if there was any doubt to the fashion industry conspiracy...

[BlaqueKatt]

the hottest runway model for women's clothing is a male.

yes he even advertises for women's lingerie

so yup that body image problem for teen girls just got worse. A teenage girl cannot anatomically have the same body structure as a male. Yet this is what's being promoted as "ideal female beauty." As if airbrushed and photoshopped wasn't enough.

this article reveals that he is borderline anorexic

[Andara Bledin]

The fashion industry needs some major regulation regarding model sizes.

As for Andrej, he looks like a skinny boy. A few of the head shots are sufficiently ambiguous to make it difficult to tell, but his hips and thighs and waist (particularly together) are definitely those of a boy.

I feel sorry for girls who can't recognize the difference and who hurt themselves in the attempt to emulate his or any other model's appearance.

^-.-^

[Canarr]

Okay... that is just wrong on so many levels, I've lost count.

But, yeah: there needs to be some kind of regulation regarding weight and size of the models. Some years ago, there was a fashion show in either Milano or Madrid (I forget which) that outright banned models below a certain BMI from working there. While I realize that BMI is far from ideal, it still provides *some* kind of limitation, and was - at that time - applauded.

And, spoken as a male with a (I believe) healthy interest in women: I. Don't. Get. It.

Who really wants this so-called ideal that the fashion industry is propagating? What man really *wants* to look at a skinny, half-starved girl with hardly any curves on her? Who here has *ever* seen a shot from a fashion runway and thought, "Hell, yeah! I want to HIT THAT!"

I haven't. Not ONCE have I seen a fashion model (on TV; don't really frequent those circles regularly) that I found interesting as a woman. Years ago I witnessed a presentation for the clothing line of a Formula 1 driver (some Brazillian guy, I think) and talked to the models afterwards - students, who did that as a job to pay for living expenses - and yes, *they* were pretty; you could actually look at their chest, hips or ass and immediately tell that they were female (and yes, I did). But they probably wouldn't have found work in the fashion industry, either.

Some ten or twelve years ago, I think, a German comedian named Michael Mittermaier had a running joke where he'd poke fun at Kate Moss. She was doing commercials for a scent called Obsession at the time, and he'd joke how her stumbling through the commercial mouthing "Obsession!" made him think of a starving girl asking for "WaszumEssen!" ("Something to eat!"). When I was out one night with a couple of guys and one girl, us guys were retelling that joke and laughing about both the joke and the model when the girl, having been mostly silent before, suddenly said, "I think she's pretty. I'ld love to have a body like that." Now, THAT shut us up, quickly; we just sat and stared at her for a moment. You could tell she was completely serious, not trying to pull our leg or fishing for compliments. She actually believed that - and she was pretty. Had a bit of a belly, and generous hips, but far, far from fat, with a very nice figure (curves where they needed to be).

That right there really scared me, because I could feel the conviction behind her words. Fortunately, she didn't try for a Kate Moss figure, but worked out her issues with herself, and is now happily married with a healthy kid. But I just can't shake the feeling that there are girls out there who weren't so lucky.

[Cats]

Models like this sicken me. Seriously.

My BMI is about 19, and it's only that high because I'm short (4'11). I'm one of those pepole who can eat all day but since I'm pretty active, I don't gain weight easily at all. For me, it's half-blessing, half-curse.

While I am mostly comfortable in my own skin, it is mostly because there is no healthy way for me to change it much. The front of my hip bone can be felt though a pair of pants. If I lean over, my spine is CLEARLY visible to the point where you could make music on it. The bones in my hand are pretty visible too.

My thighs are a decent size and I do have boobs (though they're small), so I do have some meat elsewhere. But considering how skin and bones I am in some places, it really makes me worry for these models.

I would love to see models in ALL shapes and sizes. Not just skinny as hell, plus size, and tall (though occasionally I do see petit).

[AdminAssistant]

For the record, most "plus-size" models are a size 10 or 12.

[lordlundar]

Well I agree it's not exactly a good idea to be promoting an impossible figure, it's not a new thing in theater. Peter pan for example was supposed to be of an elven stature so women were often used for the role (and I've seen a number of stage performances of it, it's well done) And during Shakespeare's time and even as far back as the roman empire theater performers were male, regardless of the gender role of the character.

[AdminAssistant]

Performers were male in ye olden day primarily because being an actor was considered as 'noble' as being a thief. It wasn't a 'lady-like' profession. And when women were allowed on stage in Restoration England, many were considered to be little more than prostitutes. It took a very long time for actors, and actresses in particular, to be seen as respectable.

Women were often cast as male characters in the 19th-early 20th century because it gave the audiences an opportunity to see their legs when 'ladies' barely showed any ankle. Why do you think Peter Pan wears those little tights?

[fireheart17]

Models like this sicken me. Seriously.

My BMI is about 19, and it's only that high because I'm short (4'11). I'm one of those pepole who can eat all day but since I'm pretty active, I don't gain weight easily at all. For me, it's half-blessing, half-curse.

That's high by your standards? anything over 25 is overweight and anything over 30 is considered to be obese. I have no idea what mine is and I don't particularly care. Especially because it only considers weight on the scales and doesn't take into account muscle. So a guy who bodybuilds is apparently obese according to the BMI standards.

Women were often cast as male characters in the 19th-early 20th century because it gave the audiences an opportunity to see their legs when 'ladies' barely showed any ankle. Why do you think Peter Pan wears those little tights?

Someone mentioned it earlier, but Peter Pan has traditionally been done as a female role for size among other things.

As for the original post, that's a male?!

[AdminAssistant]

TSomeone mentioned it earlier, but Peter Pan has traditionally been done as a female role for size among other things.

The Breeches role is a trope that goes back to the Restoration and did continue through the 20th century with such actresses as Sarah Bernhardt and Maude Adams (the original Peter Pan).

According to Kim Marra in Strange Duets: Impresarios & Actresses in the American Theatre, 1865-1914, Barrie wanted Peter Pan to be played by an actress in part due to his homosexuality. "Adams had queer male appeal in Barrie's fairy tale partly because it featured the one breeches part in her repertoire that Bernhardt could not credibly embody" (123).

[Gravekeeper]

I must admit I have never, ever understood the high fashion scene nor have I ever seen it appear in real life at any point in my own life. Nor have I ever known anyone that pays a shred of attention to the silliness that occurs in it. I don't think I've ever seen a single outfit on display at one of these high end fashion shows that anyone in their right mind would ever wear.

Plus they're always draped over some horrific skeletal woman who looks like its taking all of her energy just to walk a straight line. I will never understand why anyone thinks portruding bone is attractive. >.>

[Boozy]

That's high by your standards?

She didn't say it was high. She said it's "only that high because"...There's a difference.

[blas87]

My BMI is at "overweight", but I consider myself relatively thin. I'm built like a white version of Beyonce or Kim Kardashian (except my rear is nowhere near that damn large), but very, very muscular legs, shoulders and back.

Before I joined the gym, I could barely lift a bag of potatoes or a gallon of milk. Now I can help my dad hurl bags of wood pellets and not crack a sweat.

I think the average model is disgusting and gross. At least plus size models look happy. And yet, they don't even appear that "plus" sized at all. They look like normal women, and what a healthy woman looks like.

[fireheart17]

I must admit I have never, ever understood the high fashion scene nor have I ever seen it appear in real life at any point in my own life. Nor have I ever known anyone that pays a shred of attention to the silliness that occurs in it. I don't think I've ever seen a single outfit on display at one of these high end fashion shows that anyone in their right mind would ever wear.

Plus they're always draped over some horrific skeletal woman who looks like its taking all of her energy just to walk a straight line. I will never understand why anyone thinks portruding bone is attractive. >.>

I've never really understood the high fashion scene either. Nor do I really understand certain fashion trends. I'll go with a trend if I think it'll last or it's adaptable (for example, I still have a peasant skirt somewhere-while the boho trend has somewhat fallen by the wayside recently, the skirt is still usable with everyday t-shirts and flats), but there are some trends that make me facepalm.

As for the comment regarding models, I remember reading somewhere that the whole "skeletal" woman thing was partially due to the fact that originally they would put more healthier looking models out there, but the journalists, photographers and the like focused on the person as a whole, rather than on just what she was wearing. The idea for the stick-figure was that if they couldn't notice the woman, then they'd concentrate more on the clothes. That could be horrifically incorrect, I don't know.

[Boozy]

It's generally accepted in the fashion industry that the models are just clothes hangers. No one, including the designers of these clothes, actually expect that someone will look like that in real life.

[blas87]

It's unhealthy and gross to see someone whose malnourishment shows, no matter how much makeup or airbrushing gets done to their face and body.

Their cheeks are hollow and sunken in, their bones are nearly poking out of the skin, their eyes look lifeless, and they always look older than they are, not younger. With the fashion industry being obsessed with tall women, you get a bunch of girls that are over 5'6 and barely 100 lbs, if even that. Well, 100 pounds is suitable for someone who is 5'0, not 5'9.

Then again, I never really buy anything that looks "fashionable" on TV or in the magazines because it's never catered to anyone who actually has breasts, hips, or a butt.