Your members’ ideas about health, beauty, weight and fitness do not operate in a void. Television, magazines, newspapers and fashion shows all have women who are skeleton thin, and men who are ripped from head to toe. These unhealthy “ideals” can lead some to eating disorders, obsessive exercising and/or low self-esteem. Can and are you doing something to stop the perpetuation of this “beauty myth”?
The recent debate about fashion models being too thin brings this issue back to the forefront. A news piece by AHN Media Corp. says that Australia decided against regulating model size with BMI checks during its recent Australian Fashion Week, which went against the new trend set by other countries such as Spain, Brazil and Italy. Rather, Australian Fashion Week organizers allowed designers to choose models at their own discretion. This, of course, led them to choose super-skinny models for many of the shows.
Another pop culture influence is television, and the current season of America’s Next Top Model is another sad example of putting women who are unusually thin up on a pedestal. One episode had the models try and get booked for a runway show. The thinnest model, Jaslene, got the most positive comments, with one designer actually saying that she “has a great body.” Yikes! You should see this woman. She is so thin that it is hard for me to look at her. I don’t think she is attractive at all, and just wonder how all of her organs fit inside of her.
You members, especially young women, can be greatly influenced by what popular culture says is beautiful. Barbara Brehm, in her Instructor Training column, says you cannot ignore eating disorders in your clients: “Eating disorders … have the highest mortality rate of any psychological illness. Your feedback may help get your client into treatment.”
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