Picture this: a teenage girl sitting in her room, alone, with her face being dimly lit by the light coming from her laptop. What you don’t know is that she’s constantly looking at models and her room is filled with images she ripped out of fashion magazines. She sits in her room wondering why she looks nothing like them and hoping that one day she could. Girls are raised with a beauty standard that is detrimental to our society but it still isn’t being addressed.At the age of 14, I made the decision to go against that standard. I had been begging my mother to let me get something that can be considered a parent’s worst nightmare: piercings. I didn’t just want any piercings, I specifically wanted snakebites. My mom was conflicted, she wanted me to express myself the way I wanted to but she also didn’t want me to get them because she knew that I would be judged based on the way I look. In doing so, I was going against the grain of what teenage girls my age should look like. Entering high school as a freshman who had no idea about anything to do with the standards that had been set, I was looking for someone to look up to. To have them as inspiration on how to look, dress, and even act. At the time, I was struggling to find my identity and who I was as a person, and because of that I was vulnerable to being molded by our society. Now at the age of 16, I still have my snakebites and a nose ring, pink hair, and the fashion sense of an “emo” kid.
Being in high school, I understand the pressure of feeling the need to look and even act a certain way. Whether you want to admit it or not, at some point in your life you’ve felt the need to fit in. In that case, you spend most of your time looking up to our society’s most influential celebrities. For woman, it would have to be models. I see it everywhere, the overwhelming need to look like the models on instagram and Victoria Secret’s angels.
The category of models that do the most damage are runway models.
The image above is what a majority of these women look like. This is the standard that our society has placed upon us. The idea of being frail and skinny is being shamelessly promoted to women of all ages. Not only does it affect teenage girls and women in their 20’s, but it starts to affect girls as early as the first grade. Body image plays a big role in why these models are so damaging. At a young age, little girls are being taught to look a certain way and it can be harming their sense of self worth and confidence. A little girl shouldn’t be afraid to gain weight. From all the constant comparisons, one can develop body dysmorphia.
Body dysmorphia shouldn’t be taken lightly as it can lead to eating disorders. Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate or any mental disorder. The reason why the mortality rate is so high is because it can easily go unnoticed. Women are being influenced by models that are dangerously underweight and believe that looking like a Victoria Secret model is achievable through exercise itself. What they don’t know is that models are also being affected by the industry. In search for the truth, over 3,000 models were looked into and 94% of those models have a bmi lower than 18.5. A healthy bmi should be between 18.5-25.
The “typical” women aren’t the only ones being affected, models have to compromise their physical and mental health to advance in their careers.
Over half of models are asked by their agencies to lose weight so they can reach their ideal look. Most of the time models are dangerously underweight and look as it they can collapse any minute. Furthermore, while on the job, they can be exposed to drugs or cigarettes to curb their appetites. Also, the requirements of becoming a model are so strict that a lot of the time, women don’t meet the requirements and is also why they get paid the most. It affects both their mental health as well as their physical health. Also, due to being naive, they can easily be convinced to do things they wouldn’t want to. Sexual abuse runs rampant in the world of models. We cannot blame the models but we should be blaming the companies and agencies that let things like this happen.
On the other hand I can also see why models can be essential to businesses. In the world of business, it is important to set a standard. They also use the excuse that clothes hangs better on taller, skinny, women. Models seemed to be the best fit which explains why they can be useful when trying to convey a certain look. Regardless, the modeling industry does more harm than good.
We cannot let the current standards remain.
Regarding the standards that have been set, I do believe that there is a way to fix the damage that has been done. Countries like France and Spain have taken measures in banning the use of extremely thin models. In doing so, they can fight the idea that all models have to look a certain way when in reality they can come in all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, whatever the case may be. The modeling industry should be open to all and should go against the grain of society. We have the potential to change but without willingness to make a change, nothing is going to happen.
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