France set to outlaw promotion of extreme thinness

herekitty · #1 04-15-2008, 12:21 PM

Because there really aren't enough threads about this topic.

France takes up body image law - Yahoo! News

Quote:

By DEVORAH LAUTER, Associated Press Writer Tue Apr 15, 8:04 AM ET

PARIS - The French parliament's lower house adopted a groundbreaking bill Tuesday that would make it illegal for anyone — including fashion magazines, advertisers and Web sites — to publicly incite extreme thinness.

The National Assembly approved the bill in a series of votes Tuesday, after the legislation won unanimous support from the ruling conservative UMP party. It goes to the Senate in the coming weeks.

Fashion industry experts said that, if passed, the law would be the strongest of its kind anywhere. Leaders in French couture are opposed to the idea of legal boundaries on beauty standards.

The bill was the latest and strongest of measures proposed after the 2006 anorexia-linked death of a Brazilian model prompted efforts throughout the international fashion industry to address the repercussions of using ultra-thin models.

Conservative lawmaker Valery Boyer, author of the law, argued that encouraging anorexia or severe weight loss should be punishable in court.

Doctors and psychologists treating patients with anorexia nervosa — a disorder characterized by an abnormal fear of becoming overweight — welcomed the government's efforts to fight self-inflicted starvation, but warned that its link with media images remains hazy.

French lawmakers and fashion industry members signed a nonbinding charter last week on promoting healthier body images. Spain in 2007 banned ultra-thin models from catwalks.

But Boyer said such measures did not go far enough.

Her bill has mainly brought focus to pro-anorexic Web sites that give advice on how to eat an apple a day — and nothing else.

But Boyer insisted in her speech to lawmakers Tuesday that the legislation was much broader and could, in theory, be used against many facets of the fashion industry.

It would give judges the power to imprison and fine offenders up to $47,000 if found guilty of "inciting others to deprive themselves of food" to an "excessive" degree, Boyer said in a telephone interview before the parliamentary session.

Judges could also sanction those responsible for a magazine photo of a model whose "excessive thinness ... altered her health," she said.

Boyer said she was focusing on women's health, though the bill applies to models of both sexes. The French Health Ministry says most of the 30,000 to 40,000 people with anorexia in France are women.

Didier Grumbach, president of the influential French Federation of Couture, said he was not aware how broad the proposed legislation was, and made no secret of his strong disapproval of such a sweeping measure.

"Never will we accept in our profession that a judge decides if a young girl is skinny or not skinny," he said. "That doesn't exist in the world, and it will certainly not exist in France."

Marleen S. Williams, a psychology professor at Brigham Young University in Utah who researches the media's effect on anorexic women, said it was nearly impossible to prove that the media causes eating disorders.

Williams said studies show fewer eating disorders in "cultures that value full-bodied women." Yet with the new French legal initiative, she fears, "you're putting your finger in one hole in the dike, but there are other holes, and it's much more complex than that."

dollie_midget · #2 04-15-2008, 03:07 PM

she fears, 'you're putting your finger in one hole in the dike, but there are other holes
um

rosaline · #3 04-15-2008, 05:48 PM

sasha will not stand for this.

whys this in diet & exercise? is it one for the galz? *high five*

Violet Pixie · #4 04-15-2008, 06:14 PM

As much as I want healthy representations of women in the media I have to say I have problems with restricitng people's right to freedom of expression. And in the long run I don't know if outlawing extreme thinness is going to deal with the problem because in the eyes of many an teenager it will only make it more rebellious and thus, more tantalising. The question also needs to be asked about the flipside to this? Overweight/obesity is a bigger social problem than anorexia or bulimia so why are there no restrictions on representations on morbid obesity in the media? You shouldn't restrict debate like that I don't think.

odessa · #5 04-15-2008, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Violet Pixie

Overweight/obesity is a bigger social problem than anorexia or bulimia so why are there no restrictions on representations on morbid obesity in the media?

well said.

Athena · #6 04-16-2008, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Violet Pixie

As much as I want healthy representations of women in the media I have to say I have problems with restricitng people's right to freedom of expression. And in the long run I don't know if outlawing extreme thinness is going to deal with the problem because in the eyes of many an teenager it will only make it more rebellious and thus, more tantalising. The question also needs to be asked about the flipside to this? Overweight/obesity is a bigger social problem than anorexia or bulimia so why are there no restrictions on representations on morbid obesity in the media? You shouldn't restrict debate like that I don't think.

cheshirecat · #7 04-17-2008, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Violet Pixie

As much as I want healthy representations of women in the media I have to say I have problems with restricitng people's right to freedom of expression. And in the long run I don't know if outlawing extreme thinness is going to deal with the problem because in the eyes of many an teenager it will only make it more rebellious and thus, more tantalising. The question also needs to be asked about the flipside to this? Overweight/obesity is a bigger social problem than anorexia or bulimia so why are there no restrictions on representations on morbid obesity in the media? You shouldn't restrict debate like that I don't think.

be honest. how often do you see an overweight person hosting a tv show, modelling clothes, or in an advertisement? i think you'll find that there are most definitely restrictions on overweight people in the media, and especially on overweight women. i mean really i don't know how you can say that there aren't. extreme thinness is ALWAYS promoted as perfection in fashion industry and it's not healthy.

i think that extreme thinness and extreme fatness are equally big problems in society but overweight people are far more persecuted for being "greedy" (um, i think you'll find that 80% of overweight people have pre-existing health problems/image issues), than thin people are for being, say, vain or something. and yeah, average people are always judgemental of extremes but i think people are far crueller to overweight people and it's not really fair.

BleedingHeart · #8 04-17-2008, 10:06 AM

It would be better if they just hired models that don't have to diet just to maintain their figure and just get naturally waifish girls that have a small frame to begin with....

thumbscrew · #9 04-17-2008, 10:45 AM

I wonder what the "advice on how to eat an apple a day — and nothing else." consisted of.

1. hold apple in hand
2. open mouth
3. insert apple into mouth
4. chew
5. swallow

Thankgod for the internet

Athena · #10 04-17-2008, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thumbscrew

I wonder what the "advice on how to eat an apple a day — and nothing else." consisted of.

1. hold apple in hand
2. open mouth
3. insert apple into mouth
4. chew
5. swallow

Thankgod for the internet

"Pick one food for the day, like an apple. Cut it into 4 quarters. Eat one part for breakfast, one for lunch, one for dinner, and you've got one left over for a snack."

herekitty · #11 04-17-2008, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Violet Pixie

And in the long run I don't know if outlawing extreme thinness is going to deal with the problem because in the eyes of many an teenager it will only make it more rebellious and thus, more tantalising. The question also needs to be asked about the flipside to this? Overweight/obesity is a bigger social problem than anorexia or bulimia so why are there no restrictions on representations on morbid obesity in the media? You shouldn't restrict debate like that I don't think.

they are only outlawing the promotion of extreme thinness, not the actual condition of being extremely thin.
Also, as Cheshirecat has already pointed out (in different words), there's not really a problem with anyone idolizing morbidly obese people, it just doesn't happen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thumbscrew

I wonder what the "advice on how to eat an apple a day — and nothing else." consisted of.

1. hold apple in hand
2. open mouth
3. insert apple into mouth
4. chew
5. swallow

Thankgod for the internet

look, those chicks are probably hungry and confused, they might not have energy to spare in working out the details of meals and such. sure, we don't need this help, but they might.

odessa · #12 04-17-2008, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herekitty

Also, as Cheshirecat has already pointed out (in different words), there's not really a problem with anyone idolizing morbidly obese people, it just doesn't happen.

beth ditto?

Parma_violet · #13 04-17-2008, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Athena

"Pick one food for the day, like an apple. Cut it into 4 quarters. Eat one part for breakfast, one for lunch, one for dinner, and you've got one left over for a snack."

That apple would go well brown.

cheshirecat · #14 04-17-2008, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by odessa

beth ditto?

dude i don't think anyone idolises her. besides she's like the ONLY fat woman in music. and it's fairly obvious that she's unhealthy, who the fuck would want to be that overweight? if she keeps her weight up that much she's gonna be dead in ten years.

petals · #15 04-17-2008, 08:40 PM

the only overweight woman i can think of who could be considered 'idolised' is oprah. and she was never beth ditto big. and she spent like 80% of her time on tv talking about how she going to lose the weight, or how she lost the weight, or how she was keeping the weight off now that she'd lost it. for serious. we're only allowed to love fatties who want to get skinny. therefore beth = out.

creez · #16 04-19-2008, 03:05 AM

extreme thinness...Only women can be that stupid.

Parma_violet · #17 04-19-2008, 04:21 AM

Are you kidding? There are loads of men who want to be really skinny.

creez · #18 04-19-2008, 04:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parma_violet

Are you kidding? There are loads of men who want to be really skinny.

please dont try to discuss this simple fact.

oasis · #19 04-19-2008, 07:41 AM

Athena i LOVE YOUR AVATAR, i love Stay