Oh I am so pissed off with the way fashion models and mannequins are so ridiculously skinny and present this look as the 'ideal' to young women and men. And the model gracing the front of the new mini NEXT catalogue I've just been sent in the post takes the biscuit. You can see this frankly emaciated figure here.
Yes we know that mass media and glamorisation of an overly-thin ideal do not cause eating disorders, but they can certainly lead a vulnerable individual down the path to developing one and serve as a constant source of triggers for people with eating disorders.
I mean, NEXT... If my daughter looked like the one in that photo I'd have her down the local GPs' surgery in a shot.
It is no longer ethical for a company like NEXT to portray 'the ideal' as skinny and emaciated. It never was ethical, but with all the recent publicity to portray 'real women' (whatever a 'real' woman is...) you would think they'd know better.
Want information on eating disorders in boys? Worried your son has an eating disorder? What are the signs of eating disorders in boys? In 2009 my 15-year-old son developed anorexia. Now aged 31 and with a MSc in Psychology he is recovered & working in mental health using his experiences to help others. I help to raise awareness of eating disorders in boys, point parents to helpful resources & talk about how eating disorders can traumatise families.
I eventually got a very brief emailed reply from NEXT stating that their models all fit into clothes within their ranges, mainly size 10, and do not have eating disorders. They completely missed the point...
ReplyDeleteI have never commented on anything on the internet. But I received the next catalogue in the post this week and am absolutely horrified at the models in the catalogue. One of them is so skinny she looks ill. I don't mind skinny woman in magazines but this is just wrong!
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