Nothing tastes as good as image retouching feels

French Bill Barring Ultrathin Models Clears a Hurdle

By Alissa J. Rubin (published NYTimes April 4, 2015)

PARIS, FRANCE - Controversial new measures to prohibit modeling agencies from hiring dangerously thin models and to require that retouched photos of models be clearly labeled overcame a major legislative hurdle on Friday, winning approval by the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament.

If approved by the Senate, the measures, which are part of a larger overhaul of the French health care laws, would put France in the vanguard in punishing the fashion world for its use of very thin models.

Dr. Olivier Véran, the legislator and neurologist who championed the bills, said he was “fighting malnutrition.”

“A person should not be obliged to starve herself in order to work,” he said.

Backed by the French government, the measures are intended to protect models from being pushed into losing unhealthy amounts of weight and to reduce the images of extremely thin women popularized by the fashion industry, which lawmakers say encourages young girls to become anorexic.

“Malnutrition is a major health issue,” Dr. Véran said, noting that those who suffer from anorexia often develop osteoporosis, gum disease and heart problems.

Doctors who study anorexia say that while young girls who starve themselves may feel fine at the time, the consequences can affect their health later, even if they recover from the anorexia.

Spain and Israel also have rules against the use of ultrathin models, but Spain’s rules are far more limited than France’s proposed measures.

Under France’s proposed new rules, a doctor would have to certify that a model was fit to work and that her weight was at an acceptable level for her height. The level would be set by the French government using the body mass index, but could be adjusted by the French health authorities for considerations like bone structure. Most versions of the index suggest that a woman who is 5 feet 7 should weigh at least 120 pounds, although some put the minimum at 115 pounds.

If the measures pass the Senate, they then go to Parliament’s health committee for further refinements. Employers who violate the law would have to pay a fine of about $83,000 and could serve as many as six months in prison.

Another provision would make it illegal to encourage anorexia on the Internet. Some websites encourage and reinforce efforts by women to lose weight in an unhealthy way, French legislators said.

A third element in the proposed law would require that all commercial photographs of models’ bodies that have been retouched digitally, with the goal of making a woman’s figure appear either thinner or fatter, must be labeled retouched.

Modeling agencies objected strongly to the measures. “It is very serious to conflate anorexia and the thinness of models,” said Isabelle Saint-Félix, secretary general of the National Union of Modeling Agencies.

“When you look at anorexia, you don’t just look at the body mass, but there are other criteria such as their psychological state, loss of hair and dental problems,” she told Agence France-Presse. “It’s a little bit simplistic to think there will be no more anorexics if there are no more very thin models.”

So far, few fashion houses have commented publicly, although they are often the entities asking the modeling agencies to provide very thin models. They are also likely to object to the labeling of retouched photos.

It is difficult to determine how broadly the authors intend the photo retouching provision to apply. It could apply to photos used in advertisements for a multitude of products, not just those related to clothes or fashion.

Commentary from iskm

1. Dear Isabelle Saint-Félix, in the words of kate, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels".

Now why would anyone ever conflate anorexia and the thinness of models?

2. Pop quiz: which of these people is used to market the idea of 'beauty' to you?

3. Hmm, would anyone ever resort to photo-retouching in an attempt to make you purchase something? 

Maybe skin bronzer?

... or maybe make-up?

Maybe we should just change the name of our project to i-photoshopped-katemoss and then all of these so-called famous photographers, and the fashion houses who employ them, could send us their images to bombard us into making us feel self-conscious, overweight and less beautiful with the only solution being to purchase something ... oh wait, that is the world we live in.

Do we really need laws such as these that France is proposing? Unfortunately, yes.

So, for a bit of fun, we thought we would investigate the idea of digital manipulation and representation to the other extreme ... how about an aged-kate? or a slightly more hefty kate?

According to the German site intouch anything is possible with Photoshop! They state, "Photoshop is only one there - to make unattainable beautiful stars. There is a wrinkle? Away! Flab? Whoops, gone! ... the Photoshop fans have conjured up for us again in the future on the computer."

Observe. Slow Down. Shoot. Submit.

www.ishotkatemoss.com