French taking swipe at thin
“It’s time for public action against this scourge,” said Valerie Boyer, the bill’s author and a member of France’s ruling party, who said that as many as 40,000 French people, mostly girls and young women, suffer from anorexia. Some lawmakers, fashion industry representatives and advertisers criticized the measure, saying the courts should not be the arbiters of health or beauty. “It may mean that we won’t be able to publish anything,” said Isabelle Maury, editor of France’s Elle magazine. “If they decide to strictly implement it, it could mean that every fashion show and magazine will be banned or charged.” Since the deaths of two anorexic Latin American models two years ago, European countries have faced pressure to better protect and regulate the health of fashion models and curb advertising that promotes unrealistic standards of beauty. Spain has banned models with less than a specified body mass index. Last year, Italy barred girls under 16 from its runways and started requiring all models to present health certificates proving they do not suffer from eating disorders. New laws in Britain require models with anorexia or bulimia to prove they are being treated for the disorders before they can participate in London Fashion Week. This month, the French fashion industry signed an agreement to combat anorexia by promoting healthy body images in advertisements and on Paris runways. But the agreement is non-binding. The bill that passed France’s lower house Tuesday and now goes to the Senate would make it illegal to “provoke a person to aspire to excessive thinness by encouraging prolonged food limitations.”
Tags: health, young women