Debate: size 0 - how thin is too thin?

[aob1013]

Should size 0 be allowed on catwalks? No, it's setting a bad example for women - saying they should be that thin, and it's normal

Are we obsessed with our weight? Yes, i think most women are. They think they have to look perfect to be accepted

Airbrushing in magazines? I don't like it, it adds to every other obsession, perfect hair, perfect makeup, perfect skin, perfect this, that...

 

[SKATERBUN]

Regarding catwalk fashion models, I think being a size 8 is perfectly ok to show off designer clothing, why go to further extremes bordering on anorexia (I presume by size zero the OP means a size 4 in UK sizes?? not sure and didnt even know this existed lol)
Being this stick thin creates a bad impression to youngsters.

I also think like someone else mentioned that there should also be a mix of sizes.
Also depending on who the designers target market is.
I think from a rough poll done the other day on the forum it was kind of concluded that average size is 8-10 or 12-14.

 

[dizzyisacow]

Should size 0 be allowed on catwalks? yes. but so should size 16, 18, 20! e.t.c

Are we obsessed with our weight? not EVERYONE is. but yes some are, and definetely give it too much notice when it isnt all that important. all thats important is that we are healthy. why cares about rolls,flab,big,small e.t.c? after all WE see ourselfs this way others dont even notice because they are too busy with their own body image!

Airbrushing in magazines?they overdo it. they airbrush out stuff when its not needed.but im not against it, getting rid of a blemish or two, deleting flyaway hair e.t.c why not?

 

[morri]

Besides I also don't agree to airbrushing in magazines. Even when the models are healthy they look like Barbies when they are airbrushed..

 

[moomin_troll]

i was reading more mag the other week where they had normal girls do modeling and they looked like quiet big, but when i saw they were only size 8-10 i was so shocked. compared to the other girls they use a size 8 looks like a size 16 (which im not saying is big)

at one point i got down to a size 4-6 and i looked awful, i agree there should be a mix of models that show the clothes on all types of women

 

[aly888]

I just want to point out as well, that airbrushing has become the norm for ALL publications, be it a model for an underwear catalogue or sausage and mash in a cookbook. EVERYTHING get airbrushed in one way or another and it's all about selling the product, not a reflection on the standard of the image subject.

But should models be airbrushed to be 'thinner' than they really are?! no way...

 

[Drazic<3]

I have mixed feelings on this, probably due to my mixed attitude to food and dieting. I have been everything between a UK size 0, and an 18. I probably look best somewhere between 12-14, according to what everyone says. I have had serious eating disorders and ended up weighing just over 6stone at 5"8'. Yeah, I was as skinny as any of these models, but my hair was falling out, I could barely stand some days, I was ill - if not killing myself. The ideology of being skinny and perfect doesn't exist - it is perpetrated by airbrushing and false ideals and to the 'wrong' person, that can be psychologically catastrophic. Do I think size zero models caused my life time obsession with weight? No, not at all. They didn't cause my ED either, but did they allow me an excuse to legitimise what I was doing? Probably.

In my own experience, it is not possible to be skinny and healthy, but we are all different. I just think we need to celebrate all body types and all women, so kids know that whatever their size, they are beautiful and they should love themselves.

 

[leighbaby]

when i see pro-ana pictures, it makes me want to eat because I am so scared of becoming that thin.

i'm nowhere near becoming a size 0, but i can see how absorbing it is if you get in that frame of mind. i am at my lowest weight since my teens and i could easily start getting obsessive about it.

it is such a shame that skinny sells, iykwim?

 

[dani_tinks]

Should size 0 be allowed on catwalks? Yeah why not, I think any shape or size should be allowed on catwalks. Id like to see some bigger girls up there tbh.

Are we obsessed with our weight? Most people are and it is thanks to the media. People do look at models and think ''I wish I looked like that'' which leads me onto the next question...

Airbrushing in magazines? I don't think people should airbrush, this really sets a bad example and makes girls feel like the want to look better. No one's perfect and sometimes peoples flaws are what make them who they are and makes them unique. So I think airbrushing shouldn't happen.

 

[Blah11]

Know what I think is stupid... shops like evans that are for bigger women and they use the smallest 'plus size' model they can get away with - usually a 14 or 16 I wish they'd use a size 20+ for a change cos lets be honest people who are a size 16 or even 18 will shop in normal shops.

 

[Louby]

it goes by the individual person

as some others have said, any less than a 12 and i look ill

xxx

 

[sophxx]

ive not read every page as dont have time but will do after!

i think its really hard to state a below a certain size shouldnt be aloud on the cat walk you can tell when a girl is un healthy skin or when its natural im 5ft 8 and a 6 or smaller but i have a dd bust which is natural and i eat for loads but really healthy! x

 

[stephholloway]

I dont think size is the issue here though it health. I am quite a hefty wench but im healthy i reckon i dont suffer any medical problem nothing with my blood pressure etc. icould do with loosing afew pounds but im ok however some of these models are sick and i mean really sick!

I think anyone any size should be allowed aslong as they pass a health MOT size doesnt matter Health does i think

 

[Floralaura]

Im going to say no, size 0 shouldnt be allowed on a catwalk..how many people are actually a size 0? Not many, thus the majority have starved them selves down to be that..which is dangerous for both them and the people who aspire to be like them. Size 0 makes them look ill, close to death and awful in most cases when they have staved themselves to get there. not pretty.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

It depends on build I think. I am 5ft 1 and I am small, I dont have big shoulders and I have a petite frame. I wear a size 8 but it varys from a 6-10 in different shops x

 

[AppleBlossom]

I'm naturally a size 0 (size 4 uk size, can sometimes stretch to a size 6) I have a small frame and I'm only 5'2 and weight just over 7 stone. Apparently, according to my doctors, I shouldn't worry that I am too thin because for my frame and height I'm about at the right weight, maybe a little under. I find it pretty much impossible to even gain a pound. And I absolutely hate it. I hate being so thin. I don't look "anorexic" or whatever, my bones don't stick out all over the place. But I hate how thin I am yet I can't change it. It really saddens me that young girls and even boys aspire to be that thin. Models tend to be much taller than I am so they actually look worse. The average size in the UK is a 12/14 I think. So why model clothes on stick thin models? There should be a variety of different types of models in all shapes and sizes.
Marilyn Monroe was a size 14 and was a style icon. I don't see the need nor the attraction to look like a stick

 

[dizzyspells]

I agree that there should be a variety of sizes on the catwalk in magazines etc.Magazines I find hard as they have lovely clothes modelled in there but always on a reall skinny woman and if you were above a sz 8 it would just not look right.Why not have a few models of diff sizes modelling clothes that suit them iukwim?.

The lowest I have weighed was 9st and was about 10 on Top and 12 on the bottom as I have hips,since having Mia I could never get back to below 10.5 stone but I was a 12 top and 14 bottom and happy at that but was classed as overweight by the doctors this made me feel awfull,I was recently classed as obese at a sz 16 and I cried so much I knew I had put weight on after having Finn but to be called obese was just so upsetting.I am now back in 12/14 and still overweight,I have about another st to lose but even then will still be overweight.I have honestly felt more pressure to loose weight by my doctors than I have by looking at models but thats just me.My OH and daughter both have small frames and are naturally thin,they eat well and a lot and just dont naturally but it on.

I think no matter how hard it is, that we all just need to feel happy in our skin without feeling pressured into somthing we are not.I know I cant feel like this but would love to someday!!

 

[shocker]

Should size 0 be allowed on catwalks? The tough bit about this is although they look thin and it for some people in can be a trigger for their disordered eating at the end of the day its buisiness.Im doing fashion design and in the textbooks it gives literal measurements of the 'perfect' figure.Designers want their clothes to look their best to increase sales, therefore they put them on skinny women because lets face it most models could wear bin bags and look amazing.It also saves on material prices because you need a lot less for a 4 than a 14 obviously! Also a lot of designers dont do things to pattern they use draping where they just put the material on a mannequin until it looks the way they want (im horrific at explaining things)

Are we obsessed with our weight? Yes, desperatly so

Airbrushing in magazines? in moderation yes, I mean its just buisiness like, you want your product to sell a lot you therefore make it look as attractive as you possibly can

At the end of the day skinny models dont cause eating disorders, they can be very very triggering but they dont cause them

 

[Dream.A.Dream]

I think that really the smallest allowed on the catwalk is a size 6. People who are naturally slimmer than this are very few and far between. I also think that airbrushing should be limited to skin texture, blemishes etc. Not used to take off inches.

I think the media does put pressure on everyone to be thin. I've thought I was overweight since I was about 12 and wanted to diet from then. Now I look back on pictures of me when I was 14/15 and wish I could look like that.

Strangely, I was probably most comfortable with my body for the 1st two months after I gave birth. I know that no one expected me to look great and with being so ill when I was pregnant I had lost weight overall. Unfortunately once I could I eat again it went back on and I'm back to worrying how "big" I am daily. I'm a size 12, in very restrictive styles a 14. But I still think I'm massive and really need to lose weight. I think the media is definitely reponsible for giving people unrealistic ideals xx

 

[SKATERBUN]

Whilst some people/models etc may be a natural 'size 0' as their genes determine that this is their healthy size and weight for their frame.
I think promoting this one size can still cause insecurities and false portrayal of what is deemed as the norm to kids who are of an impressionable age and who maybe have issues with their weight due to either their genetic make up, or their eating habits..they may feel like the only way to be liked/loved is to fit into this expectation that magazines and the media set.