2008 Woodie Awards
Need for weight regulations for fashion models have yet to take place, only voluntary guidelines
Kaitlyn Zafonte
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Features
"So none of the girls here eat anything?" asks the protagonist of this summer's The Devil Wears Prada in disbelief. "Not since two became the new four and zero became the new two," answers the fashion magazine's connoisseur. "Well, I'm a six…" she proclaims only to hear, "Which is the new fourteen."
Although fictional, this short episode is a shockingly accurate portrayal of today's beauty standards. How did this new outlook come about? The girl next door who decided to lose five pounds certainly did not trigger this new phenomenon (or is epidemic a better word?).
The public has been bombarded with images of ultra-thin celebrities to the point that their skeletal-like corpses barely even faze us. Nicole Richie's bony body has certainly served as tabloid fodder, yet her anorexic-like state is still more accepted than the opposite scenario. When an actress gains so much as a pound, her stomach is scrutinized, her thighs analyzed, her butt examined, until the obvious conclusion is reached… She's expecting! Most likely she just ate an extra grape or two and is suffering the horrid effects of water retention.
But I digress. As a whole, we are brainwashed into believing in the attraction of skinniness. Yet this relatively new perspective of beauty completely contradicts accepted theories concerning human nature. From an evolutionary biology standpoint, attractive women are those who have a certain waist to hip ratios. Ample hips (and the existence of at least some fat) signify fertility, which is exactly what her male counterparts seek. Protruding bones do not exactly indicate one's prowess to procreate. So is this interpretation of attractiveness a hindrance to mankind? Okay, so maybe it might not cause the end of civilization in terms of gene distribution, but it is most certainly affecting a vast majority of the population on a psychological level.
Just as trends in clothing tend to trickle down from the haute couture level of the industry to the masses, the body type of the models strutting down the runway similarly influence the girls walking down the street. Just this past week, from February 2-9, the fashion world held one if its biggest events of the year: the Mercedes-Benz Fall Fashion Week. The clothes that the designers sent down the runway will dictate what will be in stores in the coming months. We see skinny jeans come down the runway. We buy skinny jeans. We see girls as thin as toothpicks come down the runway…We skip dinner?
Although fictional, this short episode is a shockingly accurate portrayal of today's beauty standards. How did this new outlook come about? The girl next door who decided to lose five pounds certainly did not trigger this new phenomenon (or is epidemic a better word?).
The public has been bombarded with images of ultra-thin celebrities to the point that their skeletal-like corpses barely even faze us. Nicole Richie's bony body has certainly served as tabloid fodder, yet her anorexic-like state is still more accepted than the opposite scenario. When an actress gains so much as a pound, her stomach is scrutinized, her thighs analyzed, her butt examined, until the obvious conclusion is reached… She's expecting! Most likely she just ate an extra grape or two and is suffering the horrid effects of water retention.
But I digress. As a whole, we are brainwashed into believing in the attraction of skinniness. Yet this relatively new perspective of beauty completely contradicts accepted theories concerning human nature. From an evolutionary biology standpoint, attractive women are those who have a certain waist to hip ratios. Ample hips (and the existence of at least some fat) signify fertility, which is exactly what her male counterparts seek. Protruding bones do not exactly indicate one's prowess to procreate. So is this interpretation of attractiveness a hindrance to mankind? Okay, so maybe it might not cause the end of civilization in terms of gene distribution, but it is most certainly affecting a vast majority of the population on a psychological level.
Just as trends in clothing tend to trickle down from the haute couture level of the industry to the masses, the body type of the models strutting down the runway similarly influence the girls walking down the street. Just this past week, from February 2-9, the fashion world held one if its biggest events of the year: the Mercedes-Benz Fall Fashion Week. The clothes that the designers sent down the runway will dictate what will be in stores in the coming months. We see skinny jeans come down the runway. We buy skinny jeans. We see girls as thin as toothpicks come down the runway…We skip dinner?
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
ebambi
posted 2/07/08 @ 11:39 PM EST
eBambi
The Models - Photographers (but not only) social network.
Join now:
http://www.ebambi.com
Post a Comment