French lawmakers are close to changing the French fashion scene thanks to a recent vote on a law that would ban excessively thin models from the runway.
If you’re wondering what qualifies as excessively thin, well that’s yet to be determined, but it will be based on body mass index (aka – BMI).
It’s a strong stance on a big problem, but it also begs the question — when is government overstepping the line?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for promoting a healthier body image for women, and on the runway is a great place to start. However, passing a law that sets guidelines for how a model should look, seems like we’re heading in the wrong direction.
After all, healthy for one person is different than healthy for another person. BMI, while a guideline for what healthy should look like is not a fool-proof system for determining whether someone is a healthy weight. Not to mention the fact that enforcing this law sounds like a good way to make modeling an even more degrading profession.
So while it may be a nice thought, at the end of the day it’s just creating more body-image issues.
Wall Street Journal
…just for fun: