04/21/07

How thin is too thin?  Do you feel pressured to be unrealistically skinny by the models and actresses you see in magazines and on TV?  Do you hate your body?  How do you think your self-image affects your concept of individuality?  Even if you could, would you want to conform to the prevailing standard of beauty?

 Standing in line at the supermarket, we are bombarded with images of uber-skinny women, staring back at us gaunt-eyed from the glossy covers of tabloid and fashion magazines.  When we bring our groceries home and flip on the television, we see their waifish frames struggling to balance their bobble-heads on virtually every channel.  It seems fashionable today to sport the anorexic look: the skinnier, the better!  Celebrities like Nicole Richie, Kate Bosworth, and the Olsen twins continue to dwindle down to nothing, all the while denying rumors of eating disorders.  With women like this in the spotlight, held up as pillars of beauty and health, how can the rest of us feel confident in our own bodies?

 Take heart—Madrid’s fashion week rides to the rescue.  They have officially rejected what they term the “heroin chic” look by banning models with a body mass index under 18.  Organizers of the event have turned away several models with less-than-healthy BMI after protests that young women were striving to mimic the sickly looks and developing serious eating disorders.

 Several modeling agencies did not take the restrictions lying down.  Cathy Gould, North American director of New York agency Elite, said, "I think its outrageous. I understand they want to set this tone of healthy beautiful women, but what about discrimination against the model and what about the freedom of the designer," adding that the move could harm careers of naturally "gazelle-like" models.

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