Should The Use Of Skinny Models Be Illegal?

by Justin Fenner | 2:12 pm, March 2nd, 2012

New research from the London School of Economics says that if the government wanted to prevent fashion brands and talent agencies from using anorexic models, it would be justified by the fact that imagery of super-skinny women actually does appreciable psychological damage to women and young girls.

The Guardian reports that LSE’s study, which is the first known economic analysis of anorexia, found that reducing the number of images of pin thin women on television and in magazines would “lift some of the social pressure women feel to be thin.” And because of that, the study says that new laws and regulations that put limits on how thin a model can be would be worth the effort.

“Government intervention to adjust individual biases in self-image would be justified to curb the spread of a potential epidemic of food disorders,” they write in their paper, to be published in the academic journal Economica later this year.

“The distorted self-perception of women with food disorders and the importance of the peer effects may prompt governments to take action to influence role models and compensate for social pressure on women driving the trade-off between ideal weight and health.”

RELATED: Plus Size Model Poses With Straight Size Model In Controversial Spread

Government officials in Europe and the United States have been working to curb the appearances of images of unrealistically thin women in the media over the past few years. In 2008 the French Parliament made it illegal to display images of “extreme thinness,” and Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority has been banning images of skinny women left and right. The idea has even gained some traction here in the United States, but there’s not a law on the books about how thin a model should or shouldn’t appear to be in images.

But now that the research has been done, how long do you think it’ll be before we’ve got a law that says models should look healthy instead of emaciated?

[The Guardian]

Anorexia London School of Economics underweight models

Paigecurtis1

You ask society to accept plus size models and now you’re telling them to discriminate against skinny ones? Sounds extremely hypocritical. We should allow all shapes and sizes on the runway.
Eat broccoli

Just imagine if they started showing athletic bodies and people started wanting to eat right and exercise…. *sigh*
http://www.shorty-stories.com Cynthia C. M.

I agree with Paigecurtis1. Use a more diverse range of sizes, including people who’re shaped like me!

http://www.shorty-stories.com/category/fashionandstyle/petite-fashion-challenge/
Nova

Unfortunately, from what I see in certain big box stores, not many women take any inspiration from the models whose body fat is about the same as that of female athletes…
Anonymous

I think anyone with an unhealthy BMI should be banned – yes. Promoting good self images for girls is one thing, but I think more important that we don’t want an industry that encourages its employees to starve themselves to death, as has happened.
Fran

im so sick of the whole “the models are too fat, no too skinny!’ i dont get why it has to be a model that is a size 0 or a size 14? how about to go in between and do size 6-8′s? Like crystal wrenn is perfect.

Should The Use Of Skinny Models Be Illegal?

Most Popular Articles

Follow Us

Tips

Style Dish

Login

Style Sheets