What's The Skinny?

Bravo Brazil for taking the lead in removing emaciated women from the runway.

Due to the recent deaths of four Brazilian women in the fashion industry, this country is now encouraging their models to model a healthy body image.

The fashion industry is sending a destructive message to our girls and young women with fashion runways ads and the like, featuring unnaturally bone thin girls. This beauty standard is clearly unattainable, where many deprive themselves not only of food but of self-respect and self esteem, literally dying to be thin.

I am all too familiar with this subject. I was 30-40 pounds overweight at the age of 15 and went through a rather tortured adolescence. Constantly reminded of my husky frame, I cannot even image what a young girl would feel like today when there is so much emphasis on being skinny.

It took me years of hard work to overcome the poor self-esteem that my dress size engrained in me. I experienced intense pressure from my family to loose weight, but in those days the outside world was a bit more forgiving. Today, in sharp contrast, little girls worry about diets by the time they are seven years old. And the focus on their body only intensifies as they grow into their teens.

I cannot imagine the emotional struggle some of these young women endure, trying to attain an unrealistic, skeletal ideal.

There is a real opportunity to change this trend. Corporations across America have taken a stance and made an impact on the environment, drugs and drunk driving, but this epidemic of eating disorders is just as lethal. One does not have to physically die, to die inside. And the damage can be irreparable. It is emotional fallout that can be carried through a lifetime. The fashion industry should take the lead to celebrate normal, healthy body weight.

In a recent article in the Washington Post Style section they pointed out a litany of recommendations that have been suggested to the industry. They recommend to their models therapy, no smoking or alcohol at fashion shows and healthy snacks.

What on earth do they hope to accomplish by these ridiculous rules? Don't try and micromanage a model's life. The answer is simple. Stop featuring these intensely underweight women. Do not feature them in your fashion shows, your ad campaigns, or your media. Rather, look to the Cindy Crawfords of the 1980s, whose beauty and healthy physique would be a much better ideal. The fashion and entertainment industries are the only ones who have the power to reverse this negative fad.

It is important to recognize the impact this has on the future of young women. Anorexia often strikes bright, over achieving young women who can only find control over their lives by becoming foodless. The worst thing about it is the positive reinforcement they receive. They are called more beautiful and are applauded for their weight loss when they achieve this painfully thin frame.

When we look to a future of women leaders, we must recognize that this dreadful disease strikes some of the best among them, those who strive for perfection. So to reiterate, the fashion industry has defined perfection in an unnatural, unhealthy, dangerous way. It is time to turn the trend around.

I turn to the Ralph Laurens, Donna Karens, Juicy Coutures, and so many others, and ask them to lead the way. Take a stance against this epidemic. Be a leader in turning the tide and celebrate the best of our young women.