Let's say that ever since you were little you wanted to be a model. Not
any model, but a high fashion model who posed for Valentino and walked for Prada. You've always been moderately attractive and slim, but not slim enough. Not to be strutting Alexander McQueen's newest avant-garde dress down the catwalk. So you stop eating in order to look like the models and before you can actually realize what you're doing, you've developed an eating disorder.
Anorexia nervosa and bulima nervosa are two eating disorders commonly associated with women and models.
The National Eating Disorders Association estimates that roughly ten million women at any given time suffer from an eating disorder.
Mirasol also reports that one in every 200 American women suffer from anorexia. Anorexia is also the most lethal mental illness (yes, even beating depression), killing 5%-10% of those who contract the illness in the first ten years, and 18-20% in the first 20 years.
Obviously aware of this problem, Star Models, a model agency based out of Brazil, created an ad
campaign called "You Are Not A Sketch" with the goal of empowering women to be more than sticks and bones and to "say no to anorexia".
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| Picture from Star Models' campaign |
The campaign has been getting positive reviews, showing
most girls that it is not attractive to look like a fashion sketch. It's a great way to disillusion women suffering from an eating disorder and stress that looking frail and bony is not as attractive as they may have thought. However, there are people who like how the model looks and could view it as a goal and not be disillusioned whatsoever and rather encouraged.
