The Body of FashionSarah A. Coleman

May 14, 2015MCS 429

Introduction

Body image and self-worth are a major issue throughout the

fashion industry that is infecting the minds of young girls everywhere.

Young girls are being taught that they need to be thin to feel or be

pretty. The majority of these issues lead to extreme dieting at a young

age and more progressively to an eating disorder and mental illness.

Girls today will do nearly anything to be thin. And that started back in

the 1970’s when girls started taking diet pills and amphetamines to

decrease appetite and increase weight loss. The message the media

and the fashion industry portrays is that the only way to be, is to be

thin. The fashion industry has a lot to do with the mindset of girls by

only featuring extremely thin models that have features more like a

twelve year old boy than they do of a feminine young woman. Eating

disorders take a huge toll on your body physically and mentally. Young

women today, need to realize that being healthy is much more

important than being thin. Conformity has truly been an ongoing issue

since the early 1900’s. The body shape of women was supposed to

drastically change to fit the norm of fashion.

Review of Literature

Negative body image is an increasingly hot topic among the

fashion industry today! Demi Levato said, “I’m not going to sacrifice

my mental health to have the perfect body. “ If only this were true

among the majority of young girls today. The ideal body of fashion has

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changed drastically over the years, especially within the past decade.

While the fashion world cannot be blamed for genetics, family and

relationship problems or perfectionist attitudes that encourage

changes in the body, it is fully responsible for making thinness in

women appear highly desirable. While this may seem desirable to

most, female empowerment and control has been on the rise in the

recent years. But like mentioned before, not in the majority of young

women in western civilization and worldwide. It all begins in youth,

ages as low as nine years old. Young girls that are exposed to the

media and to fashion magazines today feel as if they are to strive to

become more like the images they see printed on those pages. Sadly,

there is no specific age group this is affecting. One study shows that

fifty-percent of girls as young as nine and ten years old have dieted to

feel better about their selves. Young girls idolize models, celebrities

and anyone in the media with a significant status. For girls at that early

of an age to feel low self-esteem and self-worth are more likely to lead

to eating disorders and mental illness in the future. They are being

bombarded with the message that they need to be super skinny to feel

pretty or sexy, as its mostly phrased. “Girls are being taught very

young that thin and sexy is the way you want to be when they grow

up, so they better start working on that now”, says Sharon Lamb, co-

author of Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing our Daughters From Marketers’

Schemes. Today, some revealing and sexy clothing is available in sizes

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as small as 6X. (Hellmich, 2006) The entirety of the problem stems

back to the fashion industry which continuously causing problems with

girls of all ages, but the problem starts at a very young age. The

majority of teenage girls anticipate the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show

every year, which reveals extremely thin models. Not implying that

Victoria’s Secret models are the only ones influencing young girls, but

it is the only fashion show during fashion show season provided to the

world through television. Half of the models resembling body types of

people with eating disorders such as anorexia. Anorexia is a mental

illness affecting over half of the fashion industries models today.

Anorexia thin bodies are seen as the norm. Experts are saying that the

fashion industry has gone too far in pushing a dangerously thin image

that women and even very young girls try to imitate. Frederique van

der Wal, a former Victoria’s Secret model, said she was shocked as she

viewed the models on the catwalk. She said they seemed thinner than

the previous year. Also she states that “this unnatural thinness is a

terrible to send out. The people watching the fashion shows are young,

impressionable women.” Psychologist and eating disorder specialists

are worried about the same thing. They say this cult of thinness in the

United States, is due to fashion models. Throughout the past decade,

the models mental state of being has deteriorated and conformed to fit

this specific ideal body and size of fashion. The fashion industry is ever

changing and ever growing, but the models are not. The models in this

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industry have strict requirements and guidelines. And a healthy mental

state of being is not one of those requirements. Models are pressured

to fit a certain idea and image the company has portrayed throughout

time. The bodies of models have been required to conform to the norm

of that era. 1910, the models were heavier and corsets ruled the day.

Girls were round and soft and the body was gathered together by a

small waist. 1920, was the era of the flapper; short, slender and

straight as an arrow. The ideal body was sought after the 1921 Miss

America, Margaret Gorman, weighing in at 108 pounds and five feet

tall. 1930, curves begin to make a small comeback. Then in 1950, its

curves galore! Elizabeth Taylor was whom women longed to look like

with the measurements of 36/21/36; thirty-six inch bust, twenty-one

inch waist and thirty-six inch hips. Perfectly proportioned like an

hourglass figure. And it continues to go back and forth throughout

history. No matter what the body type, the media and societal views

have always influenced the mindset of women. Women are always

expected to fit whatever the norm is and whatever society wants them

to be.

Kelly Cutrone, owner of People’s Revolution, a company that

produces fashion shows worldwide said that most of their models are

“between the ages of 14 and 19, with an average age of 16 or 17, and

some are older. Many are 5-foot-10 or 5-foot-11, have an average

weight of 120 to 124 and wear a size 2. She said, if they get a girl who

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is a size 4, she is not going to fit the clothes. Clothes look better on

thin people. The fabric hangs better.” (Hellmich, 2006) If people with

that much influence in the industry are going to push the issue of

being and staying thin, nearly to an unhealthy extent, then people are

going to believe that is the way they should be. They will start

believing they are not good enough if they do not fit that image. Then

they will, over time, become depressed, have an increased amount of

anxiety, anger and dissatisfaction with their bodies. All of these issues

lead to extreme dieting and even eating disorders. Like previously

stated, the mental health of women everywhere is influenced by the

usually underweight body image of society. The majority of models in

the fashion industry has or will have an eating disorder at some point

in their career. Since this has been an ongoing problem, women have

started to step up and make a change. Italian model Isabelle Caro,

weighing only 59 pounds died from anorexia nervosa at the age of

twenty eight. She was on a campaign as a spokesperson about the

harm and dangers of anorexia at the time of her death. Eating

disorders and negative body image literally take the life out of people.

When will the fashion industry wake up and stop? Recently,

organizations are being founded to promote self-respect, positive body

image and mental health, and to challenge the fashion industry’s

dependence on unachievable and limited beauty ideals by respecting

diversity. Organizations such as “All Walks Beyond the Catwalk” and

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Dove Beauty and Cosmetic Company have embarked on a campaign.

Eating disorders and mental illness are real issues that seem to never

cease to exist in the fashion industry and throughout society.

Even though fashion models play a huge role in influencing the

minds of young girls everywhere, Stephanie Schur, designer of her own

line, Michon Schur, says she doesn’t believe as many young girls are

today are going to try to imitate the fashion runways like they did in

past years. She says they are more likely to look to actresses for their

ideal body image. (Hellmich, 2006) While this may be true, fashion

models and the industry as a whole still play a significant role. Female

actresses today are becoming more controlling and empowering to

their viewers. For example, Jennifer Lawrence who plays the role of

Katniss Everdean in the major motion picture trilogy, The Hunger

Games, has had a lot to say on this issue since the film came out in

2012. She was told she needed to lose weight for certain roles she was

cast in, especially the role of Katniss. Critics said she was “too curvy to

play Katniss”. J-Law, being J-Law of course laughed it off and fired back.

She claimed she tried to make her body look as normal and as fit as

she could. She wanted to portray an image of strength and

empowerment for all young girls. She encourages everyone to be

comfortable in their own skin. She also states that she believes calling

people fat should be illegal and it’s dumb to stress over weight. She

was one of the first to speak up about the controversial issue on weight

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and body image. Ever since, more and more organizations, actresses

and people of influence have followed her lead with advertisements

and campaigns stating “I’m beautiful the way I am”. None the less,

young girls have started to have a more positive body image and self-

worth since someone people admire finally took the stand and said she

was not conforming to the way society believed she should be. But

there is still that influence of the fashion industry that will be ingrained

in the minds of young girls everywhere.

Discussion

This issue is near and dear to my heart. Three years ago, I

overcame anorexia nervosa. I could not let it control my life any longer.

Like the most young girls, I have always been interested in staying up

to date with fashion magazines. The magazines help me keep up with

the current trends. Movies help as well. I have always been a dancer

and an athlete for as long as I can remember. I danced with the Lake

Charles Civic Ballet for many years. Ballerinas are expected to

maintain a certain and specific image a lot like models are. After taking

off a few years of dancing with the company to be involved in school

activities, I returned to the company my first year of college. Even

during the years I took off of dance, I still wanted to maintain a thin

body. That same year, the psychological thriller The Black Swan was

released. After I watched it, I was determined I was going to imitate

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Natalie Portman’s exact body type and look. She is very petite and

extremely thin to the point of her bones being revealed with every

movement. Every fine movement could be seen on every inch of her

body. She was what a true ballerina’s body image should look like. I

began working out more, running more, staying in the dance studio for

hours on hours and quit eating nearly all together to aim for this

image. In the process, I began a relationship which turned abusive.

Before the relationship, my mental state on shaky but after it started

there was no turning back. I was sick with a mental illness. I had every

symptom and mannerism to the T of anorexia nervosa. The depression,

anxiety, anger and dissatisfaction all set pretty heavy with me. This

illness plays a huge toll on every ounce of your being. The media

influenced my every thought process, as well as my relationship. I

wanted to look like he wanted me to. I also wanted to be the tiny

ballerina that could wear any outfit I wanted. Being told you’re fat

when you are smaller than you’ve ever been and weigh 110 pounds is

one of the hardest things to wrap your mind around when you are sick.

Most people don’t realize how terrible this disease is and how common

it is and how many people it affects. Most also don’t understand that

counseling and getting help are almost a necessity to overcoming this

illness. You have got to get to a point to where you understand you are

truly sick and cannot beat it on your own. You have also got to

surround yourself with positive people who make you happy and aide

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you every step of the way. I believe it is very important for young girls

to feel comfortable in their own skin and have a positive body image.

We must fight to stay strong and we cannot let the media influence our

minds to the point of losing control. The positive advertisements and

campaigns are going to help the future generations more than they

know.

Conclusion

Overall, I believe this issue is one that should not be overlooked

and brushed off. Negative body image and eating disorders/mental

illness due to the influence of the fashion industry and media are

playing a huge role in the majority of young girls in society’s lives.

From age 9, on up, people are being influenced and swayed in every

direction to conform to what society wants us to be. With campaigns

and organizations to now aide young women of the future generations

feel comfortable in their own skin, the previous and current

generations must stay strong and take control of their mental being.

The people of the fashion industry are going to waste away if we allow

the media and society to keep convincing us that thin is the only way

to be. The majority of the models in the industry will have or have had

an eating disorder; some have had help while others need help and

counseling. Actions must be taken before the mind allows this illness to

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take over and eventually cause extreme health issues or even death.

Train your mind to be confident, train your mind to be yourself and to

not believe you have to conform just train your mind to be you.

ReferencesWomen's Body Image and BMI: 100 Years in the US. (2015). Retrieved

May 14, 2015, from rehabs.com: http://www.rehabs.com/explore/womens-body-image-and-bmi/

Hellmich, N. (2006, September 86). USA Today. Retrieved May 13, 2015, from Do thin models warp girls' body image?: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-09-25-thin-models_x.htm

Wolf, N. (2007). High Fashion and Eating Disorders. Retrieved May 14, 2015, from Femanine Beauty: http://www.femaninebeauty.info/eating-disorders

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