French Government Ban Super Thin Models

I have always advocated a change in the way society views body sizes, especially in high fashion (see my Tess Munster post here), but honestly, it's been a slow process to get where we are today.

France is a trailblazer in the world of high fashion and runway shows, and in the aftermath of Paris fashion week, the French government have passed a law that states bans the use and activity of any model under what is regarded as a safe BMI by the French health authorities. Iran have also passed a similar law, however, after seeing such a huge impact in the country that is home to one of the fashion capitals of the world, we should see some swift movements from other countries.

This law came around due to the pressure that is put on younger people and even children to look like the super skinny models that they see on catwalks, in magazines and on billboards. There are only a handful of people who know what the photo editing process entails, but it is not pretty, honestly, I find it quite frightening that someone sat behind a computer screen can alter an image to create what will become a completely unrealistic goal image that some young people will strive for.

The only way to get themselves to that state; an eating disorder. Another reason France has banned the use of super-skinny models is due to the increase in eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia which are becoming more and more common in our modern day society. Since the 1980s, cases of eating disorders like these have sky rocketed, coincidentally, this is the same time that images of models appeared to be getting sickeningly thin.

What do I hope will happen after this? Honestly, I hope the rest of the world follow suit, especially the countries that shape the high fashion industry such as Britain, Italy and the USA. This will hopefully provide a healthier set of role models for children and young people who aspire to become models, and will protect the models who are currently working in the industry from being told they cannot work unless they reach a certain size.

I think the most important lesson to be learnt, however, is to love your own body and the skin you are in, the fashion industry constantly changes their definition of perfect, but you will only ever have one, strive for your own perception of beauty to find true happiness.

Photo Sources:

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03236/Skinny_models_1_3236151b.jpg

https://edanafashion.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/plus-size-models-4.jpg