President Francois Hollande’s government yesterday supported two health amendments making it illegal for any model with a BMI below 18 working in the industry, if the legislation is passed in parliament.
Modelling agencies and fashion houses advertising or hiring models with a BMI below 18 could face up to six months jail time and fines of up to 75,000 euros if caught using models deemed “too thin” said Oliver Veran when he spoke to Le Parisien.
“It’s intolerable to promote malnutrition and to commercially exploit people who are endangering their own health,” said Veran who is a Socialist MP and neurologist who wrote the amendments.
If the legislation is passed, models will be required to present a medical certificate showing their Body Mass Index meets the legal requirements not only before being hired for a job, but after the job is completed.
To meet a BMI of at least 18 a woman 173 centimetres tall would need to weigh at least 56 kilograms.
This will force many models to put on weight if they want to walk in the shows at Paris Fashion Week, including some Victoria Secret Angels such as Candice Swanepoel, Adrianna Lima and Alessandro Ambrosio, if Unleashed magazine’s website listings are correct.
Websites, blogs and social media accounts promoting anorexia and “thinspiration” will also be penalised if the amendments are passed.
With the rise of social media platforms like instagram, and the role they are now playing in the lives of young girls, it’s impossible to ignore the influence they has over the younger generation and their perception of thin.
Up to 40,000 people in France suffer from anorexia, with the majority being young women.
If the amendments are passed, France will join Italy, Spain, Belgium and Chile in regulating skinny models in the industry, with Israel leading the way as the first country to introduce legislation in 2013.
There is little doubt the debate will dwindle in Australia, with Sydney Fashion Week hitting Carriageworks and social media feeds throughout the country next month.
