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. Essentially, 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. I've never 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. My recent research and past experiences witnessing young girls condemn their own bodies' makes me credible to discuss this topic. 

The first source I used, Victoria Beckham Gets Slammed for Using Too-Thin Models, written by Helin Jung on cosmopolitan.com, criticized Victoria Beckham's latest fashion show because of her use of ultra-thin models. Jung is the Executive Lifestyle Editor for Cosmopolitan, making her very credible. Some people connected Beckham's choice of models to the quite slim designer herself. This unnecessary scrutiny of Beckham brought some to her defense and said those who criticized other women were really just covering their own insecurities. It's possible there is bias by those who are thin themselves. Beckham and her models are at stake here because they are being attacked, which may ultimately hurt their careers.

Next, I found an article from bustle.com that was written by Marie Southard Ospina, an Associate Fashion and Beauty, titled, Is Banning Models for Being Too Skinny Just Another Form of Size Discrimination. Because of Ospina's experience, she is credible about the fashion industry and she begins by mentioning how many countries around the world have recently been trying to fight against eating disorders in the modeling industry. In January, Israel stated that they would no longer hire underweight models. This is where the question of whether using BMI (Body Mass Index) to determine if a model was "healthy" to work was the most accurate method. Lyndsey Scott, a model from New York City, mentioned that models with eating disorders could have a perfectly normal BMI because it doesn't take into account the person's actual health. In addition, many modeling agencies have found loopholes around the BMI scale by hiding small weights in models underwear or in their hair in order to make them appear heavier on the scale. Ospina states that this is why it's crucial that people know the difference between an unhealthy, malnourished model and a naturally thin model, which creates small bias in this article for defending naturally thin women. 

The last article I came across, The BMI Debate: How do you measure the health of models?, was written by Charlotte Gush, from i-D.vice.com and while it condemns the use of BMI as the correct test for models to pass, it also mentions that the industry has taken these positive steps to protect their models. With Gush being a diversity activist and feminist, she is very credible on this topic; however, also slightly bias. In France, any model with a BMI below 18 is banned from walking the runway and the agency is charged a fine of 75,000 euros. Magazines must also state whether they have edited a model's body and fined 37,000 euros if failing to do so. Although these steps are being taken, this article also quotes a 19 year-old, former model who was told she was too big to work. She tells how the modeling industry has become an evil to young girls today, making them feel inferior if their body doesn't look like the typical model's. Young girls are idolizing these models for the wrong reasons. This article makes the reader feel concerned about the requirements placed on models today and about our future generation.

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. I found that my sources agree 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 aren't berated. There needs to be a clear distinction between a naturally skinny model and a malnourished model. 

My research hasn't affected my view on this topic. I believe that measuring BMI doesn't prove if a model is healthy or not because it doesn't take into account factors such as metabolism. I do think there should be tests that qualify models to work based off of their actual health, not just their height and weight. 

