Each and everyone of us work very hard at avoiding body fat, We loathe it and would luv nothing more than to not ever have the worry of it.

Everyone has heard  the term BMI (body mass index). It is a way to test the ratio of ones body fat. It is when a doctor or fitness trainer pinches a bit of your skin under your arm and/or  your side with that funny looking pincher tool and then looks at you like you did something wrong.

In my article, I am going  to share a few thoughts with you on body image and a bit about those beautiful catwalk models that are making some people a  large sum of money at  the expense of their well being and self-esteem.

My thoughts to write this article began sometime ago.  It was form a  post that was in regards to a newspaper article, which went on about runway and/r catwalk models in Spain. It was not about their beauty or thin figures...it was on how they are now having to pass with a much higher BMI result in order to be contracted. You are probably thinking, it is about time these models were allowed to gain some weight. I also had that same thought and at the same time I remembered when we had the Twiggy era, remember her?
 

Here is a bit of information that will help give you a better idea of just how skinny these models HAVE to be in order to be contracted or chosen!
Research proves that now, "The accepted BMI (body mass index) of a runway model is to be no more than 16. " Research also shows that, "according the the World Health Organization, the BMI of 18.5 is still considered unhealthy."
So I decided to plug in a weight of 126 lbs and a height of 5'5", which I would consider an average healthy height and weight ratio. The BMI results were- 19.5 which still came up as unhealthy.
You can imagine these models that are probably at least 3-4 inches taller than me and take it from there.
That is absolutely torturous. Talk about abuse, that's insane.

Our teens look at these fashion models and this is the body image that they expect to see when they look in the mirror. This is the exact point where these girls begin to loose their hope, confidence and self-esteem. They are comparing themselves with a very unhealthy idea of what a fashionable women should look like if she wants to get anywhere in our world.
Did you know that most models are chain smokers and heavy cocaine users, so that they can maintain a hold on their hunger pangs?

On another note: I have seen the Victoria Secret models in their catalogs and on the television commercials. I have always thought they were definitely the most beautiful women that I have ever seen. I too was under the false impression that they were not too thin, slim yes, but not unhealthy. When I say false impression, I am talking about what the media and marketing agencies are striving to brainwash us all to think and buy into.

Then I happened upon a picture and a video of them (Victoria Secret models), they were at some sort of a function or concert.  When I looked to see who these models were, I was SHOCKED that they were these rare beauties that the commercials and catalog's use to sell their products. I had to really look to see if it was them.
There was no camera trickery or makeup artist doing up these pix or this video. These women looked horribly gaunt and had rib cages that  screamed out anorexia.
It really took away my idea of just how beautiful I thought they were.

So for all of you women out there that compare themselves with these unrealistic body images, relax and admire what you have. Stop allowing what is not real determine your level of self-esteem.
The same goes for those men out there that feel they are missing out on something. Please and thank you!

It is a very sad fact that women continue to put themselves through all of this torture. But think again what the bottom line is here.
It is all about $$$$$, glory and acceptance.
Vanity is a huge devils advocate and it will always be this way.

It seems like things are different now, but in all reality, things are no different.

Now I am going to bring back the thought of Twiggy. Remember her and her dying to 'be thin to be in' motto back then. Twiggy was the queen of thin in those days of modeling.
Models died then also from starvation and over-use of drugs. Only a small percentage of the media picked up on those tragedies back then before we had the luxury of digital cameras and internet began to exploit us all.

Slowly more health oriented people moved into the magazine organization and things slowly began to change. But not fast enough, because once breast augmentation began its whole new promise of a sexier you, all that went to hell.
So we are in fact back to square one and I believe as long as there is a dollar to be made, mankind will sacrifice anyone to get it.

We would like to think that  people are different now, but in reality, they are no different, the only difference is that we now have the Internet and things are more open and obvious to our eyes than they were before.
Are we really that much further ahead in how we accept ourselves or exploit others?

Now lets go back a bit farther before the dying to be thin Twiggy era. We had voluptuous women like Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and Raquel Welch as the body image to admire and compare ourselves to. Do you see the same pattern that I do here?

I have said this many times and I will not stop now, we can only secure our own little part of the world. We cannot change what is already going on.
We have hopes and dreams that we will someday live in a perfect world, but that's a definite pipe dream.

Mankind will always want more and through that want, they will sacrifice anything and anyone to get it.
The greed that is in our world resulting from this need to profit , it is what will eventually cause us to self-destruct, even war against each other. Just watch any news channel and you will see that this has already began.

When women become stronger and more individual to the point where they could care a less about being the prettiest and the sexiest, then that would definitely begin an entire new generation.
We have the power to set the standards, if we so choose. The second women take control and start to walk off the ramps and say no to the demands of being thin to be in...a precedent will be set .
When women realize that we are strength in numbers, then and only then will they be able to build a resilience. This resilience that is much needed to battle all of this garbage that we are dealing with every day!

~D~

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