France Bans Extremely Thin Models

The French government has passed a law in the
European country banning the use of unhealthily
thin fashion models.


Models working in France now will need to
provide a doctor’s certificate attesting to their
overall physical health, with regard to their body
mass index (BMI) which is a measure of weight in
relation to height.


The health ministry says the aim of the new law
is to fight eating disorders and inaccessible
ideals of beauty. Digitally altered photos will also
have to be labelled from October 1. Images
where a model’s appearance has been edited will
need to be marked photographie retouchée which
translates in English as retouched photograph.


A previous version of the bill had suggested a
minimum BMI for models, prompting protests
from modelling agencies in France. The new
version of the bill however allows doctors to
decide whether a model is too thin by taking into
account their weight, age, and body shape.


Employers breaking the law could face fines of up
to 75,000 euros ($82,000) and up to six months
in jail.


“Exposing young people to normative and
unrealistic images of bodies leads to a sense of
self-depreciation and poor self-esteem that can
impact health-related behaviour,” France’s
Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Marisol
Touraine, said in a statement on Friday.
France is not the first country to legislate on
underweight models – Italy, Spain and Israel
have all done so. Anorexia affects between
30,000 to 40,000 people in France, 90% of whom
are women.