All over America, bone-thin models are being shown on billboards, magazine covers, and social media, showing the world that underweight and unhealthy is ideal. The underweight models not only have eating disorders themselves, but create a body image that young girls lust after, causing the young girls to have eating disorders themselves. Young women are losing their lives as fashion industry leaders watch by, so it is up to the government to create a legislation that saves lives. Eating disorders leave a trail through history and can be traced back to the journal of Simone Weil, who passed away from anorexia during World War II. Weil never directly wrote of her refusal to eat, but instead wrote of how she despised the consumerism of society …show more content…
However, models do not always provide the best examples for young men and women. Many women that walk the runway are held to unhealthy body standards that push them towards eating disorders. They are forced to fit into miniscule clothing and flaunt their rib cages and fashion trends such as “thigh gaps.” According to dictionary.com, a thigh gap is “a space between the upper thighs of a person standing with their legs together.” Although this is a social trend, it is not possible for all women to achieve. The thigh gap is based off of your hip width, instead of weight like many believe. In the April 2010 edition of the Mental Health Practice, psychiatrists show that the promotion of more diverse body images will create a positive environment and help young adults be more accepting of themselves. In a study of 240 students, Dr. Rebecca Puhl and Dr. Fred J. Boland altered six images and had the students rate them on attractiveness. Three of the images were altered by weight only, and the final three were altered by weight and different hip ratios. The study showed that the students found the underweight image the most attractive, and favored the high waist to hip ratio over the normal hip to weight ratio, in all weight classes. Dr. Puhl and Dr. Bolland concluded that the preferences were developed from society rather than evolution. Both of these studies blame the