Let's talk about this whole "skinny model/size zero" debacle - what psychology is REALLY driving it, what double standards are arising from it, and how we can solve it without making ANYONE feel bad about themselves.
Some issues I think contrible to the problem:
-Unbalanced thinking. Seeing someone different from yourself and acknowledging only the percieved andvantages they have over you, and ignoring the blessings you have that they don't. For example, I am a women with a catwalk model type body. It is my body type by genetic constitution, not by choice. Every time I used to see a voluptuous girl in tight clothes I used to think 'disgusting!!!' Was it really disgust in an asthetic sense? NO!!!! It was, wait for it....jealousy. Jealousy and insecurity. I could only see the things those girls had that I did not like
-that gorgeous sensual feminine look
-the fact that if she felt insecure about her body, she had a large section of the female population to empathize with her and I did not.
-the fact that people would never publically make negative comments on her body but frequently did on mine.
As an insecure teenager I was so busy thinking I was a victim on account of my body type that hell, I didn't even NOTICE that most celebs/models had a simlar body type to me. To those women who find the bodies of models disgusting is it out of true disgust on an asthetic level? Is is that you percieve she has some better life that is closed off to you? Is is true altruistic concern that the model may be 'anorexic' and suffering? How if the model in question is naturally that way, was taunted at school for years because of her unusual body type, and the first time in her life she didn't feel awful about her body was when she was asked to model?
- Failure to acknowledge the extent to which body types are genetically determined. It is tempting to look at other women's bodies and think "she must eat more/less than me, she must exercise more, she must have more self control and self discipline than me." The BMI concept that is in fashion at the moment does not help. We are all expected to weigh within a narrow band of weights according to the single variable of height. It does not take into account body composition, sex, frame type, body propotions (height that comes from a long torso will weigh more than height that comes from long legs and a long neck, for example) or ethnicity (asian women tend to be BMI underweight.) People tend to think the BMI is something written in stone by Moses "Yep, this chart says you are underweight. You Must gain weight or you are Not Healthy." The BMI is based only on population averages and therefore is only an indicator of population health and only useful to predict an individuals health if they have a constitution that is close to population averages. There will ALWAYS be a few INDIVIDUALS who are perhaps significantly outside the 'healthy' BMI range who are in physiological terms very healthy. I tried for years to gain weight to get up to a healthy BMI. I'd go on a weight gain diet which took much self discipline to stick to, I'd manage to gain weight for a while, then I'd lose focus and go back to how I was before. I'd curse myself for having so self discipline, then vow to start another weight gain diet and my weight yo-yoed in this way for years. Ironically it was at this time I was most critical of large women. It seems we all have a "set point weight" that is genetics and we can't help. There is no health reason for me to gain weight - my period is clockwork, I've got loads of energy, I take in around 2000-2500 cals per day, my bodyfat is around 25% The only reason I'd need to gain weight would be for vanity reasons. So lets stop cursing each other out over our weight WHATEVER that might be.
-People tend to look at models and say "this is a culturally imposed beauty standard". They forget that the fashion industry is not an island. An institution cannot have any power without a certain amount of public concensus that they do, not in a democracy anyway. I agree the fashion industry needs to use a greater variety of shapes, but slagging off thin women (whether they be naturally thin(ectomorphs) or anorexics) is not the way to go. I also do not believe they should use models who are resorting to unhealthy means to achieve their appearance be that thin or curvacious- but a test of this should absolutely NOT be the BMI. A true ectomorphic nature reveals as part of an overall body morphology, there are subtle giveaways in the body proportions, facial features even the quality of the skin. However this takes a very discerning eye and is not easy to quantify. Natural ectomorphs have normal levels of a hormone called leptin which anorexics do not - perhaps a test can be developed?
Just something to think about: Can you tell a starved bulldog apart from a well fed whippet? Of course you can. I belive fashion models are all either:
a) like that without any effort on their part
b) are exaggerating (but not creating) a naturally thin frame with drugs/food restiction.
