I was pretty shocked to see this article the other day regarding the banning of too-skinny models. It details the Spanish governments plan to ban models that are dangerously thin by using a minimum body mass requirement.

Geez it’s about time!

I think this is a really positive step. Not just for young girls who look up to those super skinny models but for the models themselves. Obviously, models are held to near-impossible standards. Few people are born 6 feet tall and rail thin with a beautiful face. For the girls in the industry I would imagine the pressure to remain thin and gorgeous is immense. For the rest of us who are not models, are not 6 foot and are over 100 pounds, that ideal is unrealistic. It is about time someone put a stop to the madness. There is nothing wrong with being thin, or wanting to be thin, but a line needs to be drawn in the fashion industry.

A lot of people blame the fashion industry and the media in general for increased eating disorders amoung young girls. While I do not think they are to blame outright, I do think that they contribute to the issue of poor body image.

Recently Dove launched a campaign that includes normal looking women of all shapes and sizes (campaign for real beauty). It is incredibly refreshing to turn the page in a magazine and see real women in the Dove ad campaigns. Oprah did a show on wearing the right jean and bra size. She brought out the “dove girls” from the ad campaign to model bras. These women were standing on stage on national television wearing a bra and pajama pants. They were not all 6 feet tall and thin, they were normal women, all different sizes with real bodies. It was powerful. Regular women with back fat and real thighs on national tv modeling bras?! They get paid to model but they look like any woman on the street. Bingo!

What do you think would happen if more companies started to use real women for ad campaigns? I think most female consumers would take notice, and I think they would like what they see. You can certainly argue that people don’t want to see some frumpy model on the cover of Vogue. Fashion is about the illusion, the ultimate beauty, we want the fantasy. If she can look that good wearing that couture gown/using that fragrance/wearing jimmy choos, then so can I!

Newsflash: You can only look like you. No matter what brand you buy or perfume you wear. So let’s see some more regular women up there on stage and in the pages of fashion magazines. I don’t know if that would help solve some of the body issues that are so prevalent amoung young girls today, but it is worth a shot. It would be pretty comforting to be able to relate to the models they see on tv and in magazines.

A very small percentage of the population looks like Kate Moss, so let’s give the rest of the world a shot at being glamourous.

UPDATE** - Just saw this article in people magazine regarding the model ban.  

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