Earlier this month, France made headlines for joining the few countries in the world that placed a ban on overly skinny models. As adults in a functioning society we should have known better that changing the ‘rules’ or expectations of this business wouldn’t come without challenges.
Not even one month has passed since the law has been officially passed in France and there is word that some models are figuring out ways to cheat the system. From wearing weighted spanx under clothing, to physically tying weights in their hair, this weigh-in business seems to have already started spinning out of control.
As much as we applaud creativity, it isn’t appreciated in this instance. As most of us know, change happens over time and it shouldn’t have ever been expected that this would be a success at the flip of a switch.
However, considering this law was put in place to harvest a healthier body ideal, it seems rather unfortunate that it has already gone downhill so fast. While we believe this isn’t an end-all for the law, the actions of the models that are attempting to cheat the system seem to speak much louder than words… And we can hear them clearly. Challenging the new system is a natural defence mechanism.
What should be understood is that this is their profession and they need to get serious about listening to what their bosses are telling them. When their entire profession revolves mainly around how beautiful they look, it seems silly they would throw their hands up now and protest how unfair it is to be judged by physical appearance.
And moreover, what needs to be addressed is the fact that if models are going to such great lengths to prolong their tiny frames, it’s clearly an issue that shouldn’t be entirely on them. When they step on the scale each week what doesn’t get recorded is the weight of pressure on them placed by society.
It’s not a new concept really that humanity itself is responsible for cultivating an ugly outlook on what women should look like. It encourages irrational behaviour as a means for maintaining ridiculous beauty ideals. Just because models are in the public eye more often, doesn’t mean the average woman is unaffected by the pressures. Pressure in the form of industry standards may have the illusion of weightlessness on the scales, but it is proving to be very heavy in actuality.
While we here at Fashion Industry Broadcast hope this is merely a bump in the road to succeeding in healthier runways – we really just want to know our ladies are healthy and happy – Heroin Chic was so ’90s!