When I flip through the channels at home on the couch, like the average American, I stop and look at that 6 foot tall girl waltzing down the runway with a grimace. Usually, the girls I see stepping out onto the catwalk are so emaciated looking, that I would probably never buy the clothes they model just because they look so disgusting in it. Who should say we should have unhealthily skinny models walking on our runways? Are you insane? I think models should have a thorough examining before even being considered to be a model, it's just too common for these models to be exercising some sort of eating disorder to drop down to weights so low, it's just unnatural. The media already portrays so many negatives, why not put that anorexic girl in the spotlight so we have a million new cases of girls who are throwing up just to look a smidgen more like the ideal? It's ironic that the majority of people are bigger than what they portray to us, and it's normal. They view something as beautiful that is hardly ever even the case with today's women.
I think it sells more to see a normal, or only slightly above average girl out on a runway. I'm not saying overweight, but the underweight women really have to go. It's just not right, even for those girls who are doing it to themselves! Even if they claim it's a genetic predisposition, you never know what they could be hiding. Drugs could be helping, too. Just look at Kate Moss! It's average for a runway model to have some sort of hold on their weight, to keep it that low.
Why don't these people judging models take in account that model's health? On an episode of America's Next Top Model, the judges told a girl who was obviously very sick that "...this industry doesn't care if you're sick" maybe they should! It could be the fashion industry's downfall if they don't get the right kind of girls out there strutting their stuff. It would help the world's women view themselves in a better light. There are so many things out there that could kill a girl's confidence. We want to boost that confidence, that should be the goal.
When thinking about whether or not it should be banned to have an underweight girl on a runway, I definitely say yes! Think about this, people, UNDERWEIGHT. When is underweight even remotely healthy? When you would go to the doctor, they would flat out tell you, pack on some pounds, do whatever you can. It's just not healthy, it's almost as bad as someone being overweight. We hold that as a covet of the most unhealthy thing to be, yet most underweight people are closer to death than an overweight person. Why don't we take that into consideration?
It's disgusting to see people say "that girl is so fat, she needs to lose a few" well, maybe she doesn't. I've heard it said on modeling reality shows when the girl is far skinnier than I ever even would hope to be, and I am 15 years old! It's just ridiculous. I cannot stress that enough to someone reading this, wherever you are. Men think a woman with meat on her bones is far more attractive than one galloping like a horse down a walkway with toothpick legs. Underweight is flat out a no-no, or it should be one, anyway.
I'm not saying that any girl's runway idol is a bad one, but the one's I'm seeing out there shouldn't be a role model for anyone, old or young. When you see someone as unnaturally skinny as they are, you are usually staring at them, not praising them for their critically acclaimed "beauty"! Back in the 90's, models had a nice amount of meat on their bones, Cindy Crawford was a great example. Why not bring those type of women back? She was awfully successful, wasn't she? So how can you say a girl has to be sickly thin to be an a-list model? That's right, no one can. So, yes, take those disgusting stick girls off that runway and replace them with the healthy ones. It would do the world a lot of good."-CHELSEA MIRACLE
NO !!
Underweight catwalk models should not be banned because it is discriminatory, they have a limited influence and are not responsible for the effects of popular culture.
Banning a group of people from doing something that is completely legal due to a reason such as weight is completely inappropriate and is a direct violation of the civil rights that we claim are so important to us as a society. Civil rights protect us from being treated differently due to an opinion, a personal preference or appearance. Banning catwalk models who are underweight completely disregards these government protected guarantees and such a move rivals the racial and sexist intolerance that took place last century. Should models be told "I'm sorry you can't walk down that runway today because you don't fit into the unrealistic stereotype of human appearance."? Above I mentioned the words unrealistic stereotype. It is unrealistic because it is asking the world to conform to an ideal body type, which is something that the one in three obese people in America certainly do not. Are they punished for it? Are they given similar restrictions because of their body type. No they are not. Instead airplane companies increase the size of their chairs.
This inconsistency brings me to the issue of the stigma against underweight people. Everyday, I walk past a newsstand and glance a look at the titles. Almost everyday there is at least one or two sub-headings that accuse a celebrity of being underweight or having an eating disorder such as Bulimia and Anorexia.
The result of this growing stigma is the ostracisation of those that are naturally underweight and catwalk models are prime examples of this. Many are teenagers and therefore are more likely to be underweight due to their immaturity than any other reason. Kicking them out of a job because of something they often do not directly control is simply intolerance of the worst kind.
Some may argue that slim catwalk models are a bad influence on children, but what about those people that are obese or overweight?. Do they think that overweight people don't have any influence? Look at Oprah - A celebrity that some say is the most powerful woman in the United States, and she isn't exactly slim and is well-known for fluctuating weight. Such celebrities as these are having the reverse influence on young people and in fact are so much better known than catwalk models that they have much more of an effect. So surely, those in disagreement should also be pointing the finger for negative influences on children at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Others think that due to the underweight models that are on the catwalk, children and teenagers are getting the wrong body weight role models. But when one in three children are overweight, its obvious that the skinny models on the catwalks haven't had much of an impact. Here is the crux of the issue. Skinny models look good in the clothes that are designed for them. Fashion designers don't want miss curvaceous to model their silhouette fashions, they want the slim models that are on our catwalks today. To ban the models because of this is preposterous and once again its intolerant. Should models be told "I'm sorry you can't walk down that runway today because you don't fit into the unrealistic stereotype of human appearance."? Absolutely not.-JAKE A.
I'M SOOOOO AGREEING WITH THE 2ND ONE....MY OPINION COMING SOON =)
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