The culture of modeling can pose potential dangers. The deaths of models like Isabelle Caro from anorexia emphasized the health hazards that models can face. Therefore, at first, France’s law that models have to have a BMI of at least 18 may seem admirable. This is especially true since it aims to set a standard so that models stay healthy and their BMIs do not go below a certain threshold.
However, it is easy to put the blame on models for their low weights. People may think that models exercise excessively or limit their food intake in order to maintain a thin frame. In reality, models are often subject to pressures outside of their control. In her insightful video, model Iskra Lawrence explains that BMI standards and sample sizes are the root of the problem.
By solely addressing the models’ BMIs, the French government is not taking into consideration other factors that may have sparked the need for the law. The French government is not thinking about the institutional problems that have, in some cases, produced models with low BMIs, and does not understand that the concept of BMI is not as simple as it seems.
A low BMI does not automatically indicate unhealthy behavior; it would be wrong to punish a model for something that she did not decide to do. BMI is a complex concept. Society and the field of medicine generally view both extremes of the range of BMIs, whether low or high, as a negative indicator. Our first instinct is to think of how we can directly “fix” those with low or high BMIs.
It seems logical that the French government would think that setting a minimum BMI for models could incentivize healthiness. However, there is one big problem with this rhetoric: BMI extremes are not always the result of unhealthy habits. Iskra Lawrence notes that models who have naturally fast metabolisms can have a low BMI. Taking away privileges from models for something that is out of their hands is a form of body-shaming. By doing so, they are telling the models that, regardless of the reason why they have a certain BMI, it still has to be higher—this amounts to criticizing them for who they are. While France’s law might seem like an enlightened move, the message behind it is damaging.
The current definition of sample sizes increases the risk that models will develop eating disorder behaviors; instead of legislating body sizes, legislators should take a look at sample sizes. As Iskra Lawrence says, models are forced to make themselves fit into the sample sizes that designers give to them. If models only have clothing between sizes 0 and 4 available to them, then they have to find some way to be in that range. If models were to refuse to fit in the sample sizes, then they would not be able to keep their jobs. Models have to succumb to the will of the industry and maintain low BMIs in order to keep working. This mindset may lead to actions such as restricting food intake and engaging in dangerous levels of exercise.
The narrow parameters set by the limited range of sample sizes means that models have no choice but to adopt eating disordered behaviors in an effort to reduce their BMI. When the French government decided to take action against principles endemic in the modeling industry, it should have focused on sample sizes. By requiring a wider range of sample sizes at fashion shows, France would have endorsed a healthier modeling culture in which more shapes are accepted. Instead, France has chosen ignore one of the root causes of the problem failing to legislate the issue of sample sizes.
France’s BMI law may seem like a step in the right direction, but it does not target the correct parts of the modeling world. France’s BMI law punishes models with naturally slim shapes and ignores a major reason why models feel compelled to lose weight. It is easy to focus on what is obvious—that some models may have a low BMI. However, in order to effect real change, France has to enact a law that encourages body positivity in all aspects of the modeling industry and gets those at the top to rethink the morality of their practices…
To continue reading this piece from our partner, Proud2BMe, click here.
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