How is it possible to change a long-established system? What influences diet culture —where do our societal perceptions of health and wellness come from? As someone recovering from an eating disorder, these questions always feel like they rest on the tip of my tongue. Growing up, I experienced the influence of the fashion industry before had the language to explain how that experience impacted me.
That being said, it would be unfair of me to blame my relationship with food and my body on standard size models I’ve always been tall (I think I hit 5’7” in 5th or 6th grade, and 5’10” before starting high school) and there have always been people in my life who told me I should model.
At one point, I met with the director of a modeling agency in my city and was told that I either had to gain or lose weight i to even have a chance at working successfully—and in that conversation, there was a clear bias towards the idea of me losing weight. I still do not think this caused my eating disorder—at the time, I was too focused on other things my body could do: specifically, being a dancer.
Still, there is something incredibly significant and intense about the idea that an adult working in the industry can tell a child that their body is not good enough as is, just because they do not fit sample sizes. It is not as if the director of that agency I met with is a bad person. She simply represented one piece of an entire system with expectations and demands.
WATCH TED TALK: Looks Aren’t Everything. Believe Me, I’m A Model.
[ted id=1647]
Designers make sample sizes in a very limited and specific range, and models are hired because they fit them. While models can be described as people who “won the genetic lottery” it is also true that bodies come in all shapes and sizes. And the industry is changing; last year, France spearheaded change by imposing a fine upwards of $83,000 USD on designers who use models that are too thin on the runway.
This is a great, but it only focuses on a very specific aspect of the fashion industry. What about everything that goes on behind the scenes? Until recently, there was more of a focus on preventing eating disorders on the runway than on considering the implications of print. Over the past few years, companies such as Dove, Lane Bryant and Aerie have made the step towards creating positive change by introducing body positive campaigns to the public—and they are wonderful! Still, the fashion industry has a bit of catching up to do.
This is why ELLE.com’s new “Talking Body” series is so important. Right now, I would personally describe the fashion industry as opaque. Because of social media, there are ideas that the general public now has access to, including the existence and potential damage that extreme use of Photoshop may cause…
To continue reading the rest of this article from our partner, Proud2BMe, click here.
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