As the New Year approaches the annual assault of advice for slimming and trimming begins again, inaugurating the season of faddy dieting and gruelling exercise regimes. Women today are bombarded by a cascade of literature and images prescribing the physiognomy of the ‘ideal’ female. Slender models leering down from billboards, magazines bursting with chiselled cheekbones, stick thin mannequins posing in shop windows; it is impossible to escape the onslaught of this prescription of beauty. While the fashion industry is often held responsible for body image, it is a complex issue that needs to be seen in its social and historical context.
Although I will focus on issues of female body image, this is not to diminish similar pressures on men. From protein powders to gym memberships, there is an entire industry devoted to preying on male anatomical insecurities. We have created a culture and economy in which we identify one another’s imperfections and prescribe endless remedies for our apparent ’defects’.
One of the most interesting features of our image obsessed culture is the way it materialises not from birth but later in life. We encourage our offspring to treasure their distinctiveness, yet later in life this philosophy evaporates. The child who was once inspired to cherish her lumps and bumps is now offered diets, exercise regimes and even drastic surgeries to help shed the ‘flab’. At the dawn of adolescence girls are suddenly confronted by a world commanding flawless perfection. Instead of idolising figures like Angela Merkel and Michele Obama, celebrities like Cara Delavigne and Cheryl Cole become heroes of worship. This is not say these two women do not deserve acclaim, but for their professional achievements rather than their sculpted hips and breasts. If we are going to teach our children to accept all shapes and sizes this philosophy must be continued later in life.
The fashion industry has a lot to answer for. Skeletal models parade across catwalks and tiny girls are draped across glossy magazine pages. This industry has propelled a perverted perception of the female form in which protruding bones are considered ‘chic’, gaunt faces ‘elegant’ and bowed legs ‘graceful’. Indeed fashion guru, Karl Lagerfeld’s declaration that ‘nobody wants to see a curvy figure on the runway’ exposes the vehemence of this culture. It appears that today the route to happiness is through a size 4 dress. The devastating effect on women, particularly young females is profound. Unable to achieve a size zero frame we are left feeling unattractive, even ugly; relentlessly comparing thighs and buttocks with these airbrushed seraphs.
However the fashion industry’s size zero culture is not directly and exclusively culpable for insecurities with our physical appearance. The relationship between this multibillion pound sector and female body image multifaceted. Indeed arguably this size zero ethos merely satisfies existing social attitudes. This is a position supported by editor of British Vogue, Alexandra Shulman, who recently claimed that catwalk culture cannot be considered the tipping point from dissatisfaction with body image into something more harmful. To an extent Shulman is right. Demand for excessively thin models is not the sole source of negative perceptions of oneself- leading to damaging emotional and psychological problems (such as self-harm or eating disorders). Mental illness is a lethal concoction of deeper unhappiness and insecurity. While the fashion industry’s promotion of a slim frame is clearly an aggressive force body dysphoria, it must be recognised as a cog in a wheel, not the source of the problem.
Nonetheless this does not mean the fashion industry is not in need of reform. Following recent pressure from lobby groups steps are now being taken to reduce the use of malnourished models. Several years ago in the UK it was announced an all-party parliamentary group, led by Conservative politician Caroline Noakes, will investigate the option of laws prohibiting underweight models on British catwalks. This echoes similar movement across the channel where French authorities have barred the employment of ultra- thin models, with fines of up to £55,000 for agencies found contravening the new conventions. We are already witnessing changes. In June Yves Saint Laurent’s advertisement featuring underweight models was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority. This is part of wide ranging regulatory reform in France aimed at tackling the worrying glorification of unhealthily slim physiques. If the world’s fashion capital is reforming their practices, surely it is time we followed suit. However, while the prohibition of underweight models and other reforms may signal progress they merely scratch the surface of our deep rooted obsession with body image.
The media also shoulders a significant proportion of the blame for propelling idealisation and objectification of the female form. Popular magazines exuberantly make a spectacle of celebrity physiques, pointing out excess flesh and lambasting style faux pas. We revel in this cruel sport; mocking Madonna’s love handles, sneering at Angelina Jolie’s stretch marks and derisively noting Beyonce’s double chin. Disturbingly, even Serena Williams, arguably the greatest female athlete on the planet, whose muscles have helped her secure countless championship titles, is regularly denounced for her larger figure.
The media has even instilled body image as a prevailing feature in today’s politics. We have come to define the professional capability of female politicians by their physical appearance. Although the accessibility of politics for women has improved dramatically over the last century, media representation of female politicians is perpetuating an archaic attitude to women’s professionalism, where they are deemed inferior to their male counterparts. When David Cameron speaks at prime minister’s questions, the colour of his tie is not deemed newsworthy; yet Tessa Jowell and Harriet Harman’s outfit disasters dominate media coverage of their appearance in the commons.
Body image is an increasingly perturbing issue. This objectification of our anatomy has become ingrained in our society with women encouraged to pursue physical perfection. It permeates all levels of 21st century society with devastating effects for sexual equality and even mental health. Women are instructed consciously and subconsciously- in the importance of their appearance. So maybe this New Year requires a focus on a more holistic wellbeing, not merely chasing physiques like our airbrushed idols. While there is no problem in trying to get outside more, or cut back on sugar this January, we must remind ourselves we are not defined by our externalities.