Let me ask you something: What do you see when you look at these pictures?
Are you studying the clothing? Are you coveting the shoes & the accessories? Or are you taking note of the hairstyles & the makeup artistry? All of these are common observations, especially if runway fashion is your forte.
But let me tell you what I see in these pictures.
I see bulging kneecaps (that being the biggest part on the models’ legs); I see blatant rib-cages & collarbones; I see super-skinny wrists, & unhealthily lean bodies; I see bodies that are not proportionate, thus giving the models a frightening appearance (their heads seem too large for their bodies).
Those are the first & only things I notice. I don’t care if they’re wearing the latest fashions from Alexander Wang or Marc Jacobs… The models are far too thin, & it’s disgusts me.
& I don’t believe the bullshit remarks that these models have “always been really lanky & thin.” Standing 5’9” & weighing 110 lbs — like model Chanel Iman, who is rumored to weigh even less — is NOT normal for anyone, let alone a supermodel.
It’s pictures like these that keep me firmly responding “No, thank you” to the question “Why aren’t you a model?!”
Perhaps I shouldn’t care about the way their bodies look. After all, models are meant only to be mere canvases. They’re not supposed to provoke much emotion or thought. They don’t have a voice or an opinion on the runway or in fashion spreads in high-end magazines. Models are simply mannequins; posed & painted to showcase an artist’s (the fashion designer’s) work & let it speak for itself; nothing more, nothing less. So perhaps I’m too sensitive to their tiny frames. Perhaps I should just shrug it off… but I can’t. These are human beings, & they are representing women as a species. It’s a slap in my face & I take it very personally.
I don’t want to add to the noise of a subject that is already talked about. This topic is overdone, & there are so many other writers that portray their opinions & thoughts on this matter more eloquently than I do. & even in spite of all of the talk & disgust this topic creates, it’s obvious that nothing is changing; not any time soon, at least.
I suppose the point of this article is this: if these images bothered you as much as they bothered me, take physical action. Don’t buy magazines that have sickly-looking models within its pages. Don’t buy apparel from certain designers who employ these thin models to showcase their work on runways. Don’t post pictures on your blog that brag the latest fashions if the models look like they haven’t eaten in 10 days. Because it’s one thing to thumb your nose up to these horrifying images; it’s another thing to actually take a stand against them.
Realize, most importantly, that being stick thin is just as much of a trend as harem pants & studded tights. Understand the severity of this trend & what kind of effect it has on other women viewing photographs like this. Don’t listen to the irrational, societal-based thoughts that give you the idea that thinness = beauty (because it doesn’t). Pay no attention to the distorted images & dysfunctional models that are seen on runways today, & please… don’t represent or glorify it. It’s a sickness & we don’t have to accept it.
{photos courtesy of atsuii & google.}
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