Posted by Kate on March 14, 19100 at 09:36:23:
In Reply to: Interesting - think about your words posted by Me - The model analyser on May 06, 1999 at 06:59:37:
Yes, I understand what you're saying about us not wanting to blame skinny people for annorexia. It's not their fault. I really don't think anyone is saying it is. And yes, it is a sickness- A disease- but all diseases are caused by something. Young girls need to take responsibility for their bodies, but sometimes that's just not enough. No, it's not the fault of the models, but shouldn't some of the blame be put on those people who try to convince us that in order to be beautiful we MUST be skinny: the magazine editors and t.v. producers who choose to only use skinny girls. In our society, if anyone famous puts on a little wait they are shot down in entertainment magizines and things like that. Celebrity diets are every where. The people who should be blamed are the people who push those things. The writers of teenage magaizines who only show those skinny girls... who make comments about actresses putting on a few pounds like this is all that matters. Those are the people who should take some responsibility for the spread of annorexia in our cultures.
I am not saying this is where all the blame must lay. I myself once suffered from annorexia, and now that I am aware I can fight it, but it is always and always will be a battle. My own problems were not stemmed from seeing these girls on t.v. or in magizines, but from my feelings of helplessness. This also is a comman cause. Many girls today feel like their lives are out of controle, and by controling their own weight they feel like they can start to get controle of their lives back. People need to be aware of this too, so if they see some sort of change in the eating habbits of a family member or friend they can look at their life, and possibly step in if help is needed.
: Ok... What is going on here?
: I'm not quite sure where all this resentment is comming from. Certainly, models are the luckiest people on earth. To be paid $10,000 or more simply for being lucky enough to be born beautiful. It's perhaps wrong, but think about it. An NBA star earns $10m a year.. to play a GAME.. basketball. It's not about how much money the indiviual earns, it's about how much money they MAKE THEIR EMPLOYER. Would you dis yourself if you were born like Heidi - Beautiful? Would you not model? She may not be head of a charity, she may not speak out against annorexia (Hacker). Does that make her a BAD person? Annorexia is deemed a disease. Did Heidi *give* her this disease? If so how was is contracted? Did they meet and touch?
: Annorexia is a terrible thing. But to blame a woman (or women) for being slim is not the solution. Many, many women are naturally slim - would you like them to go out of their way - ie, not exercise, eat more than the body needs - to 'put on a bit of weight'? I have known a couple of girls who were annorexic. I say were because they recovered from the horrible affliction. They have told me that they felt pressure from within. I can understand how seeing Daniela Pestova or Heidi Klum in the magazines made them want to look like them. But annorixia sufferers don't look like them. An annorexia sufferer is horrifically thin (when it's bad). No woman who is 5'10" and weighs 30kg is going to make the cover of Vogue. There are more eating disorders than annorexia. There's one (i can't remember the name) that affects men in this age. A man feels he is never big enough. To the point where he takes drugs in improve his size to an unhealthy level. And of course there is belemia (spelling?). The people who never feel skinny enough have a problem... and it's not the models we see on TV. There certainly is pressure to look good, but there's also pressure to be successful, married and more. Think about it. If models were THE reason people became annorexic, the streets would look like a concentration camp or in males case a genetic experiment gone horribly wrong!
: Don't blame models.. blame the sickness.
: That's my 2 cents.