Pushing skinny: Should it be illegal?

We all know pro-ana websites are, by their very nature, extremely dangerous. The tips on losing weight, on how to stop hunger pangs, the “thinspo” pictures - they’re dangerous and potentially very damaging to the psyches and bodies of the young women reading them.

I don’t think there are any arguments there. As evidence: numerous search engines have taken down these sites.

But what about taking down every and any image that promotes excessive thinness?

That’s the dilemma at the heart of a battle being waged in France, where a groundbreaking new bill intends to bring down not only pro-ana websites, but fashion designers, advertisements, runway models and more.

A bill adopted Tuesday by the French Parliament's lower house recommends fines and prison sentences for offenders who encourage "extreme thinness," according to an AP story. More specifically, the bill would make it illegal to "provoke a person to seek excessive weight loss by encouraging prolonged nutritional deprivation that would have the effect of exposing them to risk of death or directly compromise health," slapping offenders with a prison term of up to two years and fines of up to $47,000...with punishment increasing to three years in prison and a $71,000 if a victim dies of an eating disorder.

This means that, if the bill passes in the Senate (full disclosure: I slept through government…and geography, for that matter…in school and as a result, have little-to-zero knowledge regarding a) legislative activity or b) the process of locating Rhode Island, South Dakota or Kansas on a map), fashion designers using models with BMIs of 15 could wind up in ze slammer!

I am all for anything the helps promote self-confidence among women, as well as any efforts to discourage poor body image. To be honest, when I first heard of this bill, I was all for it - I think it could send a strong message across France - across the globe - that we (regular women) deserve to love ourselves as is and don’t need to be slapped across the face with images of emaciated bodies and airbrushed “perfection” in ads.

Then I thought, “Well, some models are naturally very thin and this would be discriminating against them.”

Then I thought, “Scratch that” and moved into “How on earth could such a law be enforced - who defines what is “too thin” or how can you prove a model or ad or fashion show caused/contributed to an eating disorder?” And also, if "too-skinny" images are banned, what about "too-heavy" photos?

But that’s tempered by my firm belief that if there were a real, wholesale change in the way women were presented in the media - if the norm were something like this (a so-called “plus-sized model”) or this versus this or this - then we could really stop this madness and start embracing our bodies as they are, rather than constantly comparing and pinching and weighing and hating. I mean, seriously imagine a world where, from the moment your alarm clock sounds to the time you hit the sack, you don’t have to look at a single crazy-thin model, a single cellulite cream ad, a single “Lose 20 pounds NOW!” story, a single reality show covering NY Fashion Week or a model dying from anorexia-related complications. It would be unreal! Surreal. AMAZING.

Of course, fashion doesn’t cause eating disorders and neither do skinny models. I understand there is no direct, certian correlation and absolutely buy into the maxim, “Genetics loads the gun, environment pulls the trigger.” We cannot discount the impact our family, life experiences, stress leve, environment and more have on our body images. As for myself, I have a family history of ED and other psychological issues and firmly believe that played a role in my disease. BUT, I also think that if I had been born to the same family but been raised Blue Lagoon-style on a deserted island, I would be frolicking naked and slightly jiggling without a care in the world as we speak.

There are many critics of this bill, who say the whole thing is overly vague and would be too tough to enforce. Similarly-themed laws have been passed, though - remember in September of last year, it was announced during Madrid’s Fashion Week that models with a BMI below 18 would be banned? A 5‘9’’ model weighing 125 pounds would have a BMI of 18. (As a reference, I‘m 5‘10“ and weighed 124 at my lowest when I was diagnosed with anorexia in college. I looked horrid.) And just last week, French lawmakers and fashion industry members agreed to begin promoting healthier body images…but the woman who authored the French bill, Valery Boyer, said that’s not enough. Agreed.

Click here to read more...

Now, check out these reactions:

"Never will we accept in our profession that a judge decides if a young girl is skinny or not skinny, That doesn't exist in the world, and it will certainly not exist in France." - Didier Grumbach, president of the French Federation of Couture

"They are so thin during the shows, much more than the rest of the year. Sometimes it's really scary, like a concentration camp." - Juliette Menager, casting director for Joule Studio in Paris

"You're putting your finger in one hole in the dike, but there are other holes, and it's much more complex than that." - Marleen S. Williams, psychology professor at Brigham Young University who researches the media's impact on anorexic women

What do you think????

Comments

I'm with you, Leslie; my first thought was "yeah!", then I remembered it's way more complicated than that.
Who decides how thin is too thin? And then what? Does a person with Anorexia become a criminal? Do we jail people with EDs instead of helping them? What about people who are naturally skinny? And the flip side, what about heavier people? Who decides how fat is too fat? Does the government regulate weight? Do we force people to eat more or less?
I am all for promoting healthier bodies in the media and getting rid of the ultra-skinny "ideal." I'm just not sure that this kind of intervention is the right way to go.

Hmmmm...I'm not sure what I think about this, but I always feel bad if there is an article with very few comments...and I know this is brand-new today, but still. I absolutely love this blog and I read it whenever I get a chance. I think you make some valid points and it's nice to be on a page that promotes self-love. Also, Leslie you crack my soul up!

You make some very valid points about how legislating thin opens the door to legistlating fat (gee, imagine if they tried to do that here!).

It doesn't seem right to throw them in jail (i agree with alyssa) but perhaps the could institue a law that if you have a bmi under, or over, some limit that you can but forced into a program...but that doesn't seem right either. It seems to infringe on rights.

perhaps a voluntary industry policy would be more effective to keep models healthy.

I'm never quite sure how I feel about this. I don't think putting owners of pro-ana sites in jail would really help anything... I don't think anybody who owns a pro site could really be considered "healthy". Even if they believe it's a "lifestyle choice" or whatever, I think most of them probably developed a full-blown ED at some point. Putting them in jail could seriously harm their health, as I could see it definitely fueling things even more.

BMI alone also doesn't really say anything about a person's overall health. I have an ED and my BMI is 17.4 as of now. Logically I know that I am thin, but I'm very small-framed. So to most people I look "healthy thin" (people have told me so even when I was in the 16's). Yet people who are large-framed and/or athletic could look quite unhealthy at a BMI that would still let them model. I think this law would seriously let plenty of models that have EDs, but larger-frames and such still model. While smaller-framed, non-eating disordered models wouldn't be allowed.

It would be so nice if we could somehow change our culture so that health was the in fashion and the desireable body type, not a specific size. I would love to see a world where every person had a goal of enjoying their body and being the best, healthiest, most active person they could be. Treating their bodies with respect. Ah, someday.

To that end I absolutely think pro-ED sites and ads should be shut down. That goes for pro-Ana, pro-bulemia, and pro-binge or pro-gluttony sites all equally. There is absolutely ZERO reason for anything to be encouraging people to abuse themselves (or others!)

But really that has little to do with size, and that's where this legislation falters for me. I have seen 80lb women scarf a box of Oreos for lunch and I have seen 300lb women subsist on green tea, organic lentils and yoga. There is sometimes a correlaton between health and size, but not always. Maybe not even most of the time. You can't reward or punish people based on size, it's a terrible indicator of health.

Clarifying what I meant above, because rereading it makes it seem unclear to me!

Websites that encourage people to be anorexic, to overeat, or otherwise glorify eating disorders? SHUT DOWN and maybe even prosecute. Encouraging people to harm themselves is wrong, period.

Banning adverisements or models because of their size? No. I just can't get behind that. Who is to say if that waif like model is naturally thin or if she hasn't eaten in a week? You don't know - so the law needs to stay out of her personal medical stuff. There's no *direct* evidence of self abuse and no *direct* encouragement of pro-anorexic behavior. It would be absolutely unfair to try and prosecute these models simply for existing and making a living.

I wrote a post about this just yesterday. From my understanding, it's not people who themselves have anorexia that would be sentenced, it would be people PROMOTING anorexia. Granted, the BMI isn't a very good indication of your health and someone could be technically in the underweight category but still be healthy, but I don't think that this new bill is suggesting a cut-off point on BMI alone. I think that they would be taking into account a lot of different factors as to what contributes "extreme thinness" and it would likely improve the runway in encouraging people to maintain a healthy weight rather than being too thin. Coaches and agencies wouldn't be able to tell their clients to "lose another 20 pounds" quite so easily with this bill enforced.

I feel that I can see both sides because I am recovering from anorexia but I am also a journalism student, so I hear about freedom of speech on a daily basis. I have to go with my journalism side on this one - I don't think it's right to restrict people's freedom of speech. Sure, it's not healthy at all, because to be honest I used to visit those sites, but I just think there would be too many loopholes and it would be too hard to enforce to really be fair or useful.

Sagan, I'm about to go read your post. And I understand what this law would do. I guess the point I was trying to make (although not very well,lol!) is that it could be a slippery slope; this law could conceivably be used to then promote other laws that would make victims of EDs criminals.

I just have to say, every time I see "ED" I think erectile dysfunction. I know that here it refers to something entirely different, but it gives the article an entirely different (and funny) flavor when I read it incorrectly! :)

been back a few times reading people's thoughts...know once I START ranting, err, commenting I wont be able to reign it in----so Im not.

:)

I saw that article the other day. It's an interesting thing. Obviously they're trying to move the world into a healthier direction, but who's to say what is too thin, etc.

In a sort of related note, I was working with several "celebs" over the weekend and many of them came in for rehearsal without make up and not all "done up." I thought, geez, these people really are "normal" looking and not all that attractive when they don't have their stylists and hair and make-up people. Granted some of them were attractive without all that jazz, at least I thought so. My point is that we are (especially teens) bombarded with all of these perfect images of these stars. It's not until you see them in their natural state that you realize that they're really not "all that." It's sad that we get these images of perfection.

I am just babbling. I'll shut up now because I'm making no sense.

Yeah. Knee-jerk reaction is "absolutely. Do something about this; it's a problem."

But on further reflection...I'd be afraid that the next step would be to ban images of fat people, to keep from "promoting" that particular lifestyle. We're just finally getting to a point where not all of the public vilifies fat people and there are actually overweight or even technically obese people in the entertainment industry. I do fear that this might reverse that trend...

The bottom line is that, as someone wise once said, you can't legislate change. Not social change, which is what has to happen here. I think this change desperately needs to happen - but it has to come from within the fashion, entertainment and media industries. I wish I could say I believe that's possible.

Their hearts are in the right place...but it's probably not going to work, and might eventually lead to more harm than good. :-(

V.

Honestly, for this kind of thing to work I think you have to change people's minds about what defines beauty in women. This can be done - it has been done many times in the past - but this kind of change doesn't come from the top down with legislation.

That said, I would vote for this bill, even knowing it is completely unenforceable simply because it makes a statement. And if enough people take a stand, then things will change. I'm an optimist - I think things are getting better:)

I am one of the votes for "it doesn't matter...it can't be enforced anyway." I definitely appreciate the governments effort to save these young girl's lives, but how ON EARTH (literally) can they enforce this? Are they going to be monitored like The Truman Show? They could do physicals before fashion shows, I guess. Basically, the fashion designers have the upper hand here. If they look too skinny and don't hire them, the models will start gaining weight. They not only got so skinny for self image, but that was their livelihood. Take away their ability to make $10,000/day, they'll fix it. There just has to be consistency in the agencies for this to work.

There is no simple solution, each individual is different. It hurts to see anyone struggle with their body. Honestly it's jarring to the senses to see a person with that much space between their legs as much as it is to see a person spilling over either side of a chair. You just never know what that person is dealing with internally.

notto be rude, but that don't make sense, being 5'10 and 124 l bs, is NOT sick, its far from ill, and in order to be diagnosed with anorexia, you have yo be ATLEAST 18 lbs underweight as the guideline, not 3! and unless you are, the doctor can't diagnose anybody with it, i was once 18 lbs underweight, i did not look anywhere near sick, and i ate every single meal, i dont think the pictures help with peoples self esteem, but honestly, they should make pictures of obese people illegal first, that is the REAl problem. sorry, i just cant stand people worrying about these things first when their are worse things like obesity ( in our country that is) being a bit underweight does not cause as much problems as being a bit overweight. Im not shitting you it doesnt like the media wants youto beleivethat being thin is evil!

I object to pictures of super-skinny models purely on aesthetic grounds. This picture of a model in a bathing suit is just ugly, like every other pretentious stick-figure in a bathing suit. I honestly have a hard time believing these people are considered attractive. Their flawless skin and hair, an effect achieved for the most part by stylists and make-up artists, is enviable, but not their body types. Though I have felt self-conscious about my body size, it wasn't because of fashion magazines with skinny models. Those people have nothing to do with my life, so why do so many women care about these images? Women have to stop viewing themselves as a pile of body parts and start seeing themselves as a whole person. Imagine how much time, energy and money could be saved if all women stopped spending more than five minutes in front of the mirror each day.

I think this whole thing is a little scary, especially when you're talking about giving prison sentences to people on nebulous grounds. By the way, I'm 5'9 and weigh between 116 and 118. I know I'm underweight by the BMI scale (between 17.1 and 17.4), but am NOT trying to lose weight (trying NOT to lose it, actually) and simply don't have the appetite to eat enough to be any fatter. I've asked several doctors if they thought my weight was a problem and they said they didn't think it unhealthy, and the others didn't say anything about it, which I think they would have if they'd been overly concerned. Of course, my mom is totally convinced I'm anorexic (BTW, I'm 34 and live halfway across the country from my parents and rarely see them), and tried for years to get me to seek treatment before giving up.

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