Recently, major celebrities in the fashion industry have taken it upon themselves to speak out against the use of unrealistic models in their campaigns. One does not need to look far for these comments: New York Magazine headlines read "Anna Wintour Says Vogue Does Not Photoshop Girls Thinner, and Now Aims to Show a Wider Variety of Body Types," or as Times Newsline headlines read, "Michael Kors Unveils New Age Limit for Models," a proposition Kors advanced due to the perceived prevalence of poor body images in relation to the fashion industry. In an age when Photoshop and airbrushing have seemingly run rampant in magazine advertisements and models are making headlines not due to their physical beauty but from deaths resulting from reckless dieting schemes, these actions could not have come at a better moment. To illustrate the disparity between reality and the images the fashion industry chooses to display, The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness published this harrowing statistic: "The average woman is 5'4" and weighs 140 pounds. The average model is 5'11" and weighs 117 pounds. Most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women." These unrealistic images also affect men. Popular culture images give men the desire to be more muscular and cause them to work out and diet excessively. This is illustrated from the Alliance's statistic that "Time Magazine reports that 80% of all children have been on a diet by the time that they have reached the fourth grade."
In her book "Body Image: Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men, Women, and Children", Susan Bordo notes that "digital modification of images means that we are being educated to shift our perception of what a normal woman's body looks like, so that we see our own bodies as wanting because they do not match an unrealistic, polished, slimed and smoothed ideal." This analysis on the usage of digitally modified images of bodies unfortunately comes as no surprise after this October's Ralph Lauren scandal involving an overly digitally edited version of model Valentina Zelyaeva. What is truly sad about these images is that the models are already thin, and then edited to be thinner. The use of digital editing in the fashion industry is controversial in itself and is used to correct cellulite, blemishes, scars, and so forth in attempts to form the perfect body. The use of Photoshop in the fashion industry insinuates that either there is something wrong with the way someone looks, or there is an image that is impossible to naturally attain that the fashion industry related company wishes to project. Both reasons are not appropriate when dealing with human bodies.
There is hope yet for the fashion industry. With the recent push for realistic looking models in advertisements, some businesses in the industry are trying to take control of the situation. With the revolutionary Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, to the recent plus sized issue of V magazine, readers can now see plus-sized models proudly displaying their bodies. It is interesting to note that a recent study by Arizona State University "found that overweight consumers demonstrated lower self-esteem - and therefore probably less enthusiasm about buying products - after exposure to any size models in ads (versus ads with no models). Also, normal-weight consumers experienced lower self-esteem after exposure to moderately heavy models, such as those in Dove soap's 'Real Women' campaign, than after exposure to moderately thin models." However, the effect remains to be seen because the problem was not created immediately. In the book Starving for Salvation: The Spiritual Dimensions of Eating Problems Among American Girls and Women, Michelle Mary Lelwica traces a connection between Twiggy's first appearance as a model in 1967 at 5'7 and 91 pounds and the dietary guideline issued by the federal government ten years later warning Americans of overeating. Lelwica states that this guideline gave rise to the subsequent diet industries.
There is, however, the potential beginning of a movement to create a positive change in the way that people view their bodies. Students at the University have been speaking out against the societal pressure to be thin with Celebrate Every Body Week, and the silent protest of Day Without Mirrors. No person should have to feel inadequate based on fictional representations of bodies. It is important that prominent societal leaders speak out against the unrealistic usage of models. Maybe then, and with repeated exposure to reality and more campaigns of "real women" society can overcome the pressures to be thin.
Ashley Ford's column appears on Tuesdays. She can be reached at a.ford@cavalierdaily.com.
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