I'm REALLY glad you posted this, Anam. Not enough is done to convince people that it's about being as healthy as you can be, not about whimsical numbers on a scale.
Since the days of "Twiggy," (the first "waif" model from the late 1960's) there's been an intentionally midguided fashion appeal marketed to the public by the entertainment industry. The idea is that smaller, tighter clothes on smaller, tighter bodies = somehow sexy. It's as if the entire industry thinks women should look like they are pre-pubescent in the body (which, in itself, is rather sick, if you think about it... being attracted to a child's body type... fantasies of pedophilia, anyone???), but at the same time, the female model should be all woman in the face and hair portion of the picture.
Prior to Twiggy, actresses could be large, and were hidden well by good camera work and clothing. Marilyn Monroe was a size 12, Katherine Hepburn was a size 10, Greta Garbo was a size 14. Today, the average size of an actress is a size 3 or less (some are actually a size 0).
In stage work, the performance is live, and so many actresses can keep a "normal" weight. The naked eye doesn't distort what it sees. However, in Hollywood, TV, and in modeling, the camera always adds ~10lbs. to you. Since pictures are the most important deliverable to these people, the actresses must therefore appear at least 10lbs. lighter than her actual weight. Contrary to popular belief, cameras do not "just show you what is there," but often distort the truth.
So, in those pictures you show us on your blog, Anam, consider that those models are actually SKINNIER in person.
*vomitization*
I can't speak as to why model runway directors are so obsessed with skinny (since it's a live performance), but the problem in film is largely caused by directors and producers. It's these people that relay to the casting directors what they want in their actors, and the actors have all caught on that an ounce of flab can be the difference between getting the role and not. Such was the case with Jeri Ryan, who played 'Seven Of Nine,' on "Star Trek: Voyager." I've read all about her struggling with the weight issue in Hollywood. She admitted in an interview in 2001 that she had skinnied down to 102lbs. for the role in "Star Trek" because all of the higher-ups wanted her to be the sex model on the show (she was +120lbs. just months before she began filming). Not a stranger to the weight game (she'd been in the Miss America pagents all her young life), she was quoted as saying that she "knew tricks" to losing the weight quickly. I'm assuming that meant starving herself (anorexia), or pig-n-puke sessions (bulemia), or one of those fad Hollywood liquid diets combined with regular enema sessions, or a combination of all of the above. Anyway, after that series ended, she did a stint on "Boston Public," then took a few months off and began weight training. She bulked up to healthier 115lbs. However, when she went into the casting for "Shark" (a TV show, starring James Woods), they told her she was too "hefty" for the role, and basically badgered her to look like she did back in the "Star Trek" days before they would finally offer her the role. She gave in, and is now back down a very unhealthy 100lbs. Basically, we all know that the entertainment industry is housed by insidiously shallow people, but it's not always the actresses who initiate the mantra, "skinnier is better". Ofttimes, it's those behind the camera pulling those strings.
Hey, may I point others who are interested in this topic to your links? I think passing this message on blog by blog is a powerful force for change. Let me know!
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Since the days of "Twiggy," (the first "waif" model from the late 1960's) there's been an intentionally midguided fashion appeal marketed to the public by the entertainment industry. The idea is that smaller, tighter clothes on smaller, tighter bodies = somehow sexy. It's as if the entire industry thinks women should look like they are pre-pubescent in the body (which, in itself, is rather sick, if you think about it... being attracted to a child's body type... fantasies of pedophilia, anyone???), but at the same time, the female model should be all woman in the face and hair portion of the picture.
Prior to Twiggy, actresses could be large, and were hidden well by good camera work and clothing. Marilyn Monroe was a size 12, Katherine Hepburn was a size 10, Greta Garbo was a size 14. Today, the average size of an actress is a size 3 or less (some are actually a size 0).
Here's some great articles on this issue:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2248/is_n127_v32/ai_20413253
http://www.hilary.com/features/nofatchicks.html
In stage work, the performance is live, and so many actresses can keep a "normal" weight. The naked eye doesn't distort what it sees. However, in Hollywood, TV, and in modeling, the camera always adds ~10lbs. to you. Since pictures are the most important deliverable to these people, the actresses must therefore appear at least 10lbs. lighter than her actual weight. Contrary to popular belief, cameras do not "just show you what is there," but often distort the truth.
So, in those pictures you show us on your blog, Anam, consider that those models are actually SKINNIER in person.
*vomitization*
I can't speak as to why model runway directors are so obsessed with skinny (since it's a live performance), but the problem in film is largely caused by directors and producers. It's these people that relay to the casting directors what they want in their actors, and the actors have all caught on that an ounce of flab can be the difference between getting the role and not. Such was the case with Jeri Ryan, who played 'Seven Of Nine,' on "Star Trek: Voyager." I've read all about her struggling with the weight issue in Hollywood. She admitted in an interview in 2001 that she had skinnied down to 102lbs. for the role in "Star Trek" because all of the higher-ups wanted her to be the sex model on the show (she was +120lbs. just months before she began filming). Not a stranger to the weight game (she'd been in the Miss America pagents all her young life), she was quoted as saying that she "knew tricks" to losing the weight quickly. I'm assuming that meant starving herself (anorexia), or pig-n-puke sessions (bulemia), or one of those fad Hollywood liquid diets combined with regular enema sessions, or a combination of all of the above. Anyway, after that series ended, she did a stint on "Boston Public," then took a few months off and began weight training. She bulked up to healthier 115lbs. However, when she went into the casting for "Shark" (a TV show, starring James Woods), they told her she was too "hefty" for the role, and basically badgered her to look like she did back in the "Star Trek" days before they would finally offer her the role. She gave in, and is now back down a very unhealthy 100lbs. Basically, we all know that the entertainment industry is housed by insidiously shallow people, but it's not always the actresses who initiate the mantra, "skinnier is better". Ofttimes, it's those behind the camera pulling those strings.
Hey, may I point others who are interested in this topic to your links? I think passing this message on blog by blog is a powerful force for change. Let me know!