Fashion and trends change and evolve from week to week, even day to day, but one thing that never changes in the fashion industry is the debate over whether or not models are too skinny. The conversation has gone back and forth for years and most recently has turned into questioning if models should have to have a minimum body mass index (BMI) or if they should even be excluded all together because of their weight. All of these questions and actions being taken are for the promotion of healthier standards for models and in order to prevent women from developing eating disorders, negative self body images and other weight-related discrepancies. 

Being interested in fashion and a part of the modeling industry myself, I have always kept up with weekly fashion blogs, the latest editorials, and certainly every season of fashion week. Models and their weight has always been a topic of concern and I have recently experienced it first hand, qualifying me to form an argument for my audience.  I began going on castings in different markets and cities and after being exposed to the brutality of agencies, it opened my eyes. I have never been personally affected by any type of eating disorder, however, I began to see the impact that the media was having on women and young girls, the models included. With the constant encouragement from agencies at castings to be a certain number size, bust-hip-waist measurement and height, it seemed as if models would do anything- starve themselves or even do drugs- to meet the specific requirements and if not: Do not let the door hit you on the way out. I was rejected time after time but was also being told, "this is how the industry works, you can't take it personally." Therefore, to be a model in today's society, you have to be perfect in the eyes of the agencies. Who are they to define what is considered 'perfect?' New to this industry and disturbed at some of the habits of these young girls, I knew I needed to stay grounded and could not let the decisions of other models affect what I knew was right. If the models idolized in the media are acting this way to maintain a certain image, imagine what it is doing to the girls who see these ads multiple times a day and the harm it could be causing to their self-image.

I started my research by looking up an academic journal on "Understanding the Impact of Thin Media Models on Women's Body-Focused Affect: The Role of Thin-Ideal Internationalization and Weight-Related Self Discrepancy Activation in Experimental Exposure Effects." Behind the lengthy title is the research study that demonstrates the negative effects that exposure to ultra-thin media models has on women's body images. A test was created, providing scientific based research evidence, to determine the relationship between weight-related self-discrepancies and exposure to advertisements featuring ultra-thin models. The authors of the journal are Helga Dittmar (University of Sussex, U.K.), Emma Halliwell (University of the West of England, U.K.), and Emma Stirling (University of Sussex, U.K.), each from an accredited university in the U.K. They were published into the academic journal and together they spent years researching and doing case studies on the issue. I would not say it is biased article because it is scientific, however, there is a clear claim. I am relying on both the authors and sources to be credible based off of their credentials and because it is coming from the Academic Source Complete database.

The second source I used was an informative article about how "Skinny Models Must Prove They Are Healthy to Work in France." The central claim or idea of this article was to discuss the new law that was recently passed in France pertaining to models. Models now have to have a doctor's note confirming they are 'healthy' in regards to their height and weight, in order to work. The article talks about the current controversy in the modeling industry over models being 'too skinny' and it having a negative impact on adolescents and potentially being a reason behind eating disorders. The author, Henry Samuel, has been a correspondent covering French Politics since 1996. He may not necessarily be "credible" per say for this topic because he does not have a primary focus on modeling or health, however, we rely on ethos in this situation in hopes that he is credible and works for a reliable newspaper company, The Daily Telegraph, of London. It being an argumentative article, I did not notice any bias because it was not necessarily taking a stance, but simply presenting facts about the new law that has been passed in France for models to work.

The most recent source I have looked at to help in my research process is a web article titled "Vogue Magazine Bans Anorexic Models, But Will It Help?" The author uses evidence from a university and other articles to raise questions on whether or not Vogue's ban on anorexic models will be beneficial to the industry, or if it is even their right to determine whether or not someone looks anorexic or has an eating disorder. The change made by the magazine surfaced questions about if it was even legal, if their intentions were good, or if there was some sort of loophole around the issue. The article claims there is no medical evidence to prove that most fashion models are anorexic or bulimic, and banning them from work may not be the best approach. It discusses that Vogue is not the first to make efforts to try and curb eating disorders for models as other countries have attempted in similar ways. Deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer science magazine, author Benjamin Radford typically covers information regarding pseudoscience and psychology. He has a degree in education and psychology therefore we rely on both him and the science magazine, Scientific Inquirer, to be credible sources. The source in my eyes could potentially be biased because of the wording and there are subtle hints that could make the reader think he is taking a side, however, he might just be presenting an opposing view.

This research question is arguable because many people believe that the weight of media models has zero affect on girls and their body image and also argue that they could be naturally thin and a doctor's note is ridiculous. Some believe that there could be illegal loopholes to get around the issue and it is no one's place to determine whether or not a model has an eating disorder or is causing others to develop them too. Others believe the opposite and use scientific evidence to prove the direct effects that exposure to thin models has on society. The different perspectives of the sources made me look at my argument in a different light and helped me revise my research question. I considered more of the other side of why models should not have to prove anything about their health in order to do their job. When I originally chose this topic I assumed, for the most part, people would be in favor or requiring health notes and the promotion of healthy body images, "loving your body" per say, in order to prevent eating disorders etc., however, that is not always the case. After doing some more research, I realized there really is a whole other side to the debate which will give me a better understanding of the issue at hand, ultimately making me more credible and allowing me to formulate a stronger argument. 

