Less than a week after the French fashion industry signed a charter promising to promote healthy body images in magazines and on the Paris runways, the French parliament's lower house adopted a controversial bill that would make it illegal for anyone to publicly incite extreme thinness.
The bill has yet to be approved by the French Senate, which will review the proposal in coming weeks, but if approved, it will be the strongest of its kind anywhere.
However, doctors warn that the link between eating disorders and media images remains hazy, and Didier Grumbach, president of the French Federation of Couture, made no secret of his strong disapproval of such a sweeping measure. "Never will we accept in our profession that a judge decides if a young girl is skinny or not skinny," he said. "That doesn't exist in the world, and it will certainly not exist in France."
Do you think this is a step in the right direction?
J Brand
Miu Miu
Oscar De La Renta
You go, France!
1In theory it is a good idea and a step in the right direction, but I don't know how far they will go with enforcing such a law, because some people are just naturally thin. So I'm a bit confused as to how they will go about this, maybe when I get more information I can make a make a better judgement.
2It has to work, I'm mean... did anyone see Paris Fashion Week??? The models are fading!
3Good news is that I notice that the Hollywood actresses are more healthy..
The model in the pic is gross. There is no way that you could be naturally that thin.
4That model in the picture scares me. I am wondering if it hurts.
5I also have a question: How does the model above and others that look like her, present the clothing well? I am too busy looking at the boob, back, and bones.
6good question bellaressa. it hurts me to look at her. she's going to break any second.
7This was posted in citizen already... with different pictures. The fact that there's such a variety of pictures of skin and bones models says enough... but I still don't think it's a government matter. The French fashion industry should be governing that themselves.
8ew to that pic
9that is just plain unhealthy.
10If you're going to make it illegal to "promote" thinness, then wouldn't it only be fair to make it illegal to promote obesity? If the goal is to only show a "healthy" body image, then it doesn't seem right to single out excessively thin people when obesity is a much bigger problem (no pun intended). Then, in both cases, there's the question of how you decide what constitutes as illegal.
11I know they have good intentions, but I think this is a sensitive subject and I'm not sure this law is going in the right direction.
It might be a step in the right direction. French models are known to be smaller in build and so to start something like this there, might bring more awareness to the problem at hand. Seriously, the model in the picture looks almost skeletal, how is that considered beautiful? Its just way overboard and dangerous to one's body.
12I understand that some woman are just naturally super-skinny, but that is 5% of the population - why do they have to select 5% of the population to model all of their clothing? And does it make me want to by a designer's clothing more? Umm...no!
It is up to the fashion industry and media to start selecting more common figures (that are beautiful rather than bony). That said, I don't want to see super-skinnies banned from the industry because that is a body-type that deserves equal viewing time, but more VARIETY is the key.
13natural skinny girls do not look like that, at least I don't...
14I don't think it's a government matter. What is too skinny? Couldn't diet aid companies come under fire too for promoting skinniness? Slippery slope. They'd be better off to pressure the fashion industry financially by not allowing fashion shows in public venues or putting a tax on fashion ads until the fashion industry changes its ways.
15Umm some people can't help it if they're skinny, people are just mad cause they're skinny, are people mad at fat people, um no I don't think so. wtf?
16spharrell...I'm not sure who you think is promoting obesity. Last time I checked being obese was "wrong" in our society. I've never seen it promoted as the next best thing.
I think it's a move in the right direction. The fashion industry can use thin, but not anorexic, models if they choose to.
17well i think that they should not be using girls that are anorexic. like there are signs to know if they are or not, they should be looking out for those.
and considering skinny people, some people are just born that way, like me. i am 5'7'' and 105lbs and i eat all the time and i have trouble gaining weight. this negative view doesn't aid in my self confidence. like people think i am anorexic and i am not and then it makes me feel that i have to be fat to be accepted, which isn't healthy to begin with.
but i believe that they should be just using all the body types on the runway, even if they do not make the clothes look "right".
18ew. am a big advocate of eating healthy and looking good . she is gross get a cheese burger!
19That is so disgusting.
20Good!
21nasty
22I think that's a great idea! Even if it is difficult to enforce, it's a public acknowledgement that there are certain groups and organizations out there promoting extreme, unnatural thinness and eating disorders, and that this is wrong. This isn't about people who are naturally thin - it's about fashion houses who specifically pick anorexic models (and really, how many of you really think that the model in this picture is naturally that thin? None of you, I'll wager - this model has a problem.) to model their clothes, and magazines who refuse to hire a model that's anything but a size 0 or smaller, and pro-ana movements that give women lessons in depriving themselves of the food their bodies need to function properly.
Maybe "French Women Don't Get Fat", but that doesn't mean that the emaciated look is the ideal - it's all about a healthy, realistic body image. And I think this law is a fabulous idea.
23Post New Comment
Please share your opinion with our community, but make sure it is on topic and follows our Community Rules. We moderate comments and prohibit personal attacks, threats, spam, lewd images, or the promotion of your personal website.