“‘You need to lose more weight. The look this year is anorexia. We don’t want you to be anorexic, but that’s what we want you to look like.’”
Advice from the fashion industry people to a young female model, (Associated Press, 2008)
This disturbing quote sums it up, doesn’t it?
Indeed, that very quote, found in the book by model, Crystal Renn “Hungry” about the fashion industry is troubling, but it’s not surprising.
Although it’s been out for a few years, the issues discussed in “Hungry” are still around today: body image, emphasis on thin appearance and the impact eating disorders have in its pursuit.
To look at her book cover, Renn is gorgeous. What she reveals, however, has been a rockier path, riddled with ugly self-loathing and self-esteem tortures.
She is a model, who, first upon the scene, was the typical, “desirable” thin model, size 0, weighing under one hundred pounds. However, once she started gaining weight, all fashion hell broke loose as her agency, fellow models, photographers and, of course, she, herself, started panicking, obsessing, criticizing and uttering all too familiar, harmful and cliché “anti-fat” statements.
Renn discusses her journey, eventually becoming a “plus size” model, which, to this day, still carries a negative connotation. We have heard the reality check statistics of real women versus thin models. “Real women” are a size 14-16, possessing more weight on a shorter frame. Yadah, yadah, yadaah.
She offers tremendous insights, the brutal reality of such young, fragile girls, under such pressure to conform, perform and be perfect. Through anorexia, exercise bulimia and various other harmful methods of control, Renn tried to fit into that oppressive standard until her body naturally rebelled. She is vocal about size/body acceptance and diversity. And, although she has experienced great success as a plus size model, including the beautiful photograph she did for breast cancer awareness, she still encounters the challenges of living in a thin obsessed world. We still struggle to move beyond that mindset.
Renn offers empowering, real life examples of her own process, giving us all much needed reality checks about this thing called image. It’s a fascinating, eye-opening and encouraging read!
“‘You need to lose more weight. The look this year is anorexia. We don’t want you to be anorexic, but that’s what we want you to look like.’”
Advice from the fashion industry people to a young female model, (Associated Press, 2008)
This disturbing quote sums it up, doesn’t it?
Indeed, that very quote, found in the book by model, Crystal Renn “Hungry” about the fashion industry is troubling, but it’s not surprising.
Although it’s been out for a few years, the issues discussed in “Hungry” are still around today: body image, emphasis on thin appearance and the impact eating disorders have in its pursuit.
To look at her book cover, Renn is gorgeous. What she reveals, however, has been a rockier path, riddled with ugly self-loathing and self-esteem tortures.
She is a model, who, first upon the scene, was the typical, “desirable” thin model, size 0, weighing under one hundred pounds. However, once she started gaining weight, all fashion hell broke loose as her agency, fellow models, photographers and, of course, she, herself, started panicking, obsessing, criticizing and uttering all too familiar, harmful and cliché “anti-fat” statements.
Renn discusses her journey, eventually becoming a “plus size” model, which, to this day, still carries a negative connotation. We have heard the reality check statistics of real women versus thin models. “Real women” are a size 14-16, possessing more weight on a shorter frame. Yadah, yadah, yadaah.
She offers tremendous insights, the brutal reality of such young, fragile girls, under such pressure to conform, perform and be perfect. Through anorexia, exercise bulimia and various other harmful methods of control, Renn tried to fit into that oppressive standard until her body naturally rebelled. She is vocal about size/body acceptance and diversity. And, although she has experienced great success as a plus size model, including the beautiful photograph she did for breast cancer awareness, she still encounters the challenges of living in a thin obsessed world. We still struggle to move beyond that mindset.
Renn offers empowering, real life examples of her own process, giving us all much needed reality checks about this thing called image. It’s a fascinating, eye-opening and encouraging read!
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