Should Size Zero Models Be Banned Essay

Laine Sterbenz, a student from the University of Kentucky and popular blogger on Odyssey, concludes that skinny models give girls and women motivation to live healthier lifestyles in a way no other body type could. In her post, she argues that models have that skinny body that is desired by every girl, the ideal to work to attain. She then continues into saying that if overweight models were to be used, or even average sized ones, then women wouldn’t actually have the motivation to want to eat better and live a healthier life, because they would already be satisfied with how they look. While Sterbenz brings up valid points, she weakens the argument by contradicting her own statements, and unwittingly promoting unhealthy eating habits and

The article highlights the issue of body-shaming and the issue of fashion companies using stick-thin mannequins to model clothing. Many people feel that the use of these mannequins promotes an unhealthy lifestyle and an unrealistic image for young girls, which can lead to eating disorders

IntroductionBusinesses in today's world raise many ethical issues and it is important to understand which actions are right and which ones are wrong. In this report the focus will be placed on an article about models working in the fashion industry. It explains how models are being mistreated and exploited in many ways which include sexual harassment, lack of rights, overworking and having to face dangerous situations such as taking drugs which include cocaine in order to stay thin. The article also mentions that models enter the industry as young as 13 years of age and definitely need protection from this exploitation.

Everyone is special and unique in their own way. No one can change the way someone looks and acts. So why let the modeling industry change the way someone should look like. People can not let the modeling industry have an affect on them to where they have eating

Models are the ones being directly affected by this epidemic. Modeling is hard, so models will do whatever they need to succeed. When you're a model, size zero is what's in demand, what the designers are looking for (Lee). Most models think that it is required and expected of them to have to be hospitalized because they don't eat enough. One model says, "No, no. It is my job not to eat." Some have resorted to extreme measures, "A couple of the others have resorted to eating tissues. Apparently they swell up and fill your stomach" (Clements). No one should ever feel like they need to eat tissues so they can be beautiful. Beauty is relative and just a concept we've made in our heads, so it can't even be defined.The common size of models, a size zero, "requires the waist measurements of twenty three inches, which is the average size for an eight year old" (Size Zero). Why is this the standard?

The fashion industry is a major object of body image issues, as they believe clothes look better on more than average height and svelte women. Established on a survey partaken by 13 to 17-year-old in the United States, 90% felt intimidated by trends and media to be sleek, with more than 60% routinely evaluated themselves to supermodels, whilst 46% will endeavor to

The fashion industry plays a huge role in portraying bad images of ideal beauty, which in turn affects today’s society perception of their own body image. Not only are women affected by what is seen and heard about how the perfect body should appear, children of young ages are now feeling insecure and obsessed with their bodies before they reach teenage years. This ‘ideal image’ the fashion industry continues to enforce only focuses on very thin models who seem to be in shape and are very healthy. Furthermore, many people think of the influence from the fashion industry as being human representations (models). Because of the rising problem with the image of beauty within the fashion industry, it is shown that even mannequins and non-human representations (mannequins, dolls, photoshopping) of bodies play a significant role in women’s body image; which causes problems to the individual. (Anshutz & Engels, 2010). Body image and self-satisfaction, eating disorders and non-human representations all can cause harm to the individual, if prolonged.

It is proven that models nowadays weigh 23% less than the average woman.Girls believe that to have the ideal body, you need to be toned and slim, wheres for guys being muscular is the definition of perfection. The problem starts to become much severe , when it ultimately leads to serious habits such as eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia and in most cases, suicidal attempts.

Having a skinny body is very important in the modeling industry. Bigger women always get turned down. This makes them feel unhealthy and not as beautiful as the other women that are modeling. The hard part for models is to keep their weight down to a certain number, otherwise, they are not allowed to model anymore. Today, in America many women are suffering from eating disorders, and other negative behaviors which make women do things to their body that they should not do. Men are attracted to healthy women regardless if the woman is older. Most modeling agencies prefer skinny women because they believe having smaller women as models would attract men there to support them. The media thinks being overweight is ugly which is unfair for bigger women because women of any size should be able to model. The media shows thin women on television

When Victoria’s Secret is allowed to have models prance around on screen but Lane Bryant Ads (lingerie for plus size women) is banned then there’s a problem. The media is portraying these models who are thin to the point where it is unhealthy. And the media is feeding society lies. A perfect example is of Gerran Tyler. Tyler was a 12 year old supermodel. She walks the run way for clients like Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, and Betsey Johnson. She’s tall, thin, the perfect model because she hasn’t hit puberty yet. She walked during New York Fashion Week and posed for these designer brands advertisements. This body type is unachievable for almost all adult women (Roberts). Somebody in their twenties or thirties doesn’t have the ability to look like a twelve year old girl, but this is how these designers are telling us to look. Tyler had an amazing career and high expectations but the fame didn’t last long. As she got older and hit puberty she began to develop boobs, hips, and curves. She began getting less and less bookings. Her supermodel career was virtually over. “Eighty percent of 10-year-old American girls say they have been on a diet” and the, “Number one magic wish for young girls 11-17 is to be thinner” (Missrepresentation). This self-esteem problem with young girls is a result of these unobtainable ideas of beauty. Jennifer Siebel, creator of the documentary Missrepresentation, says

Society as a whole has been immensely effected by the social realm. In the fashion world, it is media that creates the trends and genres of different types of clothes. This is seen as an identity. The fashion world markets their clothes to society thru the media. Using various sources such as, television, internet, newspaper and magazines. However there is a dark side to this industry. Today's society faces controversy about women's body figured. Size zero has become a behemoth fad in the modeling world. The size zero topic has caused a revolution, women around the world trying to enter the modeling industry are now harming their bodies in countless ways in order to achieve the "ideal" body. Women today face a lot of criticism about their appearances due to the superficial ideology created by the media.

For many years there has been size discrimination amongst the fashion industry. Some companies want to say that women are too big or too skinny. Yet this may be true in some cases, this does not mean that their assumptions should affect who can and cannot model. When fashion industries are picking models, they should consider that not every woman is the same size and their weight, if healthy, should not affect their chances of becoming a model.

While it’s fashion week in London, the size “zero” models start to prepare for the big show by purging to be as thin as possible. Most models starve themselves in order to achieve the “waif”, stick-thin figure; it becomes so addictive, almost like second nature that it further leads to serious eating disorders. From recent studies, today’s model weighs about 23% less than the normal woman. Clearly, most models do not depict the average woman. Men and women all over the world follow the influences that the fashion industry provides. They believe that the fashion industry depicts on what society should be acknowledged as, picture-perfect thin.

If it isn't bad enough that the media only shows fashion models who are much smaller than most of the women in our society anyway, the new trend is for the images of these women to be digitally retouched and airbrushed so as to make them appear even smaller than they are in real life. Not only

Under society’s norms for decades, young women have been put under the pressure and anticipation to have perfect bodies. That is, thin and curved, beautified by applying pounds of the makeup to their face but not appear ridiculously overdone. Who’s responsible for these standards imposed on young women? When a young girl picks up the model along the cover of Vogue being called flawless, it’s easy for her to then aspire to be a real-life imitation of the photocopy. These companies produce magazine covers shown with girls’ images daily. As if keeping the perfect body wasn’t hard enough our culture also forces girls into the forever expanding world of composition, however, body image is a pressing issue for young women. Advertisements and posters of skinny female models are all over. Young girls not only could be better but need to be more upright and feel driven to throw the perfect figure. Moreover, girls are evaluated and oppressed by their physical appearances. With supplements and apparel designed to enhance a facial expression; social media, magazines, and marketing campaigns and advertisements add to the burden of perfection. The fashion industry is a prime object of body image issues, as they believe clothes look better on tall and svelte women. Established on a survey participated by 13 to 17-year-old in the U.S., 90% “felt pressured by fashion and media industries to be skinny”, with more than 60% routinely compares themselves to models, while 46%