The Skinny Model Debate - When Thin Becomes Dangerous

These days it seems like being thin is all the rage. Whether it be on television,in magazines,or at a fashion show,skinny models and celebrities are popping up all over the place. They consider themselves to be a hot commodity,and surely plenty of men do agree....they are downright gorgeous.

But some of these models have taken it above and beyond just being thin. They become obsessed with their body image,and thin is never thin enough. They look at themselves in the mirror,and feel that they need to lose more,and more,and more,until there is nothing left but basically skin draped over bones.

This is where the problem begins. Young women growing up all over the world look up to these people as role models. They want to talk like them,they want to walk like them,and most of all,they want to look like them . They are high and mighty celebrities,living the life that most young girls can only dream of.

But what these girls do not realize,is that these types of celebrities are struggling with many issues,most of which can not be easily resolved. They seem so happy and vibrant walking down the runway,or strolling across the red carpet,but inside they are extremely unhappy,and sometimes even on the brink of losing control. Are these women really such good role models for our children?

Things have changed a lot in the fashion industry over the last 50 years or so. In the 1960's,your average sized model would be somewhere around 129 pounds,with an average height of 5'7. In comparison to todays standards,that is a big difference! Now,the average model will likely be close to 114 pounds,with a height of 5'9. The weight has gone down,and the height has gone up,making many of these women at an unhealthy weight when compared to how tall they are.

By the time 1966 rolled around,there was a new face in town,who changed the way we looked at fashion models. A 16 year old famously known as "Twiggy" was a British teen model,with big beautiful eyes,a perfectly proportioned face,and an extremely thin frame. She weighed only 91 pounds,and stood 5 feet 4 inches tall. She was dubbed "'The Face of 1966",by the Daily Express,and was the woman that everybody wanted to be. Now,when I look at a picture of Twiggy,I see a naturally thin woman. Many people I'm sure do not agree with this,as there has been much debate over the years on why she was so tiny. But I feel that you can really tell when a model has a true eating disorder,and to me,Twiggy looked like a healthy woman,who just had much better genes than most of us.

Beginning in the 1980's,models such as Cindy Crawford,and Christie Brinkley were hugely popular. They were gorgeous,and made quite a name for themselves. I'm sure most of you know who they are without even looking at the pictures. Nobody could say that these models were too thin. In fact,they looked much like your average woman as far as weight was concerned,only with a much more toned body. This trend managed to stick around until the 1990's.

As the 90's were well underway,thinner models slowly started to creep their way into the mainstream. By the year 2000,it had become downright absurd. But,within the last few years,it seems that some magazines are trying to get the word out. Being thin comes with a high cost,and could end tragically.

Celebrities are not immune to the whole "too skinny" fad. In fact,it seems to have taken on a life of its own,as big name celebs such as Nicole Ritchie,Misha Barton,and Lindsay Lohan,all prance around Hollywood with limbs the size of twigs. Who can forget in 2004 when Mary Kate Olsen sought treatment for her eating disorder? It was undisclosed as to what type of eating disorder she was struggling with,but it is likely to have been anorexia.

When confronted by the media over their slowly diminishing frame,they insist that they eat plenty,even admitting to having a huge obsession with chocolate,or some other form of junk food. But the pictures tell the whole story.There is no need for words,because it is clearly noticeable when a woman is starving herself.

The tabloids make it even worse for these celebrities,because when they do get their life on track,and start gaining a bit of weight,they slap them on the front cover of a magazine with hurtful words such as "fat" emblazoned across the front of it. As you can see,It is no wonder these women have such issues with their body.

The young children of today look up to these celebrities even more so than with fashion models,because they are seen in movies,and on television much more often. The struggle to be thin can seriously harm a teenager,as their body image becomes distorted,to where they don't even recognize their body size for what it truly is. They see a fat person in the mirror,when in reality,they are slowly withering away to nothing.

2004 marked the beginning of Dove's Campaign For Real Beauty. The goal of this campaign is to have women recognize the fact that we all come in different shapes and sizes,and help them embrace and love the body which they were born into. In 2006,they also started the Dove Self-Esteem Fund,in an effort to change the way we look at ourselves,and ultimately realize that thin does not necessarily equal beautiful.

Also In the year 2006,Madrid,Spain put a ban on models who were too thin. This was quite a shock to the world,as this had never been done before. They started judging their weight according to the body mass index,also known as BMI,and if their weight was considered unhealthy according to this chart,they were not allowed to walk the catwalk during fashion shows. Other countries including Italy,India,and Brazil have all taken steps to ban unhealthy models from being in the public eye. Here in the Unites States,it has been discussed,but no such action has been taken,mainly due to the fear that models will be shouting discrimination and would ultimately lead to legal battles.

In the September 2009 issue of Glamour magazine,they included an article discussing body confidence in women. Along with this article,they published a tastefully nude photo of a 20 year old woman,by the name of Lizzi Miller. Lizzi Miller is not what most people would consider your average model,as she is heftier than the models you will often find in magazines. She weighs 180 pounds,and wears it well,with the confident attitude that we can only hope to find within ourselves.

Glamour received a flood of positive reviews after their September issue,and went on to publish an article honoring plus-size models in their November issue. The photograph featured with this article showed 7 models,all of whom were different shapes,but nowhere near the standard model size. And every one of them were oozing with beauty,from the inside out.

In closing,I would like to say that beauty is not just on the outside. Beauty is all about how you carry yourself,how you interact with others,and ultimately in how YOU feel about YOU. A fine example is the chubby woman who has the drop dead gorgeous husband latched to her arm. You might think to yourself,"What can he possibly see in her?" Well,he sees a woman that is confident,and perfectly fine with being who she is. She doesn't fuss 24 hours a day over her butt looking big,or her thighs jiggling while she walks. She is happy to be herself,and he is happy to be happy along with her. Some of the most confident women are plus-sizes. Ironic isn't it?

Of course,it is important to remember that if you are excessively overweight,it can also cause many health problems. But do not push yourself to be a size 0. If you are trying to lose some weight,keep in mind how much weight you are losing per week. It is unhealthy to lose a large amount of weight in a very short time period.Most of all,just be you,and be happy. There isn't another you out there in this world,and be confident that you are an individual,with a personality that could conquer the world.