The Model & Celeb Weight Thread [Read post #1 before posting] #1

[hannahkarina]

That photo of Lily on the last page is so upsetting. Her neck/back look so weak that they can't even hold up her head. You can even see in her face that she is unhealthy, the bags under her eyes.

[knightley]

Originally Posted by carmen_kass

Finally, thank you Knightley, kudos to you. I know it must be hard for you to confirm what we all know about Natasha and Vlada, because it's not your style, and it must be wierd for you because you know them personally, but as a 15 year old girl, I thank you because now when I see a picture of Natasha in a magazine or editorial, I won't feel insecure, inadequate or guilty for eating what I want, instead I'll gladly take another slice of cake, because as much as I like clothes and modelling I like myself and my parents more, I know that people in the eastern bloc must have faced increidble hardships, but honestly I don't think Natasha's parents would have her money over her health, and she obviously is killing herself, she's a young woman afterall who is doing irreperable damage to herself, it's not like she's a teen who doesn't know any better. I knew she was sick but I always told myself, no some girls just do have it all, the hair, the skin, the height and the body (and some do) but now I feel a little liberated. My opinion of Natasha really has gone down, and I agree that models are willing victims in a lucrative business.

I think this is probably the biggest success story ever posted in this thread.

It is very hard to be surrounded by this world, as a normal girl. A size four, a size two even, they can go mental as an intern. I call it starvation mentality. You have support to do it, really; a pretty endless supply of sycophants ready to harp on how beautiful you look as you waste away. It's so liberating when you eat that last piece of pie, when you order what you want, when you feel good about yourself because you know you're beautiful not some stylized ideal of a prepubescent boy aged ten.

It does have a profound effect on your body. You develop until around 23, which at that point, your body begins to die (strange what I remember from science, right, but certain cells stop reproducing and replicating, so it's downhill from there. Sure makes forty feel worse, eh?!), so doing anything in those crucial years before around 22-24 has lasting, lasting effects on you later in life: especially when it has to do with your body. Starvation is linked to so many longterm health issues it's frightening. Brain damage is even one of them, you know? Your liver. Your thyroid. You can destroy your immune system. Your body needs nutrients to function: for your brain to commit things to memory, for your muscles to move.

I am loathe to speak poorly of girls and especially feel it isn't my place to take the idol worship or heroic quality, or just plain adoration for them from their fans, but it's dangerous to me when people are extolling certain girls for looking so good when they look anything but. I wish the industry was different, really, honestly, truly, and I may be far and few between that, but we're so conditioned. Did anyone see the Ugly Betty episode where real women walked the runway? I'll admit it. I was disgusted watching it. The clothes didn't fit right, the women were whales, buttons were stretching.. people caught up in this industry, basically most of us on this forum (!), the aesthetic of the industry as it is is what we're conditioned to. We justify the appearance of girls that are frequently mentioned in here. We see Karlie and Ali as just skinny girls (when really, in person, they're fragile). I know I have warped sense of what is fat because of my involvement in the industry.

A size four? That's big. Anything over a 26 is just wow, she's let herself go.. and America itself is becoming this culture of weight obsession that is really frightening. It's in thanks to the magazines who feature girls like they do in Teen Vogue and such, just as much as the tabloids always obsessing over Nicole Richie's weight, or Lindsay Lohan. We have this emphasis on what's thin, what's fat, what's too thin - and we don't have ANY baseline for healthy anymore. It's sad. It's scary. I feel like I've been indoctrinated into a cult of thin.

So anyway. The comment from Carmen is incredible, imo: the one I quoted here. That's a success in this industry. Someone who loves fashion, who loves the girls in it, who cares about this world, and yet loves themself more, and the number one story for that is Mizz Ali Michael who swung out against Paris and deserves all of our love and support. I know I am writing Teen Vogue to make a comment on how absolutely freaking awesome Ali is.

[*Bianca*]

Originally Posted by smartarse

, but i did ran to some of the models while food shopping. looked in their basket and see nothing but fruits, yogurt, skin cream, fiber cereal i believe Go-Lean- which i get as well . the girls do know the importance of eating properly.

But that could be the same contents as an anorectic's basket (they do actually eat, which people often don't realize). I'm not saying the model you saw is anorexic, but the point being that just because someone is buying "healthy" foods doesn't mean it's eating properly or that the person is necessarily healthy.

[L0VE]

And she is? Just 20. "I do think a lot about having to do something else. All the clients want skinny, young girls. They say they want healthy, but really they just want skinny."

It's odd that they all want super young models now because I remember reading Vogue a year and a half ago and a casting director said he felt like he was a teacher. And it seems that they're are a lot more young and immature models now than back in the late 90's or even in the early 00's. That's why no one had a problem with it back then.

[smartarse]

Originally Posted by *Bianca*

But that could be the same contents as an anorectic's basket (they do actually eat, which people often don't realize). I'm not saying the model you saw is anorexic, but the point being that just because someone is buying "healthy" foods doesn't mean it's eating properly or that the person is necessarily healthy.

i know her. although i am not her doctor or checking how, where and when she eats ,it doesn't mean she's eating like a baby or one lettuce leaf a day either. i'm rather perturb that the impression of these models instantly shouts "starvation, drug abuse and ED" when many aren't like that. the industry has a short shelf life. that's no surprise. i dont deny there been bad influences but dont disregard those girls ,and there are many contrary to what you hear, that do steer away from such lifestyle to get ahead of the business or retain their status.

* would you have the same notion if she was a size 7 and had the same content in the basket? or rather would you question it if she was not a model?

[iggy190cm]

stylist are so superficial and mean

[Fontenrose]

Knightley: the number one story for that is Mizz Ali Michael who swung out against Paris and deserves all of our love and support. I know I am writing Teen Vogue to make a comment on how absolutely freaking awesome Ali is.

Good for you!

[knightley]

People can be size sevens, size 45, whatever and suffer from an ED. Diet ED exists.

[smartarse]

so are you saying that we all have an ED? c'mon now. lets be real. models are constantly a target with every little thing they do or dont do. it's ashame. models are just like you and me but difference is they start at 14 if successful having a paycheck in the high 5 figures and by the end of the year with an income bigger than a manager's net income at Merrill Lynch.

[L0VE]

Agreed (Knightley's post). And being overweight is also considered an ED too.

[L0VE]

I can't stand when people say that "so and so is a person too" no sh&&.

[xmodel citizen]

Originally Posted by smartarse

so are you saying that we all have an ED? c'mon now. lets be real. models are constantly a target with every little thing they do or dont do. it's ashame. models are just like you and me but difference is they start at 14 if successful having a paycheck in the high 5 figures and by the end of the year with an income bigger than a manager's net income at Merrill Lynch.

Judging by the weight stats, most Americans DO have EDs, and judging by our culture, at least some form of disordered thinking.

[knightley]

You know Smartarse, you always make it out like people make generalizations. I was simply saying at any weight someone can suffer from an ED or warped sense of self. I'm not implying the entire world has an ED.

Models are hardly targets anymore except for in a very small sect of interested people: forums like this. We don't have Cindy's, Christy's, Naomi's.. people paparazzi are interested in. I can guarantee you about 98% of people I know couldn't give me a name for someone like Raquel Zimmermann and most of my friends don't care who these girls are in ads when they're reading Vogue. They don't even notice when the same girl is repeated unless it's like.. Kate Moss, an Angel, or the older ladies.

[knightley]

Originally Posted by xmodel citizen

Judging by the weight stats, most Americans DO have EDs, and judging by our culture, at least some form of disordered thinking.

Agreed. Thank you for saying it.

[L0VE]

^ Agreed with that. I don't know anyone who knows who any of the girls walking the runways are. My sister knows one, Sasha Pivovarova, and that's only because she looks like someone we know (and because I pointed it out and was watching a show on style (which most people would likely watch) with her on it). Models get flack mostly from their surroundings (ex. agents) (or when someone like perez hilton posts a model on his blog and the general public still remembers Cindy Crawford) rather than celebs who are known by atleast 50% of the general public.