The fashion industry has undoubtedly been criticized for using super thin models for a number of years, but recently there has been a shift to curvier and healthier models. A majority of runway shows use super skinny models creating a misrepresentation of what women are supposed to look like and what they should aspire to be. Even as a young teen or adolescent, societies pushing needs to be skinny are very apparent and even warp their perceptions of being beautiful. Although the majority of models who are thin infest the runway shows, high status designers such as Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton are using curvier and healthier looking woman (http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2010/03/curvy_adult_diverse_models_wal.html).
When a person thinks about the fashion industry in society today, pictures of skeleton, skinny models come to mind. What is wrong with a curvy, healthy woman? Why do most models in the fashion industry not represent the average woman and make clothes to fit every body? These are just some questions that women face today. The average woman is not super thin and does not look unhealthy, but instead most are curvy and very healthy. Only representing the skinny world in the fashion industry causes women to see themselves in a negative light if they do not fit the stereotype of the pictures they see in magazines and the models on the runways.
Another issue about super thin models is the influence it has on young teenagers. Young female teenagers are constantly surrounded with media concentrating on the idea of “if you want to be beautiful, you have to look like a super skinny model.” These teens are subjected to expectations that cannot exist creating a yearning for perfection, when it cannot be achieved. These young female teens need to be subjected to values that expose inner beauty and the idea that every race, body shape, and personality is valued and is seen as beautiful.(http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-09-25-thin-models_x.htm)
Although this issue had been slow to fix, many popular fashion designers are shifting toward the curvier, healthier model. In a recent fashion show in Paris this year, fashion designer, Louis Vuitton, used models of all sizes and ethnicities. Hopefully in the future designers will follow suit and represent all shapes and sizes that its public can identify with. We need to push for a healthy and true representation of the women in our society and value everyone's individuality to make the fashion industry understand that everyone is not super thin and everyone cannot fit into a size zero. Not only will it share values of all different kinds of beauty, it will show women everywhere that they can be happy and beautiful in their own skin.
My post is slightly off topic, I completely agree with curvier models and more positive role models rather than anorexics.
ReplyDeleteSo, my question has to do with acceptance of larger people. Whenever my mom and I are discussing this topic she always talk about how when she was in high school if a person was bigger they were automatically a 'loser' and not socially accepted. She always says she is grateful that our generation is much more accepting to all weights. I agree, but I also wonder if we, as a society, continue to accept larger people that the obesity problem will continue to grow. Seeing as obesity is currently a major issue, how do you think we can be accepting but also stay healthy?
I agree with you that the super thin model ideal can have a detrimental effect on young women's self image, but what about its effect on men? I have met a few men, whose idea of what a woman is suppose to look like has been so warped by the media that it prevents them from maintaining healthy relationships with real women. Have you read anything about this situation, if so is it common?
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