More on skinny models

Hi All:

I purposely didn't post on Friday cause I wanted to make sure that Courtney's words and ideas got a chance to just sink in all weekend.... and from looking at my stats, there were TONS of people who dropped by Don't Believe the Hype... so dat's cool.

******

So both Yahoo and the New York Times (on Sunday!  On page 3 of the first section!) covered the controversy about models who are too skinny... and how it's now affecting London's fashion week.  (Last week when I wrote about the topic, it was about how Madrid's fashion week organizers were taking a stand against having models considered too skinny in their shows).  Only in London... the opposite is happening.  There they're NOT taking a stand about which models can and can't be in shows.

According to Yahoo, "British newspapers and health experts have condemned London fashion bosses for failing to follow Madrid and turn away underweight models following protests that girls and young women try to copy their looks and develop eating disorders."

The part I can't really figure out is why everyone is suddenly all up in arms about this.  I mean, don't get me wrong.  I think we SHOULD be up in arms about it.  And in fact, I am.  Just look at my arms!  They're totally up.  But I don't understand why everyone else is jumping on the bandwagon....because I'm not really seeing a larger cultural trend toward condemning extreme thinness...

Sure, some gossip mags are now saying that Nicole Ritchie is too thin... but they still have her bikini-clad body on every other page...so it doesn't follow that they are so worried about/grossed out by her that they can't bring themselves to write about her.  And Kate Moss, the queen of the waifs, has been celebrated NON STOP this fall as she makes her comeback.  She was voted by Vanity Fair's August or Sept issue as best dressed/most stylish... and has shown up in HUGE fall ad campaigns for Burberry's (heeyyyyy, wait a minute.  I thought you all were disgusted by her image and behavior after snorting coke last year. Did you think we'd forget that?), Versace, David Yurman jewelry and tons of other high end places.  They don't seem to take issue with her extreme thinness...and I guess they assume the public doesn't either, or they wouldn't have hired her.  So what's generating all the hoopla around the fashion weeks?

Any thoughts?

Comments

["H"]

Dear Audrey,

I came across your blog when I searched "protest london fashion week". I am SO glad i've discovered your writing.

I am 18, from London and trying my hardest to recover from anorexia nervosa. It has damaged both my health and my life and I am in no doubt that, although my eating disorder has been caused by a mixture of social and biological factors, the fashion industry and it's glorification of ultra-thin-is-in has been a major factor.

Although I feel stupid in myself, I am also angry that responsible adults are allowing the youth of today to be manipulated by the fashion industry in this way.

I am thinking of staging a protest in London this week. Although (sadly) I have not managed to find anyone else to join me yet, I am hoping that my one-woman protest might make a small difference. I intend to do nothing more than wear a semi-revealing top with "am I fashionable yet?" written on it. I'm ashamed of my underweight body in its current state but want to expose the real-life effects of media pressure to the general public.

Thank you for everything you're doing.

I wish i'd found your blog 3 years ago.

Best wishes

H

[Audrey]

H-

Thanks very much for sharing your personal story... and I wish you much luck in any sort of protest you do.

FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT, and hope to see you more on these threads...

Audrey

[hot celebrities]

Great idea. I am tired of skinny sluts. Give me fat ones.