I am a retail major and have been fashion obsessed since the first episode of What Not to Wear aired. My dream is to become a part of the fashion industry as a buyer after I graduate. It's no secret that the modeling industry and the fashion industry go hand-in-hand which is why this topic automatically caught my attention. I'm also a huge advocate for strong, healthy women no matter your body shape and I think it's extremely important that models are not sacrificing their health to work. As far as personal experience goes, I can't say I've known a model who's risked her own health, but I've seen so many girls try and fit a certain body type that the fashion industry promotes as "perfect". Not to mention, if their body doesn't mimic that "perfection", they automatically criticize themselves. Because of my recent research and past experiences witnessing young girls condemn their own bodies, I am credible to discuss this topic. 

The first source I used was on cosmopolitan.com and it criticized Victoria Beckham's latest fashion show because of her use of ultra-thin models. This caught many people's attention worldwide. Some people even connected Beckham's choice of models to the quite slim designer herself. Because people then began to flaw Beckham, some came to her defense and said those who criticized other women were really just covering their own insecurities. Because of that claim, this article brought up the topic of having a positive body image. 

Next, I used an article from bustle.com that raised the question of whether using BMI to determine if a model was "healthy" to work was the most accurate method. This article mentioned that many modeling agencies have found loopholes around the BMI scale such as hiding small weights in models underwear or in their hair in order to make them appear heavier on the scale. The last point this article hit on was making sure people knew there was actually a difference between an unhealthy, malnourished model and a naturally thin model. They cannot and should not be confused because then you're only criticizing a body type that cannot be changed, just like every other.  

Finally, the last article I used came from i-D.vice.com and it completely condemns the use of BMI as the correct test that models need to pass in the modeling industry. This article takes direct quotes from a 19 year old, former model who was told she was too big to work, although to anybody else, she is a relatively thin girl. This article also mentions how the modeling industry has become an evil to young girls today, making them feel inferior if their body doesn't look like the models wearing the clothes from the stores they shop at. Young girls are idolizing these models but for all the wrong reasons. This article makes the reader feel concerned not only about the requirements placed on models today, but about our future generation and the mold they feel they have to fit.

This research question is completely arguable because you have two distinct sides: the fashion designers who need models to fit their size 0 samples and the models themselves who shouldn't have to starve their bodies and fit a certain criteria in order to make a paycheck. Some agreements I have found in my sources are that BMI is not necessarily the smartest way to prove a model is healthy and that the modeling industry has promoted an unhealthy and non-realistic body image in many young girls today. As far as disagreements go, I found that two of the articles I used want to make sure that the models who really are just genetically slim and don't have to neglect their bodies in order to work aren't berated. There needs to be a clear distinction between a naturally skinny model and a malnourished model. 

My sources haven't really affected my own view on this topic. I still believe that measuring BMI doesn't prove if a model is healthy or not because it doesn't take into account many other important factors such as metabolism. However, I do think there should be tests that qualify models to work based off of their actual health, not just their height and weight. I might need to consider including that all body types should be used in the fashion industry in order to promote the idea that all body shapes are beautiful, but I don't want that to cause my paper to go off topic. 
