Just as style trends come and go, the body shapes of the models who wear them can shift on a whim4. And lately more and more girls are so thin, they have ribs you can visibly count.
Ana Carolina Reston, 21, was a Brazilian fashion model who worked on runways around the world. She also appeared in print ads, showing off the creations of top fashion designers such as Giorgio Armani. She always looked poiased5 and in control, but her life away from the runway was anything but controlled. Her desire to stay thin turned into an eating disorder. She existed on apples and tomatoes, and her weight plunged6 to a dangerous level. Finally, her body just gave up. Despite the efforts of doctors, she died. At the time of her death, the 5-foot 8-inch model weighed 88 pounds.
From fashion TV networks to ads, you’re bombarded with7 images of models representing the“ideal.” If you don’t look like them, you may feel you don’t deserve a life as great as theirs seem—or that you should change your body to look like theirs do. Sometimes the pressure to reach for unattainable thinness is more subtle8. You might not even realize you’ve become more critical of your shape and less at peace with your body.
In fact as long as designers create clothes they think look best on super-small bodies and model agents pressure girls to stay thin, we’ll be surrounded by skinny models. Here’s what you need to know to get a balanced perspective9 and to keep a healthy body and mind.
The Real Model Life
Think only super skinny looks pretty? Former model Amanda Kerlin says there’s a scary side to staying so thin.
“When I was 16, I moved into an apartment my modeling agency rented for six up-and-coming10 models. I was surrounded by super-thin girls who would give you dirty ‘I’m better than you because I’m thinner than you’ looks. It was so intimidating11. And the only adults around were clients at castings12 who constantly asked,‘Can you lose weight?’ and who’d get mad if you didn’t fit into their size-2 and size-4 clothes. There was a lot of pressure to be skinny. So some girls would barely eat—they’d party and do cocaine all night and then have just a bagel13 and cream cheese or raw vegetables and yogurt14 for the day. I was six feet tall and 135 pounds, but as I naturally grew hips and bigger breasts, I felt like I couldn’t let my normal development happen.
My agency told me, ‘We want you to lose an inch or two,’ and when I couldn’t lose it right away, they’d ask me to come in every week to get measured. It would freak me out15 for the entire week—and God forbid16 if I had my period and was a little bloated17! But even if I’d had zero percent body fat, my agents would have thought I was too heavy because my body was naturally larger than some other girls’. After six years, I didn’t have the drive to stay super-skinny anymore—I felt like I was constantly being watched. So I left the industry to study art. But when I look at my body, I still think that if I don’t look like the waifs18 on the runway, I’m the fattest girl. It really damages your psyche19! But I remind myself that curves are beautiful. And I’ve realized there is so much more you can do in life: You should never go to extreme measures to look like a model.”
Role Models20
“I hope [talking about skinny models] I will help girls... It’s possible to be crueler to yourself than you would be to your worst enemy.”
—Natalia Vodianova (supermodel)
After she started modeling, Natalia says she began to hate her body—no matter how thin she got. Now she’s on a mission to protect girls’ health!
“I still feel hot... I think there’s more power in embracing what I am now and showcasing21 that.”
—Tyra Banks (top model/talk-show host)
At 5 feet 10 inches and 160 pounds, Tyra looks amazing, and she’s happy she doesn’t have to “live up to that model standard anymore.”
How the Industry Is Changing
★Monitoring minors: Now models in New York must be 16 to walk in runway shows, and to curb22 sleeplessness during the events, girls under 18 can’t be at fittings23 or shoots past midnight. They also must have regular breaks and rest, so their bodies aren’t too stressed.
★Global efforts: After three South American models died of anorexia24-related health problems, Spanish and Italian fashion-week organizations banned models with a body-mass index (BMI) under 18. (BMI is a calculation of weight in relation to height—anything under 18.5 is considered unhealthy.) Spanish government officials and designers have also agreed not to show clothing under a size 6 in shop windows.
What You Think
They affected me! “I see all these skinny models and then look in the mirror and feel like I’m obese25—even though I’m normal. I hate how it’s impossible for a girl to like herself these days. I just want us to grow up being okay with our bodies!”
—Deanna, 16
Doesn’t bother me! “It’s unfair to hate naturally skinny models. It’s like me complaining that they’re too tall just because I wish I could grow a couple more inches.”—Sarah, 17
正如时尚潮流来来去去，引导时尚的模特们体形也会因一时冲动而改变。近来，越来越多的女孩简直瘦得连肋骨都数得出来。
安娜·卡罗琳娜·赖斯顿，21岁，是一名巴西籍时装模特，出现在世界各地的T型台上。她还在纸质广告中出镜，展示顶级时装设计师如乔治·阿玛尼的作品。她看上去总是泰然自若、沉着自信，但实际上T台之外的她生活混乱不堪。她渴望保持苗条，结果饮食紊乱。她靠苹果和西红柿来维持生命，体重下降到非常危险的程度，最终她的身体功能衰竭。尽管医生们做出种种努力，她还是死了。这位身高5英尺8 英寸的模特死前仅重88磅。
从时尚电视到广告，你不停地被灌输这样的观念：模特就代表着“完美”的形象。如果你看起来和她们不同，你可能觉得你不配拥有和她们一样精彩的生活——或许你应该改变体形，变成她们那样。有时，要达到那种可望不可及的瘦削，压力可能更为隐蔽。你也许都没意识到对自己的体形变得越来越挑剔，而且越来越忍受不了自己的身材。
事实是，只要设计师设计衣服，他们首先考虑的是怎样在超小巧的体形上看着最好，模特经纪人再给女孩们施加压力，让她们保持苗条，我们周围会都是瘦骨嶙峋的模特了。下面这些会让你知道，如何才能平心静气、保持健康的身心。
模特的真实生活
你认为只有超瘦才够漂亮？前模特阿曼达·科尔林说维持瘦态有其可怕的一面。
“16岁那年我搬进模特公司租下的一个公寓，里面住了6个很有前途的模特。我的周围全是超瘦的女孩，她们有时会摆出不屑的神情，认为‘我比你优秀，因为我看起来比你瘦。’这很让人不安。周围的成年人全是挑选模特的客户，他们会不停地问：‘你能再瘦点吗？’如果你不能穿他们的2码或者4码的衣服，他们就很恼火。有太大压力要求你不得不瘦。所以有的女孩几乎不吃东西——她们去参加派对，整晚都吸食可卡因；整天只吃一个面包圈加奶酪，或是吃生蔬菜和酸奶。我那时6英尺高，135磅，但是当我的臀部和胸部自然发育的时候，我觉得好像不能让自己再正常发育下去了。
公司对我说：‘我们想让你瘦一两英寸，’当时我不能立马减下来，他们就让我每周去测量一次。整周我都会忐忑不安——生怕会来例假，生怕自己的身体显得有点鼓！可是，即使我身上一点脂肪也没有，我的经纪人还是认为我太胖了，因为我的骨架天生比其他女孩大。6年后，我再也没有要变得瘦骨嶙峋的动力了——我觉得自己是在别人的监视下生活。所以我离开了这一行改学艺术。但是当我看着自己的身体，仍然认为自己如果看起来不像T台上的模特那样瘦，我就是最胖的女孩。这种想法真的让你的心态变得很糟糕！但是我提醒自己，凹凸有致也很美。而且我意识到生活中有太多值得去做的事：你永远都不要用极端的方法使自己看起来像个模特。”
行为榜样
（当谈到瘦骨嶙峋的模特时）“我希望自己能够帮助女孩们……很可能你对自己比对最坏的敌人还要残忍。”
——娜塔丽娅·沃迪亚娜娃（超级模特）
自从娜塔丽娅做了模特，她说她就开始憎恨自己的身体——无论她变得有多瘦。现在她的任务是保护女孩们的健康！
“我仍然感觉自己很有魅力……我想如果接受自己的现状，并展示自身魅力，会获得更多的信心。”
——泰拉·班克斯 (名模，脱口秀主持人)
泰拉身高5英尺10英寸，体重160磅，看起来很迷人。她很高兴不必再“维持在模特的标准上了”。
模特界在变化
★关注未成年人：现在纽约的模特必须年满16岁才能参加模特表演，而且为了制止彻夜不眠的现象，18岁以下的女孩不能午夜以后试装或拍照。她们还必须有正常的休息和睡眠时间，这样她们的身体就不至于承受太大压力。
★全球共同努力：在三个南美模特死于和厌食相关的健康疾病后，西班牙和意大利时尚周组织禁止体质指数小于18的人做模特（BMI，是一种体重和身高关系的计算方法——指数小于18.5被认为不健康）。西班牙政府官员和设计师达成一致：不会在商店橱窗里展示小于6码的衣服。
你怎么想？
我确实受了影响！“我看了那些瘦骨嶙峋的模特，再看看镜子里的自己，觉得自己很胖——即使我体形正常。我觉得很烦，如今要让一个女孩子喜欢自己根本不可能。我只想我们能够在接受自己身体的情况下正常成长！”——迪安娜，16岁
那和我没关系！“去憎恨那些天生瘦削的模特不公平。这就像是我总是抱怨她们太高了，只是因为我希望自己能再多长几英寸。”——萨拉，17岁
1. be obsessed with 对…着迷
2. runway 此指模特走的T型台
3. glorify v. 赞美，崇拜
4. on a whim 一时冲动
5. poised adj. 泰然自若，沉着自信
6. plunge v. 下降
7. be bombarded with 被过多的信息轰炸
8. subtle adj. 微妙的
9. perspective [p?藜?謖spektiv] n. 观点，看法
10. up-and-coming 有前途的，前程似锦的
11. intimidating [in?謖timideiti?耷] adj. 吓人的，令人胆怯的
12. cast v. 角色挑选，演员挑选
13. bagel n. 百吉圈（一种硬面包圈）
14. yogurt n. 酸奶
15. freak sb. out 使某人抓狂
16. God forbid (that) 但愿（这事不发生）
17. bloated adj. 膨胀的，臃肿的
18. waif [n. 瘦小的人
19. psyche n. 心态
20. role model 楷模，行为榜样
21. showcase v. 展示
22. curbv. 约束，限制
23. fitting n. 试衣，试穿衣服
24. anorexia n. 厌食
25. obese adj. 臃肿的，肥胖的