People die from anorexia and bulimia, as well as suicides from the pressures to be skinny. Elle Homes, a girl from the United Kingdom living in China, killed herself over her severe desire to be thin. She wrote songs that revealed the pain she felt to try to be perfect, and was self-harming before her death. She was bulimic, making herself sick in attempts to be like the girls she filled her blog with. And she was only 15. Another teen, Laura Willmott, died from cardiac arrest after a five-year-long battle with anorexia. There are young people all over the world that have access to pro-eating disorder and pro-anorexia sites, and overall are adversely influenced and motivated by them.
Unfortunately, something very ugly grew out of a tragic disease in the 19th century, and since then has absorbed the mindset of a sector of people, causing harm to our society as a whole for decades. As history repeats itself time and time again, we can only move forward in fashion by promoting healthy images for people to look up to. The issue with severe slenderness is that the audience that sees images of models and fashion icons look up to those people in their pursuit of beauty and overall perfection. The “goals” of many affected individuals are impossible feats, and public spheres like the Internet and magazines are full of images that could have horrible effects on some people. Whether it was the romanticized image of tuberculosis and consumption in 19th century Europe, the glorification of drugs in the late 20th century in Western culture, or the worldwide epidemic of eating disorders that we have today, the pursuit of perfection needs to end now. We must teach the up and coming generations that weakness is not something to cherish and strive for. Let us desire healthy bodies, instead of promoting starvation and the use of drugs. Our world is in need of a new fashion statement.
---
Eleanor Harding for the Daily Mail. "'Bright and Beautiful' Teenager Died from Anorexia after Harrowing Five-year Battle." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.
Fraenkel Gallery. "Ballad of Sexual Dependency." Fraenkel Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2014.
Handler, Jim. "New Study Links Socioeconomic Factors and Fashion Trends Over the Past Century to Increased Incidence of Melanoma." The Office of Communications & Public Affairs. NYU Langone Medical Center, 2 Oct. 2014. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.
Harold, Christine L. “Tracking Heroin Chic: The Abject Body Reconfigures The Rational Argument.” Argumentation &Advocacy. 36.2 (1999): 65-76. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 4 Dec. 2014
Moms, Sisterhood Of the Sensible, and Ellen Williams. "Enough With the Thigh Gap! Attacking Body Image Is Not a Hobby." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 09 Sept. 2014. Web. 06 Dec. 2014.
Rosie Taylor for the Daily Mail. "Tragedy of Girl Who Secretly Browsed Anorexia Websites: Mother's Warning after Suicide of Teen with Everything to Live for." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 04 Aug. 2014. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.
Stewart, Dodai. "Hudson's Bay Pulls 'Nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny Feels' Tee." Jezebel. N.p., 26 June 2014. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.
Strang, Fay. "Reformed Addict Jaime King Posts Controversial 'Heroin Chic' Image of Herself Taken by the Late Fashion Photographer Davide Sorrenti." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 16 July 2014. Web. 06 Dec. 2014.
Von Dorpe, Nelly Ann. "A Collection of Things." A Collection of Things. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2014.