Too Skinny: Unhealthy Girls & Mothers' Influence...

Thin & Sick: X-ray models? Sick. Sick Sick. The issue, writes the New York Times about Stick Figures, is "how anyone decides which model is too skinny and who is in charge."  Cathy Gould, of New York's Elite modeling agency, thinks the fashion industry is being scapegoated for anorexia and bulimia.  Well duh. 

How about some advice from mothers to the fashion industry: Quit holding up unrealistic images to our daughters and to women in general!  But it mustn't just stop there. A post written by the mother/writer The Last Duchess on the subject, also published on Shakespeare's Sister on The Argument Wears Thin concludes that "consumers must be the ones to spearhead the sea change" by contacting the advertisers and not buying the items that use unhealthy images to promote sales.

Spain took the first world step in banning overly thin models this month from the Madrid fashion show -- 30 percent of the female models flunked the body mass index requirement. 

The problem extends to manipulated photos that show perfected and altered images in magazines.

"Daughter see, daughter do" phenomenon? Mothers influence their daughters' eating habits, physical activity, dieting behaviors and body image more than they might realize and the modeling of healthy habits and mothers' own food choices may be more influential than any other attempt to control their daughters' food intake, according to a summit exploring crucial links between mothers, daughters, food and health.   A clinical psychologist has a blog, Every Woman Has an Eating Disorder,  with the premise "that every woman has an eating disorder-- not necessarily anorexia or bulimia per se, but a fixation on food/ weight/shape that is unhealthy, unwanted..." and a recent blog post talked about very young girls and body dysmorphia.

What does it tell society at large when these waif-ish, way-to-skinny or photo-retouched women are held up as beautiful?  A reality? Of what? As perfect?  As the ideal?  Is it a mirror of deeper problems on a cultural level -- reflecting a state of confusion existing for females regarding roles, expectations, professional image and beauty?

9/19 update: the trend continues as you see at right.  Why?

Photo:top - Firstview, NYTimes, ;  right.

Comments

[Eleanor Mainwaring]

When our boys were in high school, we were talking about girls to ask for homecoming, and I mentioned a darling girl who was athletic and curvy and beautiful....and they said she was too fat! I was shocked! This girl was NOT fat...she was healthy. I know FAT, I went on my first diet in 5th grade! I am the one who loses weight when I am HAPPY and love my comfort food when I am stressed or sad. Back to the boys...where did they get that idea of what was FAT??? We all know this answer...from TV, magazines, supermodels, movies, the media. There is so much pressure on young girls to be thin. I had a patient in the ER recently who was 13 and brought in by her mother because her siblings told that she was forcing herself to vomit and lost 16 pounds in one month. When I asked her why, her young sister jumped in and told us she wanted to be thin. It sounds like unfortunately, that this ideal of being thin has indoctrinated what our young MEN think is normal, as well as our young woment. However, this has been going on for decades, centuries even. I do think it is worse than ever now. But, I have no remedy for body dysmorphic syndrome...except to change the way our young people think and that won't be easy with Hollywood and Vogue glamorizing the virtues of the waif look. Anorexia/bulimia is usually about seeking control when one has none, according to the psych textbooks. In the end, it is all about wanting to be accepted and loved and the extremes people are willing to go to to get that.

[Andie D.]

Wow. I had anorexia as a teen and off and on in my very early 20s.

Now I'm a 35 year old woman, who is extremely aware of how I eat, how women are viewed by the media, and what "ideals" my children might see. It's not just the media, unfortunately.

My baby girl is in the 95th percentile of height and weight. She's big for her age. Healthy, happy, loving, and big. Every time someone asks how old she is, and I tell them 15 months, I get one of two responses: a) Ooooh. b) She's big!

I prefer b. I will say, "Yes! She is!" and smile. In part because I appreciate the honesty.

My 4.5 year old son is big too. No one blinks an eye when I tell them how old he actually is. There is a complete double standard. As much as it pisses me off, I know that the way I react to it (or don't react) will have more of an effect on my children than anything anyone can say.

There's a post in there somewhere.... ;)

[tabitha kobes]

Im doing a school project on modeling agencies forcing their models to be dangerously under weight. Is there anything you could help me understand better about this subject. I have one question for you, why does everything have to be small there's no shape to small. Bigger is better becuase there are some curves. im a small person and wish i was just a little bigger then 100 at 18 yrs old. well if you have time can you reply. thanks for your time.

[sattyne mcanulty]

yah im 15 and i feel the same way the other girls do i always see girls with great bodys and i wish i had that becuz i think im fat im 5'8 and 151 pounds and i dont like my body what so ever! i wish i can like what i have but i cant those girls out there dont try to get thin to try to impose a guy its not worth it at all. you shouldnt kill yourself to get a guy to like you.more then what you already are ok. just be yourself and just watch what you eat and exercise thats all i can say to you girls at there!!

[jayfry]

From my man's point of view:
In life opposites are attracted to a thinner versions of the same person. The victorian era of having "breeder bodies" is over forever. Thin will always be in. Always. I was 100 lbs less as a young adult male. I had women go after me ALL THE TIME! My hip bones had sores because my pants rubbed on them. My ribs showed - but I could get laid every night. One woman told me she loved having a thin dude on her versus a larger muscular man - or worse yet, one with a gut.
I used to have them openly fondle and pinch my ass -mostly when they were drunk. Unheard of now.
Today, as a filled out mature male of 100 lbs more, I don't even draw a stare.....

Ladies, if you are skinny, extremely skinny, or even skin and bones I will sing your praises! THIN WILL ALWAYS BE IN.

[Theresa]

I think it's crazy that people are making such a big deal about skinny models. Everyone has their own opinion about whats beautiful and if some people want to think ribs on a tall girl is beautiful then let them. There are all kinds of models in the world, even fat models (plus sized). If people want to lose weight just let them. Im 59 and 117 lbs and i love my body. I eat healthy and i barely work out, it's just the way my body is. Im not anorexic or bulimic, I was just blessed with a beautiful body and so are these other girls. Leave the skinny girls alone!

[miki]

that is disgusting

[breemode]

Both of these pictures are photo shopped (the first one horrably, notice the lower back fat yet her ribs are showing,right)and im seeing every where as fact. Yes there are some skinny models but at least get accurate pictures.
http://www.starling-fitness.com/archives/2005/08/25/photoshopped-thin/
copy and paste this link to see the unphoto shopped pics

[MotherPie]

Breemode... I have seen photoshop contests on Worth 1000 regarding making models thin. The second photo perhaps might be photoshopped (thanks for the link) but the first one? Not sure and think it is real.

[charlene]

elo y are u that skin

[a]

i think that its okay to be skinny, or whatever you wanna be...but when a person goes anorexic or bulimic just to be skinny, that needs to be fixed. its not only gross to see a skeleton, but also deadly for the person that's doing it to themselves. Thats just my opinion

[a]

i think that its okay to be skinny, or whatever you wanna be...but when a person goes anorexic or bulimic just to be skinny, that needs to be fixed. its not only gross to see a skeleton, but also deadly for the person that's doing it to themselves. Thats just my opinion