Kudos to France for protecting health of women

[kenny]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39821036

A law in France banning the use of unhealthily thin fashion models has come into effect.

Models will need to provide a doctor's certificate attesting to their overall physical health, with special regard to their body mass index (BMI) - a measure of weight in relation to height.

The health ministry says the aim is to fight eating disorders and inaccessible ideals of beauty.

Digitally altered photos will also have to be labelled from 1 October.

Images where a model's appearance has been manipulated will need to be marked photographie retouchée (English: retouched photograph).

A previous version of the bill had suggested a minimum BMI for models, prompting protests from modelling agencies in France.

But the final version, backed by MPs 2015, allows doctors to decide whether a model is too thin by taking into account their weight, age, and body shape.

Employers breaking the law could face fines of up to 75,000 euros (£63,500; $82,000) and up to six months in jail.

"Exposing young people to normative and unrealistic images of bodies leads to a sense of self-depreciation and poor self-esteem that can impact health-related behaviour," said France's Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Marisol Touraine, in a statement on Friday, French media report.

France is not the first country to legislate on underweight models - Italy, Spain and Israel have all done so.

Anorexia affects between 30,000 to 40,000 people in France, 90% of whom are women.

 

[monarch64]

Vive la France.

 

[Austina]

Long overdue. People come in all shapes and sizes, so why the fashion industry thinks that we kid ourselves that we'll look the same as a stick thin model in something, is beyond me.

Let's hope more companies use 'real' women in advertising, and model agencies stop telling perfectly healthy sized young women that they need to lose weight in order to be successful.

 

[rainydaze]

 

[chemgirl]

So glad they eliminated the bmi guidelines and allow for doctor's discretion. I always get my back up a bit when stories like this hit the media because ectomorphs are "real women" too. It's extremely difficult for us to conform to a "normal" bmi.

I am very happy to see that photoshop will need to be disclosed. Will be interesting to see if any major publications stop using it.

 

[LLJsmom]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39821036

A law in France banning the use of unhealthily thin fashion models has come into effect.

Especially LOVE this!!!
Images where a model's appearance has been manipulated will need to be marked photographie retouchée (English: retouched photograph).

Employers breaking the law could face fines of up to 75,000 euros (£63,500; $82,000) and up to six months in jail.

"Exposing young people to normative and unrealistic images of bodies leads to a sense of self-depreciation and poor self-esteem that can impact health-related behaviour," said France's Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Marisol Touraine, in a statement on Friday, French media report.

France is not the first country to legislate on underweight models - Italy, Spain and Israel have all done so.

Anorexia affects between 30,000 to 40,000 people in France, 90% of whom are women.

I think that looking at any magazine cover with the little disclosure words below "photographs have been retouched" would make me laugh. I know everyone says they know it, but it would be GREAT to see it actually printed on the page. LOVE it.

 

[Calliecake]

Now that I know what photoshop can do I don't consider any ad to be reality. I wish the fashion industry would just use models of all shapes and sizes. It would go along way in helping young women's self esteem.

 

[Missy]

Any move like this is in the right direction but it is distressing when I think of how often we have been down this road before. Will this actually stick this time?

I mean I heard this before-we won't allow super thin models anymore and we will make a concerted effort to use women who are a healthy weight and women of all weights celebrating everyone yada yada yada. But still I see mainly super thin models on the cover of everything and super thin being glorified everywhere I look.

This is not to vilify those women who are naturally thin and yes real women come in all shapes and sizes and we should celebrate women for who they are and what they have achieved vs how they look but of course that is a distant dream.

And I am also not vilifying those who have an eating disorder. The women with eating disorders are suffering and dealing with a disease that is so hard to overcome and you are never cured but always living with it and managing it day to day hour to hour. So it is not easy. And my heart goes out to all suffering with this disease.

However our culture still glorifies being too skinny and that is further exacerbating the epidemic of eating disorders in young women. And every so often we hear about this move in the right direction and all that jazz yet I have yet to see any real major changes for the positive. Let's hope this is a real start.

All women are beautiful no matter their shape, size, weight and superficial appearance and let's celebrate what is within and change our culture that focuses on what is superficial. If only we could do that we would cure a whole lot of ills in our society. IMO.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I am very happy to hear that they are not going strictly based on BMI, there are many naturally very thin men and women who shouldn't be shamed for their body type. I do LOVE that they will have to label photoshopped images!

 

[december-fire]

Good for France, and other countries that have the same type of law!

BMI numbers aren't meaningful for everyone. I've seen BMI charts based on gender, but gender isn't the only factor that determines a healthy BMI number - and I'm not convinced that gender is such a relevant factor. Muscle weighs more than fat, so a lot of healthy, muscular people end up with BMI numbers that indicate they are 'obese'. All that to say that I agree with chemgirl; let a doctor decide if someone is healthy.

Missy, progress can be so slow that it seems we're not making any headway. The concern about underweight, to the point of unhealthy, models has been discussed for years. One might wonder why we haven't resolved this problem yet. I believe positive changes are occurring, such as France's new law, Doves 'real women' campaign, the popularity of models who aren't super-thin, etc. Its also good that there are popular female actors who are of various shapes and sizes. We're getting there! Have faith!

Edited, after seeing Assherhalo Lover's post: I was skinny and used to try to gain weight when I was growing up. My friends' parents were always trying to feed me. I was embarrassed by how skinny I was. I didn't start gaining weight until recently. I was always active, lifted weights, etc., and was healthy; but skinny. My daughter is in her early thirties and has always been thin, but very healthy; horseback riding from a young age, she has strong legs and arms. In school, kids would ask if she was anorexic. So, despite thin models, the 'real world' seems concerned about people who appear 'too' thin.