Size Zero Issue: 2011

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Size Zero Issue

We see them on our television screens, on the internet, in the glossy pages of a magazine, through the media, we see these skeletal women with their jutting collarbones and twig-like legs, exposed before our eyes. We have all seen pictures of size zero celebs such as Victoria Beckham and Kate Moss, whose tiny frames and tiny clothes remind us how much bigger we ordinarily sized women are in comparison. When we see these women do we think to ourselves - "wow, she is so beautiful! If only my body looked as good as that". Or are we thinking - "Damn! That girl needs to eat something!”

The Skin on “Skinny”

According to an article by Nigel Hawkes from timesonline.co.uk, a size zero consists of a 32 inch bust, 22 inch waist, 33-34 inch hips and a BMI of 18.4. In early 2006, celebrity Victoria Beckham was criticized for her weight after revealing she had a 23 inch waist. The average waist of a British female is 34 inches, which means that Victoria’s waist is 11 inches smaller than the average British womans waist, and is actually the same size as a football.

A healthy BMI for a woman is regarded by the WHO (World Health Organization) to be in between 18.5 – 25 (international variations differ). Anything below 18.5 is considered underweight and can be an indication of health problems. According to a British Newspaper – Evening Standard, the average runway model is at least 5’9” inches tall, and weighs only 50kg (the average weight of a 14-15 year old girl!). These measurements calculate to a BMI of just 16. It has been well stated by various, famous fashion designers, that “clothes look better on thin people”. But can we really go as far to say that this statement is true? Has the media influenced us to simply expect to see 'skinny' models? Has that changed our perception of what we now think looks ‘better’, and is more acceptable?

The world continues to change in every second. New styles and trends influence the clothes we wear each day, things go out of fashion, and then they come back a little more improved next time. The modelling and film industry have embraced beautiful women with more voluptuous and vivacious figures in the past, and even still today. The clothes designed now are hardly different to what was worn in previous decades, so what has changed about the models? Why has being ‘size zero’, become so ‘appealing’ for women within these industries today?

The New “Ideal”

Of course, we can’t deny that (luckily) some of these celebrities are naturally thin. We all have different body shapes and models we see on the catwalk today are generally noticed to have the ‘boy-like’ figure. Some fashion designers say they prefer thin models because they are used as ‘hangers’. Clothes look better on hangers because you see the garment straight up and down, this is the excuse most designers use. A renown fashion publicist - Kelly Cutrone, states in an interview, “If we get a girl who is bigger than a 4, she is not going to fit the clothes... Clothes look better on thin people. The fabric hangs better”. Because there is such a demand for skinny models, it is no wonder these women feel the pressure to succumb to the new idealistic hanger size that is, size zero. The fashion, acting and music industry is competitive, you either make it or break it, you are either in, or out. Being skinny has become an ideal image for woman through the influence of celebrities and media. It is thought to be the new sexy, the new beautiful, the new trend for the world to follow.

Most of us have come to think that “hey, everyone else is doing it, it must be okay”. However, a size zero figure cannot realistically be maintained naturally. A healthy diet suggests you eat 3 balanced meals a day, so if a size zero waist is the same as an average British 8 year old girls, then surely a grown woman will not be able to maintain this size with good nutrition practice. It is a trap. Losing weight rapidly can lead to many different types of eating disorders. The most prevalent eating disorder among celebrities and models is Anorexia Nervosa.

An Ultimate Sacrifice

The most important issue to note is the serious danger to your health, being or becoming a size zero can do to your body. Following the size zero trend has already claimed the lives of many models on a number of occasions. Between 2006 and 2007, 5 well known and aspiring models died of health complications relating to Anorexia Nervosa.

Luisel Ramos

Luisel Ramos, a Uruguayan model died on August 2, 2006 of heart failure caused by anorexia nervosa. At the age of 22, Luisel had adopted a diet of lettuce and diet coke, which she lived on for 3 months prior to her death. She weighed 44kgs with a height of 5’9”, her BMI was just 14.5. The WHO considers a BMI of 16 to be starvation.

Ana Carolina Reston

In the same year following Luisel’s death, was Ana Carolina Reston, a model from Brazil, who was just 21 when she died of the disease in 2006. It was reported that Ana had been living on a diet of apples and tomatoes. At the time of her death, with a height of 5’8” she weighed a mere 40kg. Ana was even more extremely malnourished than Luisel, with a BMI of just 13.4.

Eliana Ramos

In 2007, the world saw devastating deaths of yet more models. Eliana Ramos, the younger sister of Luisel Ramos, died at the age of 18 (six months after her sister) after collapsing at the home of her grandparents, caused from a heart attack relating to her eating disorder. Maiara Galvao Vieira, an aspiring Brazilian model, was only 14 years old when she died of complications relating to the disease. It was said that Maiara was just 38kgs at the time of her death.

Probably the most heart wrenching video I have seen for a live news story, was that of (Hila)Elmalich, an Israeli model who died at 34 years old on November 12^th 2007. Elmalich had been battling with her anorexic eating disorder for 21 years, from the age of 13 when she first began modelling. In the video below, Elmalich collapsed on Israeli TV and taken to hospital. At the time of her death she weighed only 22kgs. The man in the video is Adi Barkan, an Israeli fashion designer and modelling agent, also a friend of Elmalich’s. "When she fell down, I felt the bones going into my legs, like a knife. When she fell down, I felt like I took hold of something from the grave". From his own experience with working in the fashion industry, Barkan knows that models are under pressure to lose weight. "In Israel we lost several sizes in 10 years!" he said, "when I was shooting fashion 10 years ago models were size 38, now it's 32 or 34." From his experience with Elmalich, Adi has campaigned worldwide for healthier models.

Adi Barkan & (Hila) Elmalich

Yes the effects of being a size zero can be seriously dangerous, even proved to be fatal. With a weight and height that calculates to less than the recommended BMI of 18.5, the dangers and risk to your health become extremely serious. Being malnourished and underweight by doing things to lose weight rapidly, can result in liver, kidney and heart failure; cause infertility; insomnia; hair loss; electrolyte imbalances; dehydration; hyponatremia; muscle atrophy; paralysis; throat cancer; dental problems; weakness and fatigue; seizures; cause severe psychological problems, and the list goes on. With the use of diet pills for rapid weight loss, the effects may even cause incontinence, and nothing is attractive about not being able to control your bowel and bladder, just to fit into some teeny dolls clothes. The effects of being a size zero can be irreversible, destructible, and fatal.

To attain and even feel the desire to attain, such a (ridiculous) weight, is not only mind boggling after seeing the effects and hearing the stories, but it is actually quite saddening. How is it that these girls feel so immensely that they must starve for an image?

The Influence on the World

What kind of example is the ideal ‘size zero’ model setting for adolescent girls or aspiring young models and actresses? The average young girl looks towards these celebrities as role models, people to adore, to want to imitate, to be like. The influence of the media on young girls are encouraging them to look like these skinny celebs, that being a size zero is attainable, acceptable, even ‘beautiful’. Having such an influence is a definitely a main cause in developing eating disorders, because of its obsession with ‘self image’. The fashion and acting industry prove most of the time ‘ignorant’ to what is right, and what is wrong. Young models are asked to be a certain size, to lose weight for an even smaller size, to be encouraged that clothing looks better on their shapeless boy-like bodies. Designers are also partly to blame for the rise in dangerous eating habits among models. The industry has changed! No longer is the clothing made to fit the models, but now the models must fit into the clothing! It is simply disgusting that after seeing so many deaths of runway models, we still today in 2011, see questionable models on fashion shows, who look as though a feather could push them off the runway. Even the stick-skinny celebrities we see like Victoria Bechkam or Angelina Jolie, remain as ‘role models’, examples, of what every girl wants to be like.

The world has seen the trends of ‘curvy’ and ‘skinny’ come and go through these later generations. Never before has the world however, seen ‘size zero’ become such an addictive trend, than it has been in these recent years. Though the issue of size zero models is still being debated worldwide today, I think we should all take a moment to think about what these sort of industries should be like. Should we not be looking at the clothes on the models, rather than gasping in horror at them, because “...the knee joint is wider than the thigh”*? Should we not be admiring the dresses that float down the red carpet, because we realise how much our curvy hips and skin which no bones seem to poke out of, might change the dress completely?

*Gunn, T. (n.d.) Skinny models a heavy topic in the fashion world. Retrieved April 26, from
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060923/LIFE/609230306

How We Should React

These industries should be embracing the ordinary woman. Celebrities like Salma Hayek, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce Knowles, Catherine Zeta Jones, Cindy Crawford, Tyra Banks, and Kate Winslet, who are adored by men and woman, revered for their healthy, vivacious and voluptuous bodies. These are the women who are an inspiration. These are the women that we should look up to as role models, for what they represent to our society.

Size zero is just a statement, a challenge for the gullible. There will always be a way to make it in this world without succumbing to the pressures that is ‘vanity’. Size zero doesn’t deserve the attention as something we should attain. Size zero deserves the attention as basically - a death wish. A size zero body is a “sacrifice to fashion.”*

*inmyheart.wordpress.com (2007) Ilanit (Hila) Emalich. Retrieved April 26, 2011 from
http://inmyheartblog.wordpress.com/2007/11/18/ilanit-hila-elmalich-34-israeli-model-nov-14/

References

Martin, J. (2010) 5 Models who died from eating disorders. Retrieved April 26, 2011 from http://www.mademan.com/mm/5-models-who-died-eating-disorders.html

Henry, J. (2007) Head attacks 'size zero' and celebrity culture. Retrieved April 26, 2011 from

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1568961/Head-attacks-size-zero-and-celebrity-culture.html

Shaikh, T. (2007) Fashion for size zero models fuels rise in eating disorders among models. Retrieved from

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/fashion-for-size-zero-fuels-rise-in-eating-disorders-among-models-456174.html

Belle, T. (2007) Size Zero: The debate continues. Retrieved April 26, 2011 from

http://www.headliners.org/storylibrary/stories/2007/size_zero

Hellmich, N. (2006) Do thin models warp girls' body image?. Retrieved April 26, 2011 from

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-09-25-thin-models_x.htm

Images

Ana Carolina Reston

Kochivibe.com (2010) Size Zero: Good, Bad or Ugly. Retrieved April 26, 2011 from

http://www.kochivibe.com/tag/ana-carolina-reston/

Luisel Ramos