ANOREXIA NERVOSA
It's fashion week and models are strutting down the catwalk, dressed in clothing with prices that are enough to buy a house. Sure the clothes certainly are eye-catching but the body of the models is attention-grabbing. They are stick-thin, I mean, the kind of thin that is painful to look at, yet this is a prevalent problem in the fashion industry; Anorexia Nervosa. Even Twiggy looks better than these models.
Anorexia Nervosa is a "charming" mental disorder that causes its victims to stop eating or eat very little amounts of food in order to lose weight or to stop weight gain. Plus, this mental disorder shows itself in the form of an eating disorder and over 16 million people worldwide have these disorder, with a lot of health problems like infertility, dental damage, hair loss, organ damage and in extreme cases; death, usually caused by organ failure and heart attacks. (Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate of all mental disorders).
In the fashion world, around 40% of models are anorexic. Most models become anorexic because they have to fit into clothes that are usually 2 dress sizes smaller than their dress size at the start of their careers. Good examples of the extreme effects of Anorexia Nervosa can be found in the deaths of Luisel and Eliana Ramos, Ana Carolina Reston and Isabelle Caro. Nobody can survive on a diet of lettuce and coke a day for three months or 3 apples a day especially when already underweight.
Beautiful, full-figured, vibrant girls are discovered each day by modelling scouts but immediately they get signed to an agency, the music changes. Most are told/threatened to lose weight or there will be no work for them and to avoid being kicked out, these young women resort to so many dangerous tactics in order to get to a size zero. Dieting, excessive exercise, abuse of laxatives and drugs, smoking, fasting and even eating big cotton balls to prevent hunger. It's amazing that a job the public thinks is glamorous is actually ugly on the inside.
Some notable designers don't help/didn't help issues. They want skinny girls. Skinny isn't an accurate representation of the body of a healthy, attractive female. God help the model if they're booked for editorial work and not catalogue work, then Miss Anorexia skinny will be their new name. The fashion industry then pushes these thin ideals down the throat of the public, hence young girls/women want to be skinny, and because the fashion industry doesn't see models as people who deserve a safe working environment, more as replaceable clothes hangars, then if a model doesn't want to be skinny, she leaves. There are a thousand and one anorexics ready to do the job. Agencies dare not sniff out even an atom of weight gain else the model stands the chance of losing her job, hence, the reason for monthly weight checks. This is worse in Asia especially Japan.
Anorexia Nervosa usually stems from poor self-image/self-esteem, abuse/bullying, a desire to be in control or in the case of models; a requirement to gain employment and keep their jobs. This disorder creates a problematic relationship with food. Models like Victoire Dauxerre and Erin Heatherford have left the modelling industry lest they fall victim to the final stage of Anorexia; death. Now, these two models are activists fighting for the rights of models worldwide. They're fighting for stronger laws to protect the rights of models. Although laws have been put into place in countries like France and Isreal, more still needs to be done.
The thin ideal isn't something to aspire to, well except if you are naturally thin like Twiggy. Aspire to be something worthwhile and not join the number of people suffering from Anorexia Nervosa worldwide.
Finally, sufferers of Anorexia Nervosa need love, compassion and understanding to help them on their road to recovery, plus medical attention. That is if they want to recover. Some admit that they want to recover only when their organs go into failure (How charming).
Anorexia Nervosa is a "charming" mental disorder that causes its victims to stop eating or eat very little amounts of food in order to lose weight or to stop weight gain. Plus, this mental disorder shows itself in the form of an eating disorder and over 16 million people worldwide have these disorder, with a lot of health problems like infertility, dental damage, hair loss, organ damage and in extreme cases; death, usually caused by organ failure and heart attacks. (Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate of all mental disorders).
In the fashion world, around 40% of models are anorexic. Most models become anorexic because they have to fit into clothes that are usually 2 dress sizes smaller than their dress size at the start of their careers. Good examples of the extreme effects of Anorexia Nervosa can be found in the deaths of Luisel and Eliana Ramos, Ana Carolina Reston and Isabelle Caro. Nobody can survive on a diet of lettuce and coke a day for three months or 3 apples a day especially when already underweight.
Beautiful, full-figured, vibrant girls are discovered each day by modelling scouts but immediately they get signed to an agency, the music changes. Most are told/threatened to lose weight or there will be no work for them and to avoid being kicked out, these young women resort to so many dangerous tactics in order to get to a size zero. Dieting, excessive exercise, abuse of laxatives and drugs, smoking, fasting and even eating big cotton balls to prevent hunger. It's amazing that a job the public thinks is glamorous is actually ugly on the inside.
Some notable designers don't help/didn't help issues. They want skinny girls. Skinny isn't an accurate representation of the body of a healthy, attractive female. God help the model if they're booked for editorial work and not catalogue work, then Miss Anorexia skinny will be their new name. The fashion industry then pushes these thin ideals down the throat of the public, hence young girls/women want to be skinny, and because the fashion industry doesn't see models as people who deserve a safe working environment, more as replaceable clothes hangars, then if a model doesn't want to be skinny, she leaves. There are a thousand and one anorexics ready to do the job. Agencies dare not sniff out even an atom of weight gain else the model stands the chance of losing her job, hence, the reason for monthly weight checks. This is worse in Asia especially Japan.
Anorexia Nervosa usually stems from poor self-image/self-esteem, abuse/bullying, a desire to be in control or in the case of models; a requirement to gain employment and keep their jobs. This disorder creates a problematic relationship with food. Models like Victoire Dauxerre and Erin Heatherford have left the modelling industry lest they fall victim to the final stage of Anorexia; death. Now, these two models are activists fighting for the rights of models worldwide. They're fighting for stronger laws to protect the rights of models. Although laws have been put into place in countries like France and Isreal, more still needs to be done.
The thin ideal isn't something to aspire to, well except if you are naturally thin like Twiggy. Aspire to be something worthwhile and not join the number of people suffering from Anorexia Nervosa worldwide.
Finally, sufferers of Anorexia Nervosa need love, compassion and understanding to help them on their road to recovery, plus medical attention. That is if they want to recover. Some admit that they want to recover only when their organs go into failure (How charming).
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