Motion for debate: “Are women fashion victims?”
Motion presented by Estefanía Asenjo Fernández
Anorexia is a terrible psychological illness which can end up in death. Young people, especially girls, are prone to suffer from it. For them, the only objective is to get slimmer and slimmer, forgetting all their life. This illness is a social health problem and our society is causing more anorexia cases every day, even among boys and children.
A model’s measures are nowadays a motion for debate because of their influence. Models are extremely slim, even unhealthy, and young people tend to try looking like them. For this reason, in Cibeles (Madrid), they have to be measured, but… is it worthy? They are still too slim and “supermodels” don’t agree to be measured because they prefer to work with the big designers, but why don’t big designers take the same initiative as in Madrid?, and why can we see sick models in fashion magazines and advertisments everyday?
Facing the illness, what is fashionable wouldn’t bother so much, and the great fashion business should help to change the beauty ideal.
Read more about the topic in this article.
Comments»
Of course it depends on the age of the woman and how mature she is to face real problems life. It is said that anorexia is not only a physical disease, but also it hides serious psychological problems. There fore, these girls can only control the food they eat, at the time they are very demanding with their studies or work.
Not only women are fashion victims, but men suffer the same problem. Nowadays everybody is judjed by his physical appearance, never mind the age. It is known that hospitals are full of people who demanded an operation to change part of his/her body. Some tv programmes help to increase this problem.
It’s very interesting to follow all the different points of view that our society had during our History. In ancient times, when we were still in the trees, we considered that the model of beauty in women was to have a fat body and a wide hip due to this type of women could have more children than others with a narrow hip. So the conclusion is that nowadays many people are more stupid than a Neanderthal.
The influence of commercials and TV programmes which shown a kind of woman under a certain weight it is obviously taking importance in our society. In my opinion the real problem is the immature people who watch and try to imitate the body of those models. We must be aware of the differences between the job models have and the real life. Models follow a strict diet based on their job as for example sport people do and it is not valid for a person whose way of life is completely the opposite. I mean, diets must be more related with the activities you follow in your daily routing rather than in a fashion image. On the other hand, is a slim body really beautiful? Not for me. The ideal weight must be related with the high, structure and health of the person and not with an imposed archetype.
Truly, anorexia is a more broadly phenomenon than it is usually thought. You may find it is really a problem, and it affects lots of girls at least once in their lifetime, when stress takes control of temselves. I don’t think it is just a problem of models, but of the society in general, with all its mighty eye upon us, searching always for some dirty spot in our lives. (Thank God not every single young girl wants to be a model).
I haven’t met any man that doesn’t like Marilyn Monroe, despite of the fact that she was not exactly what nowadays is called a supermodel. Even more, she personified Hollywood glamour in the 50’s, with energy and voluptuous curves…
so, an open question to our male classmates: what do you prefer, curves on a real woman or expensive clothes on an illness one? Marilyn Monroe or Kate Moss?
I think that anorexia is one of the biggest problems that our society is suffering. Young people is always thinking in their physical appearance and they forget what’s good for the health. The best way to fight against it is trying to teach something about nutrition and good habits of nourishment to young people since they started the primary school.
I think it’s not models’ fault! I mean, anorexia is a very serious problem, but it’s really the models’ falut? Shoudn’t we blame the stupid girls and boys who get influenced by them? I definitely say YES.
As well as being fat, being too slim is an illness too. I agree with Paddy when he/she says that nowadays everybody is judged by the physical appearance. There are many things in life much more important than this, I know it sounds as a topic but it is true!!
All the people in the world know this problem but anybody does nothing!! I think that first of all designers shouldn’t work with extremely thin women; it could be the beginning of a great solution.
That’s one of the most terrible problems our current society has.
In my opinion it’s ridiculous that we still ljust love or hate a person for his physical appearance and not for his own personality (what is in fact more important). Please, take a minute and think about this: sooner or later we’ll became old and when that’s happens, would you approve that you can’t be loved by anyone a cause of your old appearance? I’m pretty sure the you would prefer some respect and not “being thrown to a litter bin”.
Anorexia is probably one of the worst illnesses in the world now and it may be one of the most dramatic ones in this twenty-first century. However it wasn’t that problematic some years ago. Why? Is it because we are less conscious now about eating well , taking a proper equilibrated diet, and doing gentle exercise? As far as I’m concerned, the answer is NO. It’s the fashion industry’s fault. First of all because the models must be extremely thin to work for an important designer and be successful. Secondly, because this designers seem not to be responsible for showing a deplorable image of the human being to the rest of the world, and what is more, they assume that this the most glamorous and beautiful. They should do something. Authorities must do something to stop that but please, don’t be demagogic! This is a serious problem and it affects young people, specially teenage girls who CAN’T vote. I must admit that although the major fault is the industry’s , I wouldn’t ever put my life in danger because of fashion. So, my advice to everybody is to be a bit sensible about this issue , and serious.
I partly agree with MNT009, but I still think that we should try to protect teenager’s mentalities instead of trying to change the world…
When talking about these kind of problems, everybody seem to have very good ideas and know the answer to solve the problem… but then… do nothing !
Fat or slim? Illness or fashion? Good or bad?
Many people blame the fashion industry and the obsession with small sizes because of the rise in cases of anorexia.
This makes me think about what’s happening. It’s not a question of size, I think that is more related with women and their obsession of being cool, and on the top. But what’s more important, your health or your beauty?
It´s not debatable that anorexia is a fact in our society. Unfortunately, it seriously affects women (basically, teenagers). We tend to judge people for their physical appearance, what´s nonsense. It´s sad to think that our look is much more important than our ideas o personality. There isn´t doubt that health is the essential issue. What is more, beauty is just a patron or canon. For this reason, it can change (at least I hope), do you think so?
Anorexia, as many of you have said, is from my point of view one of all the many problems our society has to get through. It seems to me that at the end people are being conscious about the problem, and are now reacting against it.
The most important problem about it, is that it’s not only models who are being obliged to get slim if they want to take part in the most important catwalks, but the big stores, big brands… are also obliging people as you and me. The other day I went shopping, I entered a shop and I found it impossible to find a t-shirt that suited me.
After that you start thinking: if the clothes here, don’t suit me, may it mean that I’m overweight? Should I go into a diet?… that’s the way anorexia starts. Too sad!!!
The war against anorexia should start by forbidding that kind of stores to go on with their manipulation over us.
I´m agree with blue apple is not model´s fault,I think we should protect our teenagers and show them the consequences of anorexia ,for example with photos as the one which was showed in Italy I think ,that is not cruel as people said, that is the reality!
anorexia is a relatively recent problem of our society but although is more usual between young people it can affect older ages overcoat women with psichiatric problems.I think the more delay in its diagnosis the more difficult treatment . A good education about nutritional habits since childhood can help but not only this because is a multifactorial problem.
Warlock, nowadays it is thought that the Neanderthal was not so stupid, and there are new evidences that he was better adapted than the Sapiens… the problem was, as an expert has said, that Sapiens was cleverer to develop into a more complex society. But this is another topic, of course.
By the way, in a not so far future, the new generations of archeologist will discover a new kind of human being: the Homo Plastic-surgery! Hahaha
Well, I’m only jocking, you know… It’s obvious that society (and “society” are us!) must do something, as quickly as we can, to stop that nightmare about having the “best” physical appearance while this means Health problems.
Roberto, excuse me, starving and not anorexia is de biggest problem in the world. But if you are talking about the society of the First World, obesity and not anorexia is the main concern.
I don’t think that generalisations are good, because I am a girl and I don’t die for being fashionable. Anorexia can be related to other problems, such as stress, problems at school or at home..
Some decades ago, being fat was fashionable and I don’t think that this is the reason why obesity is the biggest problem in the First World, as Xil says.
I like how I am, even if I am not fit…
As other opinions, serious or jokes (very good that Homo Plastic-surgery, Pollock), said, everyone is victim of fashion in some way, not only in the sense that fashion pushes someone to get ill. If you see on TV, on publicity a concrete type or jeans, for example, on and on, you get forced to buy it, because, if not, you will become a freak, an outsider. And that is happening with clothes, haircuts, music, some kind of habits, etc.
Yes, sp_18 , I also think the Italian campaign was a good choice. Reality is like this, so why hide it?
And Pollock has also rwason! The Homo-Plastic is the future! omg, anorexia, obbesity, plastic surgery, gyms, fast food, sport… all these people obsessed with phisical apppearance spending this wasted time in front of a mirror… Now, imagine them spenting this time cultivating their minds, their knowledge, studiyng and giving more importance to the internal side of them.
What would happen?
A new super-race of super-intelligent people??
Hahahaha
We have to be realistic…most of women are fashion-victims,or at least,they do take care about how they look (including hairdressers’,make up and all this stuff.)This tendence is becoming more balanced as nowadays men also take care about fashion and fitness.I believe it’s a personal choice but becoming obsessed is dangerous.One of the main warnings is anorexia but some new illnesses are appearing and the patients are not always women or teenagers,it seems that the whole world is becoming involved in this superficial movement.
We’re not plastic and judging people because of their appearance is just stupid.For instance:Why do you want to go out with a really handsome guy if he has no brain at all??
Hi Warlock!. Are you sure of your conclusion?. I don´t think that people will be more stupid nowadays. I´d say that our society is more complex than in prehistory and our necessities, tastes and interrelationships are not as simple as thousands of years ago when the main objective in life was to survive and perpetuate the specie. Do you know some case of anorexia inside a poor family?. When you have to struggle everyday to satisfy your primary necessities there´s no time left to think of other necessities related to self esteem. (I recommend you to read the theory of Maslow´s Pyramid, it´s really interesting).
Rantamplan is right: not only we’re living in a complex society but also it’s in continuous changing. So, people “business” are changing as well. So we are not more stupid nowadays than before.
Sometimes people mix anorexia with being slim and it´s not the same. You can’t forget that it’s not a choice but a mental illness. People who suffer from anorexia don’t choose to be like that.
Some people want to be slim for different reasons: people who care about fashion, about what other people´s opinion and sometimes even about health (some people have tendency to fatness) but it´s not bad to be slim (of course healthy slim as well as healthy fat).
But anorexia means to be more and more and more slim each time. They are ill and they can´t see their real image. Their only will is to loose weight and they don’t care about family, work, friends….
Fashion victims or not fashion victims, that is the question.
Nowadays, all women are quite obsessed with the appearance and perhaps the reason is the publicity and the influence of the TV. They are surrounded by a high quantity of information that makes them to be compulsive when they go to buy to the malls. They don’t realize that they can live without buying every week, I know some girls that if they don’t go shopping each day, they aren’t enough fashion. I think that this is a stupid idea, if you have to follow all the tips that the TV, the publicity or the magazines say, you will have to live permanently on the shops.
Other thing that is quite important is the brands. I think that people can wear beautiful clothes without spend a lot of money only for a particular brand. Perhaps it is thought that brands are enough to be stylish and fashionable but not, elegance is something related with our own personality. Although you spend a lot of money in buying in shops as Dior, Balenciaga, Armani, etc… brands don’t give you good taste and style to wear the expensive clothes, it doesn’t worth spend that amount of money.
So I must say that yes, the most part of our society is a fashion victim.
I don’t think anorexia has a relation with fashion, there are different subjects, not all fashionable people have anorexia.
I think it’s true that women are more concerned about fashion, but nowadays there are a lot of men that like fashion and read fashion magazines to know about the new collections of famous designers, I think is funny that are more women “fashion victims” than men, and the most important designers are men, it sound a little illogical not?
I agree with you Koby!! It’s completely illogical that the gender who controls fashion’s empire isn’t also considered fashion victims.
And what’s more, they (and some women) help the growth of this problem because they believe only a slim or a thin woman can be cool.
“Do you know some case of anorexia inside a poor family?”
It wouldn’t be so a big deal to find it, unless we’re talking about a really poor, starving family.
We could say that Maslow’s Pyramid would represent the usual profile of the average person, but don’t forget that we aren’t talking about average peoble, so as long as they have a mental illness, their needs may have changed ranks in the Pyramid.
Anyway, what about ourselves?
I guess we don’t have just to ask the government for a solution, but also to explain our point of view to other people around us, and to spread it one by one to everyone.
I consider that this problem depends a lot on the person. The personality here plays a very special role. You are supposed not to fall in this hole if you are a person who is not easily convinced. I think that the main issue is that there is a specific range of age and gender, which are teenage girls , that want to have a perfect body , and they don’t care of anything to get this target. Fashion victims? We all are fashion victims. I don’t know anyone who is not even a bit influenced by fashion. Everybody loves to be accepted and admired , so wearing smart modern clothes or having a fashion hair cut is important to achieve it. However, wearing cool clothes and falling into anorexia or nutritive disorders are completely the opposite thing. We must not get confused by that. Extreme places are never good.
Good comment Teddy Bear!! Congratulations.
Fashion victims, is it a reality or is a myth?
In my honest opinion it is a hard reality. The way we dress affects the way others perceive us especially in certain companies or large corporations.
Our society shows us the importance of brands but it is true that elegance is something related with your own personality.
However, if we talk about work, it is true that you have to wear suitable clothes according with the job you have.
Don’t you think the same? Don’t you think so?
I have read a very interesting article about human brain, which has a special and tiny part that makes us prefer expensive things. That can sound ridiculous but it has been demonstrated by a famous university somewhere (I´m sorry but I don´t remember the name).
That part of our brain makes us chose those things that are expensive or whose brand is well known. We even buy something just because it´s famous. It doesn´t matter if we need it , we just want it so we buy it. And if we can´t afford an expensive shirt, we don´t mind buying a belt o whatever that says “Tommy Hilfiger”, or “Dior, or “Lacoste”.
So, after reading this article, I wonder if women (and also men) are fashion victim because of this strange part of our brain. Maybe, who knows?
But, what about those ones who live happily without any kind of dependence? Are their brain different or special?
According to Blick’s comment, we might be fashion victims because we are get used to have plenty of things, although they are not extremely necessary. In other words, we are spoilt persons, owing to our own society which seems to force us, to become a part of it…
For this reason, I am pretty sure that it doesn’t depend on any part of the brain. It is as a result of how we have been living, and which things we consider useful.
Turning back to the motion, women usually tend to buy more clothes than man, due to the fact that we like wearing with a wide variety of things. Just have a look of how many shops there are in Oviedo of women and men. The difference between them is significant!
I think your comment is really interesting Blick, I’d never thought that being a fashion victim could have a relationship with our brain.
I also think that sometimes people wear well known brands because they want to show of the money they have to make people envy them.
In my opinion being a fashion victim isn’t too bad, because all of us want to dress fashionable clothes, nobody wants to wear a jacket with “hombreras” for example.
From a medical point of view, it´s a serious problem, not only anorexia but other consequencies: plastic surgery, for instance. Men and women have plastic surgery on one part of their bodies to improve their appearance. Nowadays it doesn´t matter the age of the patient. Everything is possible. Nobody remember the sentence: beauty is only skin deep.
Each time I look at the photo I feel furious. I can understand that someone who suffers from anorexia isn’t aware of her/his problem, because we shouldn’t forget that anorexia is mainly a mental illness. What I can’t accept is that someone allows this girl to take part in a fashion show. It’s annoying! Is this the model we have to admire? Sincerely, I think women with shaped bodies are more beautiful and attractive.
In the 1990s there was a group of models, who were considered the most beautiful ones in the world. Top models as Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford or Elle MacPherson are taller and slimmer than the average, but their bodies are well-defined. What I don’t understand is why famous designers prefer skinny girls to show their designs in a fashion show. They aren’t beautiful and they seem to be ill. Some comments suggest that Fashion Show Organizations and designers are guilty of nutritious illnesses, but what about society? People don’t stop buying their clothes.
Our society needs to change, because the first thing we judge is the appearance, but all we know that it is not the most important. The important things are those which remain as time goes by.
One important issue is that teenagers (and not only them) are more concerned about how they come across, and they forget about having a healthy body (not eating junk food, doing some exercise, etc…). Nonetheless, the problem root becomes from the society, and the images that fashion and designers have been imposed over the last few years. Even though in Cibeles it is not allowed to have less than a 38 size, I am fairly sure that most of the models don’t reach at it. So, they deceive us with a big lie.
I agree with you SUGAR, I know that nowadays if you work in an important enterprise you need to wear formal clothes in order to have a perfect look when you are doing business or for example, you have to wear uniforms if you are a fire-fighter. But from my point of view, you don’t need to be a fashion victim if you have to work with suitable clothes; even so you can be elegant without buying every day useless clothes in order to be fashionable. For me, personality is more important than having a huge wardrobe at home; you can be stylish without spending too much money.
On the other hand, I must say that Mofli’s opinion is totally right. Designers and our society are guilty about the anorexia and the bulimia, they are two diseases created because of the passivity related with the size of models so skinny. The majority of the women are not extremely thin, so we have to change the way of designing clothes to improve our health, it is quite important.
It´s true, Scaramouch, you´re right when you tell that Maslow´s Pyramid represents a model. In any theory we must simplify the environment to demonstrate the theory in itself, and if some variable changes then the theory doesn´t sustain itself. But the point that I tried to explain was that once you satisfy your biological needs it´s the society in itself which causes you different kind of tensions (it doesn´t matter what society you belong to). I´m talking about friends, idols or, in general, people who you interact with. It´s the comparison between you and the rest of society what makes you feel tense and this tension can turns into an obsession, an illness or simply a general unease. Anorexia is a problem of acceptance, a problem of insecurity brought to the limit. A person who suffers anorexia is afraid not to be accepted because of their look; it´s a personal problem into a social environment.
As Koby has said anorexia is in my opinion related to our brain. Although a lot of people want to look elsewhere women and men are fashion victims and they are always looking for the latest jacket or the most fashionable trousers. This kind of things can bring very big problems to our society for example the anorexia one. From my point of view international brands have to take into account this problems and unless we all (society) work and push towards the same side anorexia can become a cyst in our society. This problem is not only for women this is why I have included men in all my reasons.
Pollock, I didn’t realize that I was insulting Neanderthal on my comment, so I’m sorry about that. In fact, I agree with you about how well-adapted Neanderthal used to be. They had to deal with an Ice Age while they were dying slowly without any hope to survive because they couldn’t have children with Sapiens, they were different species. Of course this is not a topic of this debate, but it could be a great idea to open another one to talk about our genealogy tree.
Coming back to earth, I don’t agree with rantamplán after reading about the interesting “Marlov’s Pyramid Theory”, because, OK, people nowadays are clever than in the past in general. The thing is: Why our civilized society like seeing slim models on TV obsessed on losing weight while we were tired of listening that eats little is a health problem? I don’t say that, all medical community says that. This is not only a psicologycal problem, but a problem of money. Cosmetic surgery and drugs are very expensive, so the more weight you want to lose, the more money you spend. At the end, this is another brainwash of the consumer society that we have to deal with until common sense appears again.
About a week ago I was reading a magazine when I saw an advert in which were two models. They were too thin, they hadn’t almost any figures in their body and they weren’t beautiful at all. Is this what we know as beauty? There are lots of prettier and slimer women in the world than lots of the top models!!
I really agree with Dream in our society beauty is seen as an obsession. If you are not a fashion victim you are not cool and people see you as if you were a strange person.
As Dream says there are lost of adverts in which women are seen as objects, they have to be very slim and they don´t seem very healthy.
So in my opinion we have to do anything to change that vision of women.
I agree with you: it´s highly time we did something to change that vision of women (and men too). But the main issue here is that not only doesn´t we do anything against that stereotypes but also we do the opposite (we start on a diet when summer is coming and things like that).