Weight Issues

So, the weight issue is raging on and I just gotta laugh. The insurgence of size 00 has got everyone on Anorexia Watch and of course the first thing the media do is pull out that photo of Nicole Richie in her sad, wee baggy bikini looking like she's been freeze-dried. And oh how I laugh when the same media go on about 'real' women like Scarlet Johansson. Yeah, Scarlet is exactly the type of woman I see pushing a trolley around Asda of a Saturday afternoon. But then at my local Asda the aisles are paved with gold, you pay for your food with buttons and Brad Pitt is serving Cumberland sausages at the meat counter. Come on people. The fact that Scarlet has hips wider than her handbag is where the similarity between her and 'real' women ends. So whilst everyone is cueing to crucify these people for being too thin, the fact that anorexic girls and women have serious, deep-rooted mental illness, of which anorexia is merely a symptom, seems to be overlooked. If it wasn't anorexia it would be something else. And to me, holding up a photo of Ms Johansson as a body role model is every bit as ridiculous as one of Victoria Beckham.

The simple fact is, celebrities aren't real. The may have began life as normal people but for one reason or another they got famous and totally lost touch with all sense of reality, so they themselves have stopped looking like real people. In fact I pity them. Because they are really just like you and me but have gotten themselves into a hugely competitive industry where how you look determines how successful you are, and most are not mentally equiped to deal with it. But it's always been like that and these people want fame so badly it's a sacrifice they are willing to make. That doesn't mean to say we have to blame them for all the anorexics out there. Society as a whole must take some of the blame. But of course pointing the finger at 'society' isn't quite as effective as pointing it directly at someones head.

And of course Madrid Fashion Week banned models with a BMI of less than 18. So, saying a fat person is fat because they sit on their backside all day eating chips is tantamount to blasphemy but saying that models are all coke snorting, anorexics is somehow OK? It's really not OK. Of course the fashion industry is rife with anorexia and drug abuse, but we seem to forget that most of these models are just teenage girls who, like foals, are all spindly limbs because they just haven't grown up yet. I don't think banning them because they don't fit into an out-dated, scientific ideal is really sending out the right message either. And I actually think it's hugely irresponsible of people to demonise these teenagers. If that doesn't mess them up I don't know what will.

I was an exceptionally skinny teenager and let me tell you it was bloody hard. I got taunted all the time for my weight, so much so that I used to eat tins of condensed cream to try and put some weight on. I was miserable. And I got called anorexic all the time. It was reverse weightism. The people who crucify these girls for being 'too thin' really need to have a word with themselves because they are just as guilty of body fascism as those people who demonise fat people.

Kate Moss is a fine example. When she hit the runway she was just a young girl. She caused international outrage with her "waifish" appearance. But look at her now. She grew up. She's a nice, healthy weight. She naturally filled out. And yes she takes drugs. But I suspect her drug taking is more to do with the fact she's partying all the time rather than an attempt to stay skinny. In my opinion, fashion is all about fantasy. I actually don't want to see 'real' girls in fashion shows. I love seeing these other-worldy creatures stalking the runway looking all ethereal. I can walk down Buchanan Street any day of the week and see 'real' girls, I can look in the mirror or watch friggin' Eastenders and see 'real' girls. The fact is the escapism offered by fashion is what makes it so alluring. Real life is all about paying rent, morgages and sick relatives. How dull.

So before everyone cracks open the fire lighters for the witch hunt, how about we look more closely at the real reasons anorexia is rife. Because let me tell you, it's about much, much more than just weight.

Queen Michelle

Comments

[Christine]

hi, i thought you raised some interesting points in this piece, in particular the media's idea of a 'real women'.
I think banning models with a low bmi is only the tip of the iceberg there are so many underlying reasons for these problems, and taking these girls off of the catwalk solves nothing.

[Queen Michelle]

The media's idea of 'real' women is ridiculously false and lets be honest if we banned fat people from anything there would an international outcry. The cold, hard truth is being overweight is exceptionally unhealthy and we should be doing what we can to tackle that issue first and foremost as it's a much larger (no pun intended) issue.

Ur a FATTTTTTTTTTT ASS?

[Queen Michelle]

I can't tell whether you are actually asking me or telling me! I'm a very skinny ass, I'm one of those girls who's BMI is less than 18...and my thighs don't touch when I stand..smug? moi? you bet your fat ass I am!

[Gillian]

Oh, yeah, being unhealthily skinny is something to be smug about *roll eyes*.

[Queen Michelle]

Oh what a typically ignorant person you are Gillian - skinny people = unhealthy. WRONG!!! I am actually very healthy. I eat what I want when I want and still have a very low BMI.

[sherrae]

how rediculous you are gillian !!! do us all a favor and look up hyper thyroid

[Mandoline]

What an ignorant person you are! How can you honeslty post the things above?! I mean "i'm proud because my thighs dont touch" ?!?!?! Thats effing sick. Here you are advertising for skinny people. there is a BIG difference between being thin (healthy) and skinny. Yes it gives an "otherworldly" vision to the modeling industry, but it's what also causes self-esteem issues with 90% of REGULAR american girls. They quit eating or over eat because they wish they were just as "otherworldly". So go you, backing and industry of sick, unhealthy YOUNG girls.

[Queen Michelle]

Mandoline put your bad spelling away, over use of exclamation and question marks and go and read a bit about eating disorders, then come back here when you have half a brain. Oh, and get a sense of humour whilst your searching for that half of your brain!