France weighs skinny model ban
Paris (CNN)- French lawmakers are weighing (1) a ban on extremely thin models
New legislation debated in Parliament Tuesday would require modeling agencies to get medical certificates from models proving that their body mass index is at least 18. Models would also be required to undergo (2) regular weight checks. And agencies that violate the law could face fines and even possible prison sentences.
Dr. Olivier Veran, a doctor and French lawmaker who's proposing the measures, said it's time to put a stop to the practice of pressuring models to be so thin that it's dangerous for their health.
"We want to combat the idea that an agency could urge (3) a model to stop eating; for example eating cotton balls to lose their appetite, to always lose more weight," he said.
Seeing models' bones as they parade (4) down the catwalk is a troubling trend, Veran said.
"We have had chief (5) editors of prestigious magazines tell us that more and more often, they are obliged to use Photoshop, not to make the models look slimmer," he said, "but to erase the tracks of bones under the skin, to make them look bigger."
Vernan's proposed amendments (6) to a health bill would also target the dark online world of pro-anorexia websites that promote self-starvation and encourage young women to post photos of their emaciated (7) frames (8).
The average BMI for a woman in France is 23.2 -- the lowest average in Western Europe, according to a 2009 study from France's National Institute of Demographic Studies.
In France, Veran said, 30,000-40,000 people suffer from eating disorders, mainly teenagers.
Marisol Touraine, France's minister of social affairs, expressed her support for the new anti-anorexia measures in an interview with CNN affiliate BFMTV.
"The approach is good," she said, adding that the government will have to examine the wording (9) of the new legislation in further detail.
Extreme cases such as that of French model Isabelle Caro have sparked calls for change for years. Caro died in 2010, three years after she posed nude in a controversial ad campaign against anorexia.
Similar concerns in Spain, Italy and Israel prompted (10) those countries to adopt laws against the use of ultra-thin models on catwalks and in advertising campaigns.
Israel even has strict rules on how model's bodies are Photoshopped; any changes must be clearly marked on the photo.
Some in the industry are supportive of the proposed laws, but say they don't strike at the real issue.
"The fact of the matter is, fashion creatives have to think about the messaging they are promoting around body image ideals and the fact they are normalizing an unachievable physical appearance," said Caryn Franklin, a fashion commentator.
Veran's legislation is set to go before the French Parliament at the end of the month for discussion. And he wants to outlaw what he calls starving models by the end of the year.
"I think that by the end of 2015," he said, "we will no longer have anorexic models on the catwalk."
Vocabulary:
New legislation debated in Parliament Tuesday would require modeling agencies to get medical certificates from models proving that their body mass index is at least 18. Models would also be required to undergo (2) regular weight checks. And agencies that violate the law could face fines and even possible prison sentences.
Dr. Olivier Veran, a doctor and French lawmaker who's proposing the measures, said it's time to put a stop to the practice of pressuring models to be so thin that it's dangerous for their health.
"We want to combat the idea that an agency could urge (3) a model to stop eating; for example eating cotton balls to lose their appetite, to always lose more weight," he said.
Seeing models' bones as they parade (4) down the catwalk is a troubling trend, Veran said.
"We have had chief (5) editors of prestigious magazines tell us that more and more often, they are obliged to use Photoshop, not to make the models look slimmer," he said, "but to erase the tracks of bones under the skin, to make them look bigger."
Vernan's proposed amendments (6) to a health bill would also target the dark online world of pro-anorexia websites that promote self-starvation and encourage young women to post photos of their emaciated (7) frames (8).
The average BMI for a woman in France is 23.2 -- the lowest average in Western Europe, according to a 2009 study from France's National Institute of Demographic Studies.
In France, Veran said, 30,000-40,000 people suffer from eating disorders, mainly teenagers.
Marisol Touraine, France's minister of social affairs, expressed her support for the new anti-anorexia measures in an interview with CNN affiliate BFMTV.
"The approach is good," she said, adding that the government will have to examine the wording (9) of the new legislation in further detail.
Extreme cases such as that of French model Isabelle Caro have sparked calls for change for years. Caro died in 2010, three years after she posed nude in a controversial ad campaign against anorexia.
Similar concerns in Spain, Italy and Israel prompted (10) those countries to adopt laws against the use of ultra-thin models on catwalks and in advertising campaigns.
Israel even has strict rules on how model's bodies are Photoshopped; any changes must be clearly marked on the photo.
Some in the industry are supportive of the proposed laws, but say they don't strike at the real issue.
"The fact of the matter is, fashion creatives have to think about the messaging they are promoting around body image ideals and the fact they are normalizing an unachievable physical appearance," said Caryn Franklin, a fashion commentator.
Veran's legislation is set to go before the French Parliament at the end of the month for discussion. And he wants to outlaw what he calls starving models by the end of the year.
"I think that by the end of 2015," he said, "we will no longer have anorexic models on the catwalk."
Vocabulary:
1. Measuring/ Estimating
2. Be subjected to/ Experience
3. Implore/ press/ Charge
4. Spectacle/ Exhibit
5. Principal/ Leading
6. Revison/ Correction
7. Skeletal/ Anorexic
8. Structure/ Skeleton
9. Connts/ Phrasing
10. Moved/ Incited
3. Implore/ press/ Charge
4. Spectacle/ Exhibit
5. Principal/ Leading
6. Revison/ Correction
7. Skeletal/ Anorexic
8. Structure/ Skeleton
9. Connts/ Phrasing
10. Moved/ Incited
The fact of being very slim is pretty frecuent nowadasys, due to the ideals that catwalk models show everyday to people, girls mainly, parading with their stunning and slim bodies and pretty faces, but what the modeling agencies do not realize is that they are influencing in the the sense of fashion, and therefore in the ideology of our society, making that all people follow that beauty ideals and as consistent causing that society can be more ribald eating disorders.
ReplyDeleteSo, i'd say that i agree with the new measures adopted bya france and by other few countries, but i hope that in a few of years all countries do the same for the sake of our society.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBeauty campaigns promote a kind of skinny girls that can affect our society. Actually, it seems that more and more teenagers are having eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. That's the main reason why we have to focus our efforts to change this situation.
ReplyDeleteAccording to that, maybe this new law in France will open the rest of the world's eyes and change our way of thinking, because if we look back, we'll see that in the Paleolithic Period the paragon of beauty was a plump-fat woman named "Venus of Willendorf".