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A disgruntled UK mom thinks “yes.”
The woman, Rosalind Ponomarenko-Jones, has a major bone to pick with the fashion industry, an industry that seems to perpetuate the craze of size 00 (and less) models. Rosalind’s daughter, Sophie, is the one of the skinny-fad’s latest victims, literally. Sophie, who suffered bouts of anorexia, died three years ago and literally withered away to nothing in the process. Initially, Sophie stood 5′ tall and weighed approximately 112 pounds — a weight that would be coveted as “perfect” in many eyes. When Sophie got sick enough to be admitted to a treatment facility, she weighed approximately 70 pounds. Even though her treatment seemed to be working, Sophie died not long after being discharged from the facility, weighing in at 42 pounds.
Sophie, who was a “normal”-sized, happy and healthy girl, died from heart failure, coupled with internal bleeding — a starvation side-effect that often goes about unspoken. Sophie had also begun to go blind in her last days on Earth. Sophie’s mother, Rosalind, penned an article in the UK’s Daily Times recently, which outlined her disdain for an industry that she claimed help murder her daughter. In a more disturbing portion of the column, Rosalind writes:
” … Actually, she could not even lift her head from the pillow of her hospital bed. Her vision was impaired and her mind was so addled by lack of nutrition that she could no longer think cogently nor express a coherent thought. She shivered constantly and no amount of heat could warm her.”
Obviously suffering from such a horrible emotional blow, Rosalind now beseeches the fashion magazine industry to allow disclaimers to come along with photographs of models who are far beneath their healthy weight range. Rosalind states that the following disclaimer — or a variation of said disclaimer — should go along with photos:
” … ‘Being this thin could lead to death,’ it might say. Then it could list the symptoms – shrivelled ovaries, brittle bones, wasted muscles and foul breath – of starving oneself. Not remotely alluring or sexy, are they?”
Rosalind concludes her heart-wrenching, first-hand account of her daughter’s death with this simple diatribe — which says so much:
“I do not believe that the pageant of ghoulishly thin women we see every time we open a magazine will actually be the sole cause of eating disorders in our children. But it will contribute to their illness; I have no doubt about that.”
What do you guys think? Obviously, other than the fact that this is a horrible, real-life, in-your-face kind of story, do you think that Rosalind’s got something here?
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How about just not using women who are that ridiculously thin in the first place? No magazine will print such a disclaimer and no designer will consent to put it on their ads.
Though I feel for this woman I disagree with what she wants, it would just lead to meaningless warnings and could be placed on obese people also, it’s stupid to me to put obvious warning signs on obviously unhealthy people.
I dunno what to think about this. I’m not sure that a warning will help, but I suppose I can see how the super-skinny models would be something a parent would want their kids to be warned about. Although honestly, I don’t think a warning would do much of anything. If someone wants to imitate that image, they’re probably just going to.
Or, as my mother said to me, “You get an eating disorder and we sell your horses. Next.”
Which did work, I must say. I mean, I am obsessed with my weight, but only halfheartedly and only because I am actually legitimately fat. When I lose the baby weight and do down to my ordinary size ten I will forget all about it.
Incedently, the fatter you are, the LESS people comment on it, it seems. When I was size 10 (I’m 5′10) people used to comment all the time – ‘If you lost weight you would’t have such big boobs’, ‘if you lost weight you wouldnt look like a lesbian’, and ‘what do you call that? (pointing at my back when my shirt had ridden up) is that back tummy?’ were all real comments I recieved from co-workers at one job. Now that I AM fat, and not just tall and busty with a big ass people don’t say much. Probably because I could sit on them and they would die.
I think it’s just that they see a slightly overweight woman and can pick out a few faults that could be fixed to make her perfect. Once you get past a certain size all hope is lost as far as they’re concerned and a few minor adjustments aren’t going to do a thing.
I thought that too, except that I wasn’t overwight and they kind of….were. Not that I would say anything though, because I was brought up not to make physical comments about people. Unless they ask. And then I will tell them if they are too fat, too skinny or just delusional.
Wow, Lady, I think you need to find a new crowd….some friends & acquaintances who treat you with the respect you deserve. How cruel of them to say such nasty things to you! Sounds like you didn’t let it get to you and blew them off like annoying gnats. Good for you!
Posting disclaimers on skinny women would be pointless. My eating disorder was all about me. It had little to do with the rest of the world. It is an obsession. It was about controlling one part of my life – my weight. Then I couldn’t control the control. I’m older, wiser and – just like an alcoholic – will always have an eating disorder. I still fight it one day at a time.
That is an awesome way of looking at it, one day at a time. So you can also say you are a survivor :)
I don’t spend time with these people – they were just workmates in a bakery while I was at uni 5 years ago! They were obsessed with my weight, it was very bizarre – older women with adult children, mind you! I don’t think a day went past when they didn’t say anything. The other girl who worked there was very petite and small. They constantly praised her figure and derided mine, which embarrassed both of us.
I even showed them my very prominant ribs once, and was told that it didn’t matter how small my waist was, if I had large bones I would always be too fat. At that illogical point I gave up and ate a pie.
Anorexia Nervosa is a real disease. It isn’t caused by fashion models. Studies show there are genetic factors, coupled with low self esteem due to mental or physical abuse, sexual or otherwise. It’s something these people feel they can control, in a world where everything seems out of their control. I think the only people affected by the super skinny models are other models around them taking their weight-loss tips… red bulls, cocaine, cigs, bullemia, whatever.
Related to this disorder are other behaviors such as cutting, hair pulling and drug or alcohol abuse. IMO These people need therapy, not to see beautiful healthy weight models with seemingly perfect lives.
“low self esteem due to mental or physical abuse”… couldn’t being constantly bombarded with images of people so much thinner being touted as the ideal count as a form of mental abuse and cause of low self esteem?
I agree that there are other factors and not everyone who sees these models will become anorexic, but for someone who already has risk factors these social pressures could be enough to put them over the edge.
Abusers have malicious intent. Magazines are a business, the intent is to make money from ads. Seeing a super skinny model is no more abusive than seeing a super obese one. That’s why I say these people need their heads screwed on straight through therapy and other medical measures. They need perspective in life, maybe talk to or read about holocaust survivors- who were starved maliciously, saw true abuse, murder, rape, torture to men, women, children and babies. You bleeding hearts who say an airbrushed, highly stylized image of an emaciated woman is abuse to young girls need to get your heads examined…
It’s not abuse, but it certainly doesn’t help anything. I’ve had a lot of issues regarding my body and self esteem since I was 12 and looking at these models certainly doesn’t make me feel better. They’re not the cause of anything, but they’re like the icing on the cake. And I honestly don’t think that having someone talk to a holocaust survivor would really do anything. Honestly, I could talk to every holocaust survivor there is, and I would still count calories and pinch at my fat in the mirror. Talking to someone who has suffered far more than me isn’t really fixing the problem.
Stupid idea. How about a disclaimer on the foreheads of people who blame others for their failings – “warning, brain inside in dumber than may appear”.
I don’t want to diminish the impact of anorexia, but it comes from many sources – not fashion magazines.
People need to grow up and accept responsibility for their decisions. And accept that other people are responsible for their own decisions.
i agree. It reminds me of Intervention the television show where they spend 45 minutes exposing how the neglectful crackhead mother of two had a horrible childhood and that is why she has had her kids taken away from her, which to my mind is trying to excuse her behaviour.
Anyone with any addiction (and I think in someways eating disorders can be addictive at least in symptom) who puts their addiction before their responsibilities is sick, yes. But they can also be an asshole.
I have had a few friends with eating disorders who were so wrapped up in their own illness that they a) caused those around them endless stress and pain, and b) were simply terrible friends who were completely self centered and uninterested in anything besides food and fitness. They used others as pawns to make themselves feel better, for example asking others out to meals and then not eating a bite. Which is awkward to say the least. Complaining about their weight to people who were much bigger than them. Again, awkward and derived social situation.
I have never had a friend with an eating disorder or an addiction who could maintain a friendship very long, because the attention of the person was completely internal and self-centered.
I think that looking to a person’s environment and childhood and whatnot can help explain some of the *reasons* they have ended up in a difficult situation, and may give insight as to the *influences* on their behaviour and decision-making. This can be useful for helping them move on, and helping others not get there.
But it does not and will never *excuse* their poor choices.
And mental illness is a completely different issue entirely.
Bahahaha I like Kai’s idea! I think we need stupid people disclaimers.
Ok, the woman in that picture looks a little like a grasshopper, and it’s kind of repulsive.
Moving on from that, I honestly don’t think a warning or disclaimer would help. I mean, they put those things on packs of cigarettes too, and tons of people still smoke them.
Is that a real model? Is that photo shopped? That is fucking disgusting.
I agree,I’m hoping its not real!
that picture is in fact photoshopped which makes me sick. Imagine how you would feel if someone made your picture look like that?
Granted the model is very thin, but this is beyond
http://www.snopes.com/photos/people/models.asp
scroll down to see the real pictures
also some people need to consider that SOME models (aka people, human beings) are NATURALLY that way! Its just how their bodies are built, i have known one such girl. You would look at her and think she must have had the most horrible eating disorder when in reality there was nothing wrong with her, proven by doctors.
also putting on a ridiculous label doesnt change the fact that if a young girl is already unhappy with her body, she is going to be unhappy with her body! A prettier girl in school can cause more of a problem then just seeing an ad.
Personally i would like to see less photoshop being used to ‘perfect’ models, alot of what we see 100% fake
[...] Should overly-skinny fashion models come with a disclaimer? [Zelda Lily] [...]
Here we are again, discussing the same topic over and over again. I’m young, but I have a good head on my shoulders. I can’t look at that woman and think that is “normal” or even “healthy”. Just by seeing the picture I can tell that woman is sick, or at least she doesn’t look “beautiful” to me. I think I can recognize difference between what’s “normal” and what’s not, I don’t need magazines to tell me that. Once again, we’re talking about the same topic, while fashion doesn’t change and models keep dying from eating disorders.
Although I do believe anorexia is a real, and possibly lethal disease, I think blaming it on super skinny models is ridiculous. What percentage of American women look at fashion magazines and see ads? 50%? 75%? Yet the statistic I found was that 1 in every 200 American women are diagnosed with anorexia. Meaning .5% of American women. If these pictures “caused” anorexia, the two percentages would be much closer. I think what is going on is that the disease makes these young women focus on these images much as suicidally depressed people focus on violent or despondent movies and music. The disease causes the interest, not the other way around.
I don’t think anyone is arguing that it’s a cause really, more of a trigger. If there are other issues in your life and you’re predisposed to things like anorexia then seeing these apparently successful and glamorous women who are painfully thin might be enough to trigger a full eating disorder.
I’d liken it to someone with an addictive personality. If they’re never exposed to anything like tobacco, alcohol, heroin, or any other addictive substance then they might well go through life totally unaware of their addictive personality. Once they have a few drinks or smoke a few cigarettes something switches in their brain and boom, an addict is born. Predisposition plus trigger equals a problem.
Trigger= cause. If the argument is that they would not have become anorexic without seeing the pictures, the pictures therefore caused it. The rest is semantics.
Besides, seeing a picture of someone else being thin is different from trying beer or cigarettes or whatever. It’s more equivalent to seeing pictures of people smoking or drinking.
You’re missing the point. The pictures don’t cause anorexia because if they did the majority of women would be anorexic. Most of us have seen these incredibly skinny women in magazines or online, even if just in articles like this one. It’s not a direct cause, just part of the puzzle. They might however trigger anorexia in a woman who is already close, someone with poor self-esteem or someone who has been abused in the past. It’s not a question of semantics.
Causes for an action can be divided into *necessary* conditions and *sufficient* conditions
Any thing may be one, both, or neither.
In this theory, the necessary conditions are ‘genetic predisposition’ ‘appropriate environment’ and ‘trigger’.
None of these are sufficient conditions (all alone). therefore calling it a cause is somewhat questionable.
Drinking alcohol, for example has the following necessary conditions:
having a mouth, having alcohol accessible, having a hand or other means to transfer alcohol from current vessel to mouth.
None of these however, on their own, is a sufficient condition.
Does that mean that ‘having a mouth’ causes the drinking of alcohol?
If it couldn’t happen without it, does that make it the cause?
Anorexia Nervosa is not just a physical disease but also a mental one and that’s why in some cases yes pictures of models etc. can contribute to it. Obviously it’s not always the case but I think it is a factor in someone becoming anorexic more often than not.
And I wish that what actually happens to these girls was talked about more, no one ever mentions the fact that they are pretty much killing themselves.
I don’t think anyone would claim that the fashion industry is the cause of eating disorders.
But I’d be lying if I said that the fashion industry didn’t contribute to my insecurities about my body during what was already a rough time in my life – puberty and adolescence. I’d also be lying if I said it doesn’t affect me now. Because it does.
I’m a size 5, I’m 5′6 and about 135 pounds. I should be happy and love the way I look because I’m at a healthy weight (right smack in the middle of the healthy BMI range). And there are days when I love my body and think I’m the sexiest woman on earth.
But there are also days when I look at myself in the mirror and frown, nitpicking at the way my tummy looks from various angles, or the slight dimples of cellulite that have begun to form on my thighs. I promise myself that I’ll skip dessert for the week, and fret about the 5 pounds I think I need to lose just as much as the 5 page paper I have due in my British Literature class.
And that’s sad.
Yeah, I don’t have an eating disorder. But that doesn’t mean media representations of ideal women don’t have an unwelcome and harmful impact on my life. I do think that the fashion industry has a responsibility to change course and feature real women of all shapes and sizes in their magazines and runways. The Anna Wintour toothpick-thin-is-the-only-way thinking needs to go.
It is the responsibility of the parents to ingrain it into their children’s minds what is and is not healthy. Lead by example.
Spanish retailer Mango used to have stickers of anorexic models on their changing rooms’ mirrors saying something like “look for help, you are truly beautiful as you are, anorexia is a deadly disease”. It wasn’t really nice to see but considering the amount of young girls who shop there, it was a good way to target their public.
And back to the article, I don’t think any kind of warning should come with pictures of overly thin models, I just think they should stop using them, because these girls who are being photographed are also human beings and keeping them that thin only to make clothes look good is comparable to what they did to some rhythmic gymnasts to prevent them from growing full-size.
Although the fashion industry certainly isn’t to blame, it is certainly not helping the issue.
The media is not specifically responsible for the way young girls think and behave, but it does circulate overarching ideals as a form of reality. The media takes a very complex idea, such as body image, and simplifies it to make it easily consumable by the masses. If all forms of media ceased to exist, do you think the common perception of the ideal body would be what it is today? People would be forced to look at the people around them as examples of what the body should look like instead of comparing themselves to a small percentage of the population which represents an unattainable ideal. (I don’t even really want to get into the discussion of ‘real women’ versus models; I think it is sufficient to say that the majority of models in magazines are not really at an ideal level of health; if they were, they’d look like athletes instead of stick figures).
That being said, I do not particularly think that putting disclaimers on ads will sway any young minds. After all, the ill effects of smoking are well known and posted in a similar way on cigarette ads, and people still smoke.
However, as it was mentioned, it will upset advertisers and magazines. This could potentially cause a change in the type of models used in magazines, as advertisers would want to avoid having such an awful disclaimer on their ads, and would therefore use healthier models. Cigarette companies don’t really have this option; they advertise with the disclaimers or they don’t advertise. This might be a way of changing the lack of responsibility currently felt by advertisers. After all, they are contributing to the voice of the media, and they should not take such a responsibility lightly. One ad means nothing, but the on slot of ads facing the public today entirely effects the way that people think on a whole.
Yes, this.
I actually think it could help. I had an eating disorder beginning at age 11 and although years later (in my 20s) I started to see what was underlying my bad patterns, at 11 years old I just thought I wanted to look like Stephanie Seymour.
I think that a more mainstream message about healthy weight that was linked with these images in some way might at the very least be able to open a discussion about healthy body image/realistic goals in younger people.
I can definitely see where she is coming from, although I think trying to get super skinny models out of magazines might be better.
When I was a sophomore and junior in high school, my two best friends were both anorexic, because they thought they weren’t skinny enough to be considered beauties (Uma Thurman and Nicole Kidman were their paragons of beauty), one of whom, during the worst of it, considered her 8 pack abs (she was a runner) “a huge gut”. I don’t think that either of them would have had such issues with their self confidence and weight if these super skinny women weren’t thrust in their faces as the paragons of beauty.
Companies use these models because when they do, we buy their clothes and other products. Consumers actually have the ultimate power, the power of the purse. And we have spoken and said we want to look at and look like super thin models. When companies have tried to use “normal” looking models, their products don’t sell. And don’t tell me that we prefer the skinny models because that’s what we’re sold. At some point, some advertiser tried a super thin model and got a good response so the advertisers have kept up with it.
You don’t like it? You find it offensive? Don’t buy the products those models advertise. Simple.
Good call. It’s easy to forget how much power our purchasing really has. When you purchase something you are in a way endorsing everything that company or brand or whatever sponsors. (part of why I try not to shop at Wal-Mart anymore)
I think this may be oversimplifying the issue.
Although purchasing power does hold great influence over advertisers, the advertisers also hold great power over what consumers come to desire.
For example, are the newest spring fashions really what the public collectively decided would be in fashion, or did the magazines tell us what the latest fashion would be, and then we bought in? As it is pretty unlikely that the global market just decided that garden dresses would be in this spring, I think it’s fair to say that it was the fashion advertisers that told us as much and we decided to buy.
The common perception of beauty is very much controlled by the media. Yes, perhaps we would all collectively decide that thin is beautiful without the influence of the media, but again, it is unlikely that so many varying individuals would all just naturally come to the same conclusion. The media acts as our collective brain in a way, and helps to create a mass general opinion.
Therefore, although we may decide on an individual basis to boycott advertisers that use unhealthy models, it is far more productive to change the collective public opinion created by advertisers to promote a healthy version of beautiful women.
And how do you propose to “change the collective public opinion created by advertisers” (which I still believe is stating the problem backwards)? Advertisers buy advertising because it is cost effective. It sells product. That’s why Tiger Woods was dropped like a hot potato. People didn’t admire him anymore and he couldn’t sell product. Not because the sponsors had some moral problem with him.
So how are you going to change the advertisers? Shame? Unlikely. Legislate the BMIs of the models they are allowed to use? Slippery slope. If you are going to say no one is allowed to create anything that might “make” someone feel badly about their body, what about never writing depressing music in case someone suicidal is listening? How about never writing a story about anything someone might get upset about? Don’t report news about any war because it might trigger someone’s PTSD. At some point, you can’t wrap people in any more cotton wool and you can’t strip the world of absolutely anything that might “trigger” some self destructive or damaging behavior.
I’m an overweight diabetic with some complications. Are you going to take all the junk food and candy ads off the tv and out of the magazines for me because if I don’t lose weight I can become terribly ill? No. And I don’t expect anyone to.
People are responsible for themselves. And yes, that includes sick (mentally and/or physically) people. Obviously there are varying degrees to which people can be held accountable for their own behavior depending on what their illness is, but most people are at the very least responsible for determining whether they are going to take steps to get well or to live the fullest life possible.
Recently, a friend of mine who is a health teacher, brought in a bunch of different magazines to her class of 10 year olds. Some were of fashion, some of cooking, some work out magazines and some other randoms. She asked the class to cut out and make a collage of what they think is healthy. Going over the posters by the end of class she realized that most of the girls AND boys had cut out pictures of sickly, skinny, skin and bone models. I think there HAS to be some kind of corralation there!
Has anyone ever seen the movie, “The Invention of Lying?” It’s pretty cute. There’s a part in there that shows advertisers on TV, and it’s basically what advertising would be like if they could not lie about the product. There’s a man on a plain white set, with a can of Coca-Cola, and he says, “this brown sugar water will make you hyper and fat. It tastes good.” It’s pretty interesting. I think if advertising were actually realistic, the world would probably be a much more bearable place.
I’ve made it no secret how I feel about advertising (I hate it). I often wonder how people in the fashion industry can face their children. Essentially, they put these unattainably thin models out there as the standard to what fashionable women should look like, and make it the gold standard. Do they want their daughters to be this thin? Do they want their daughters to contract eating disorders and take drugs to try to get that skinny? I just don’t get it.
If a woman or girl is naturally very thin, that’s perfectly fine and beautiful. I simply don’t understand why stick thin is the only body frame designers and advertisers think works.
I think something people fail to realize is that the reverse is true. There are many naturally thin people out there and the backlash against models and thin people in media affects them. I have known two naturally thin girls who have worked as runway and magazine models. They eat like crazy and go to the gym (mostly for tone), but as adolescents and teenagers they were constantly told that they were unhealthy and were taken out of class to go to counseling that they didn’t need.
Both have told me that while there are girls who become sick trying to get into the modeling biz most agents aren’t interested in marketing someone who’s going to get ill from not eating. It doesn’t do an advertiser much good to have models with sallow skin, thinning hair and sunken eyes.
Also, runway models tend to be thinner than magazine/catalog models because they’re there to show off someone else’s work- like a living canvas. Runway shows are more like installation art. Magazine and catalog models need to show that the clothes look good ON PEOPLE, so that you want to buy them.
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that pictures photohshoped for shock value just htought i’d let you know
[...] have found, predictably, that they are very damaging. These sites act as sort of a how-to guide to becoming anorexic or bulimic. They also provide moral support (that term feels so wrong here) and other types of encouragement, [...]
Good for her. Dumb bitch!