November 19, 2007

"When she fell down, I felt the bones going into my legs, like a knife."

"When she fell down, I felt like I took hold of something from the grave."
Posted by Ann Althouse at 6:32 PM
Tags: , , ,

8 comments:

Jennifer said...

Designers say that clothes just look better on thin models and that the curves of more shapely models distract from the clothing they are showing off.

I'd hardly call a woman at 5'9" and 129 pounds shapely. But, really who cares if a few young women keel over and die at 60 or 88 pounds!? We will have no distractions from our clothing!!

I'm all for voluntary compliance, but I really hope some of these American shows actually start complying.

11/19/07, 8:35 PM
Dana said...

And there was this jewel,

"They say rules and punishments would only stifle creativity."

Perhaps this evidences a lack of genius and creativity on the part of the designers. Perhaps if they were truly gifted and inspired, they would be able to use a healthy bodied model and have their creations be even more awe-inspiring.

This of course is to say nothing of the loathsome human beings they (the designers) are.

11/19/07, 9:07 PM
Joe said...

It's not just the fashion industry. A public campaign against fat, or anything like it, is being waged across most of the industrial world. The FDA has created bogus dietary recommendations based on fads, not science. Basic food stuffs are being demonized to students of all ages. They are also being taught that anything even approaching "overweight" (26 as defined by the bogus BMI) is harmful when, in fact, all the evidence is to the contrary.

11/19/07, 9:11 PM
Eli Blake said...

Jennifer,

You can be for voluntary compliance but don't fool yourself.

This battle against women being driven to starve themselves at the almighty alter of 'thin' has been going on since, at least Karen Carpenter. They won't comply, and you know they won't comply.

We have minimum safety related requirements for many, many jobs, and they've been challenged in court (such as by the pilot who didn't want to be fired for failing an eye exam) and the laws have been upheld.

A minimum BMI of 18 or 19 is hardly a restriction that is unreasonable, so frankly I favor doing what the Spanish did and legislating it.

Frankly, about the only thing that might make the fashion industry 'voluntarily' comply would be to try and head off the threat of legislation. But as long as they have no reason to believe that such legislation is even possible, they won't comply.

11/19/07, 9:33 PM
Anonymous said...

Whoa - she looks sooooo HOT in that photo.

11/19/07, 10:19 PM
Mutaman said...

"When she fell down, I felt like I took hold of something from the grave."

Nuts. I saw this headline and thought it would be about the 50th annivesary of the Ed Gien and Plainfield Wisconsin.

11/20/07, 12:20 AM
reader_iam said...

62 comments on too fat, 6 on too thin.

I guess there's some symmetry there.

11/20/07, 9:00 AM
Anonymous said...

This isn't just a problem in the fashion industry. It's no different than any other mental or physical disorder and needs to be treated accordingly.

I have a very good friend who suffered from bulimia and anorexia for years, before people even recognized the symptoms, rationale and treatment...and she'll tell you it's no different than being addicted to drugs, tobacco or alcohol.

I would also add that, regardless of how many stories we read like this, obesity is a much bigger (no pun intended) health problem than this will ever be.

If you believe it, think of how many people die from heart attacks, diabetes, etc...compared to anorexia.

11/20/07, 11:16 AM

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