We often criticize the bodies of extra-thin models. There is this automatic stereotype of anorexia, being malnourished, or just pity over what they must think of their body image. It is this body-type, however, that has dominated a majority of runway models in the modeling profession. Sometimes, it creates a distorted view of what true beauty looks like; there is a cookie-cutter definition of the "perfect" figure.
This past week, France lawmakers have proposed a solution, if that is what we would like to call it. This "solution" will require job-seeking models to present a doctor's note upon interviewing with documentation of a BMI no lower than is healthy for height and weight. The second half of this law will require media to specify which images have been retouched with a fine penalty for lack of labeling.
Shall I play the devil's advocate here? Say you are naturally thin; I have acquaintances who, if you didn't know them, appear to be underweight, but the actual underlying cause is genetic. Will modeling agencies and the doctors they are working with take into account the special conditions of these individuals? If factors along these lines are not considered, this is what is communicated: "your natural body type is unhealthy, unacceptable, and detrimental as an example to society."
Let's swing the pendulum in the other direction as well. There is also criticism and difficulty for women who are heavier-set to enter the modeling work. Interesting, you can't be too small, but you can't be too large. You can't, and if you are, either you won't get the job or you will be fired from the one you currently have as a model.
In a new song by Hailee Steinfeld titled "Most Girls," the lyrics praise women in general, the fact that "most girls are smart and strong and beautiful." I think she has something going here, women are beautiful and strong and ready to face the world. We as women want to feel empowered. We want to be celebrated. We want to feel enough.
You're not enough, well, because your body literally doesn't have enough to it. You're not enough because your body has too much. You're not enough because you are too normal.
So France, really get down to the nitty-gritty details of this law, and by all means, promote healthy individuals in the modeling industry, but look at the girls you are talking to, not just your models. Don't punish genetics. Don't just say, "You're too thin, FIRED."
