures (and not taking into consideration body type and muscletone) is plain irresponsible. By that formula, most of the body builders I know would be considered overweight. In my own case, I worked as a bike messenger for 3 years, riding a bike for 45 hours a week; I had a lower body of STEEL, yet my BMI profile would have placed my 5'2, 145 lb body as overweight. I know 150 lb women who run marathons and 105 lb women who are winded climbing up a flight of stairs. One size does fit all health profiles. More disturbingly, there is an increasing tendency in the media to not just ignore those of a larger build but to actually demonize it. Hate to break it to the world, but my size 12 hips are not contributing to your health care costs.
I do applaud you for bringing up the equally unhealthy lengths that some male athletes and men's fitness models often go through to attain their own ideal and the lack of attention paid to that. There is a double standard and it is important to discuss. Interesting, the increased attention paid to the 6 pack ab ideal of men's fitness magazines has also coincided with a marked increase in male eating disorders. I also agree with you that it more important to focus on the people in this world who are starving through no fault of their own. That said, a population of women would be better equipped to deal with the challenges of that kind of problem solving if they were more focused on the development of their minds and effectiveness than this constant and ultimately meaningless pursuit of fitting into arbitrary dress sizes. To accomplish that, it is essential that the dazzling variety of the healthy human body is presented as thing of beauty and that includes skinny, curvy, tall, short, and everything in between.
alyzu1
Amen, Devilicia!
Devilicia
Ms. Hilton,
While I do agree with some of your points and agree that a skinny "backlash" is hardly productive, overall I find your viewpoint to be extremely shortsighted. Citing the model who subsisted on 4 apples a day and diet coke is a perfect example of what exactly is wrong with the current standard of model beauty. By any medical standard, that is a dangerous diet indeed. What good is making millions by the time you are 20 if you've potentially done irreparable damage to your health?
I don't think anybody objects to naturally skinny women, the key word being NATURAL. Living on mere scraps of food and artificially sweetened soda is hardly a natural state of being.
It is less the extreme focus on skinniness that gets people like me concerned, but the lack of variety in what is being presented. This body standard came about as an easy-to-fit dressmakers model (because the skinnier bodies are, the more uniform they become, thus making it easier to whip up samples and have fewer curves to have to tailor to; one of the reasons those Project Runway contestants seem to have panic attacks everytime they have to create something for people who fall out of that body range). Unfortunately it has now become not only a media obsession but a judgement call on anyone who doesn't fit that profile. The constant barrage of images of thin models doesn't have to drive you to an eating disorder to negatively impact your life; it's effects can range from the merely annoying (trying to find decent clothes that fit a body with actual curves on it) to the more insiduous (self esteem and confidence issues or obsession on unrealistic eating habits rather than more fruitful and worthy pursuits).
Yes, obesity is an issue in this country, though the standards, like BMI calculators, by which even that is judged are hardly reliable. Entering a height and weight and establishing a health profile based merely on those figures (and not taking into consideration body type and muscletone) is plain irresponsible. By that formula, most of the body builders I know would be considered overweight. In my own case, I worked as a bike messenger for 3 years, riding a bike for 45 hours a week; I had a lower body of STEEL, yet my BMI profile would have placed my 5'2, 145 lb body as overweight. I know 150 lb women who run marathons and 105 lb women who are winded climbing up a flight of stairs. One size does fit all health profiles. More disturbingly, there is an increasing tendency in the media to not just ignore those of a larger build but to actually demonize it. Hate to break it to the world, but my size 12 hips are not contributing to your health care costs.
I do applaud you for bringing up the equally unhealthy lengths that some male athletes and men's fitness models often go through to attain their own ideal and the lack of attention paid to that. There is a double standard and it is important to discuss. Interesting, the increased attention paid to the 6 pack ab ideal of men's fitness magazines has also coincided with a marked increase in male eating disorders. I also agree with you that it more important to focus on the people in this world who are starving through no fault of their own. That said, a population of women would be better equipped to deal with the challenges of that kind of problem solving if they were more focused on the development of their minds and effectiveness than this constant and ultimately meaningless pursuit of fitting into arbitrary dress sizes. To accomplish that, it is essential that the dazzling variety of the healthy human body is presented as thing of beauty and that includes skinny, curvy, tall, short, and everything in between.
laforbus
I'm glad for "keekee" in this discussion. I think she really drives home exactly what the author is trying to say. I completely support Beast articles that are provocative and unique, but whoever gave this little gem the green light seems to be confused about the difference between cultural dissonance and junior high spite.
keekee77
laforbus, thank you. Seems people don't like being nailed and react very badly. One poster is a scary sort of stalker of mine who says she knows "all about me" and launches purely personal attacks instead of making a point. I'm ignoring her.
What's really strange about this issue is how it's advanced in the name of feminism. I am a long time supporter of my own rights as a woman and as such believe in choice. A woman's body is hers to do with as she pleases. That includes choosing to be a thin model, being a prostitute and having an abortion. Yet these hypocrites who expect the fashion industry to take responsibility for them, believe that women are too stupid to make their own choices and blame men or other ill defined forces, for exploiting them.
If a woman with the goods wants to make in on the runways under the terms of the fashion industry then that woman has made a decision what to do with her life and her body and it's neither my right nor the right of feminist screeds to denounce them. If these complaining victims don't like the standards set by society then don't follow them. Problem solved. Don't buy magazines, don't buy the clothes and maybe burn Anna at the stake (that would be Anna feminist icon).
Most of these knee jerk feminists have never had an original thought in their lives. They simply ape other hypocritical feminists who want to be both treated as equals yet at the same, foist responsibility on anyone but themselves. It's women who perpetuate these "impossible" beauty standards. It's women who put their children in beauty pageants. It's women, in Africa, who perform female genital mutilation on their daughters. Like I said, women complain about the chains that bind them, forging them all the while.
And if someone points that out buddy, look out.
labercrombie
So you're basically saying that it's alright to be terribly unhealthy as long as you're making money? One model lived on diet coke and apples for two years, but, hey, she made a million dollars and put herself through Columbia! Some women prostitute themselves to pay for school too. Wow! Look at all the great options we have! This article shines a sad light on the progress women have made in the 21st century.
Jeffery Haas
No sorry, you're WRONG Lisa.
One look at the pathetic stick figures barely able to negotiate the runway under their own steam is all one needs to see to know how wrong you are.
The models look so horrible it puts ANYONE with any sense off the idea of purchasing the clothing.
Thank you.
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