i am constantly angry at the media/fashion world?

Question

i live in britain and find the media and fashion i am bombarded with every day absolutely unnacceptable. none of the models in magazines, billboards etc are even near a healthy weight. i have been campaigning for some time for the government to disallow models who are not a healthy body mass index weight for country, but with no success. how can it be right than seriously underweight people are presented as models for the rest of us. teenage girls and women are self conscious enough of their bodies without having to look at these images day in day out (and they really are EVERYWHERE). anybody else get extremely irritated by this/have any suggestions as to what we could do?

wow its really nice to know that even you two people care about this...im hard pushed to find many people who care!!!

i think people (and i know this is a generalisation, but especially men) underestimate the power of the media in influencing body image. i am 6ft 2 and a size 12, and think i have a good figure. however, even with confidence and the knowledge that these are not 'normal' images, i still feel under pressure, fat, like i should watch my weight etc. that is a powerful force!!!

Answer 1

Yep - I get bloody furious (funnily enough, also live in the UK), and you're absolutely right - young girls and women are continually sold the idea that they're not right as they are, and that only by attaining this terrifying expressionless skinniness will they ever achieve true success, womanhood, beauty etc. It's a madness, and an offensive one both to women and to men (we're as tutored as you are to find only this shape desirable in the modern day and age).

Two pathways to change: political and economic. The government is vastly unlikely to "ban" models unless they have a healthy weight. Might be more useful to petition Women and Equality Unit (with its brand spanking new Minister for Women, Ruth Kelly, who if she has the ambition to rise again, needs an issue to get passionate about) to do a piece of heavyweight research on the impact of uber-skinny models and role models on young girls, their self-perception, their eating habits and disorders, the amount of weight-based bullying that goes on in schools and so on. That, if compiled, would be a big tool to advance the argument that this must change.

Ecnomically, there needs to be more supply of fashion for real women. Dawn French and helen Teague started up Sixteen47, the fashion house for larger women, about 15 years ago, and it has a very loyal fanbase, because it says "This is what we look like, here are clothes that suit us." What we need is a fashion house that takes that message to every woman.

Ahead of the existence of such a company, start an organisation; I'd be up for helping with this if you need hands. We know Dove has its "Campaign for real beauty". Though there's always the nagging suspicion that they essentially just want to sell more beauty products, it has made a step in the right direction with it's "Self Esteem Fund". Maybe work with them to gather support for a "Really Beautiful Fashion" label - from women, young girls, mothers who don't want their daughters dictated to by the fashion world etc.

That means we'd then have two improtant things - evidence of the harm done by the "skinny dream" of advertising, and an economically viable alernative, using real women with a healthy bodymass index. That would give the government an excuse to find its conscience, and reap the goodwill and potential electoral support of supporting tougher guidelines for acceptable BMI standards for models used in the fashion industry.

Sound viable?

Answer 2

I agree with you. A few years ago I went to a make over day and had some photographs taken, lots of us have been there, apart from looking good, it made me realise just what models have to go through to look good. Constant preening, touching in, re-applying, subtle lighting, contrived posing etc. This all happens regardless of models looks/size. I have explained this to my daughter from a really early age and will take her shortly to have the same treatment - so she can see first hand that there is no way in normal living that she can expect to equal what she sees in a magazine. Maybe a 'behind the scenes' look at this side will convince other youngsters of the same.

Incidentally, I never buy magazines or newspapers either. I have brought my daughter up to make her judgements based on her own reasoning. She is more well balanced than I am - all this and she is not yet 16.

Answer 3

Here in the U.S. we face the same problem you do. Anorexics showing the country how you should look. Unfortunately there isn't much you can do about it, except not let it get to you. Or start a boycott campaign against the manufacturers that promote that type of model. Post a letter to the newspaper or a magazine, asking ppl not to buy the clothing or makeup until they change their ad campaigns. Buy and support manufacturers who's ads you do like. Accept your body for what it is .....NORMAL.....and set an example for our sons and daughters. The more obcessed we are with our body image, the more obcessed they will be. Look around you and see the type of men and women, ppl are really dating! The majority are not the types you see in the ads. I think most ppl see through the illusion.

Answer 4

I agree that it's a real problem - there was some statistic on the radio the other day saying that most 11-15 year old girls are worried about their weight!

The only way we can stop this obsession with skinny models who are terrible role models is for the media to stop idolising them - therefore we need to stop reading the papers and the gossip magazines to send a positive message to the originators. However, I don't think it will happen in my lifetime. There are too many idiots who read Heat! Hello! etc and who are subconsciously affected by this problem.

Answer 5

Hi, i agree with you that this is a worrying problem. But i think that most level-headed people, and parents in particular, can point out to their daughters, nieces etc that these models live in a totally separate world where watching your figure is all-consuming, and that people in the real world cannot give all their time to obsessing about their looks. Yes, it is nice to go out confident with your appearance, and some people are lucky enough to have good' figure naturally. But mainly it is people's attitude that makes for the problem. Models are just clothes-horses to display wares. i don't have a make-up artist / hairdresser etc to dress me before i leave the house, and this is what young people should be taught to appreciate - what they see in magazines is not a normal or healthy picture, just someone being paid to wear clothes

Answer 6

Get your voice heard by other means. If young girls will really benefit, I'm sure there has to be a form of media you can take. Ask a teacher, compile information, talk to doctors. There is an organization here in London, Canada for teenagers with eating disorders called 'Hopes Garden' They do many fundraisers and every little bit helps. Aim for the source

Answer 7

i am in total agreement with your frustration,but banning thin models is not the answer.
about a third of children in britain is overwieght and would still be overwieght if there where no thin models.
education,.exercise and a balance diet provide some of the answer.
the thin models are a real concern to already thin girls who think they are fat causing food disorders etc.
again i would like to see an education programme that really explains what is natural.
mike

Answer 8

Amen. I do the only thing I can do as one, just don't buy their magazines...ever. Without knowing it though, we're buying the product sometimes they endorse/promote. We would have to boycott a lot of stuff....certain designers (most of them), stores, make-up, soap, moisturizer and things as simple as disposable shavers! It would be difficult to say the least. I'm with ya though.

Answer 9

Start by banning those magazenes and maybe when their sales undergo a huge drop they will realise to bring in some healthy models instead of the anorexic ones.AFTERALL-HEALTH IS WEALTH!!!!

Answer 10

well we live in this manipulative world when wrong ways is the way of life like you said people will have the vanity in the skin than the health they like to die in a fashionable manner than to live longer in a simple ways of living, vanity is the way of life in these material world.