In mid October twenty-three year old, Filippa Hamilton who was a model that worked for Ralph Lauren was under fire for her weight. She was 5'10 and weighed 120 pounds was clearly more full-bodied than the photoshopped girl we see in the advertisement. Though Hamilton has modeled for Ralph Lauren since she was 15, the company let her go "as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract with us." But the story gets worse: Hamilton says she was let go because she'd become too fat to model for them. She claimed that they fired her because they said she was overweight and that she couldn't fit into their clothes anymore.
Models get fired and are overlooked all the time for being what the industry unreasonably considers to be overweight. Eating disorders are not only common among models, but they're also common among the women and young girls who emulate them. I am happy to see that Hamilton has come forward, and wish more models and celebrities would do the same. It's awesome and empowering when stars admit they've been photoshopped for an ad or movie poster and say how dissatisfied they are about it. With foreign countries banning underweight models from their fashion weeks, and the increasing presence of plus size models in women's magazines, we wish the unhealthy representation and falsified depiction of models and women would come to an end entirely. Do you think the day will ever come?
The current emphasis on excessive thinness for women is the one of the clearest examples of advertisements power to influence us, both culturally and individually. Advertising is not solely to blame for thiness, but there is no aspect more evasive and persuasive then advertising.
Citation: "Ralph Lauren's Ridiculous Photoshop; More Ridiculous Rage ." Jezebel 10/7/2009: 1. Web. 6 Dec 2009.
No comments:
Post a Comment