to View - Griffith College Dublin

8
LIFESTYLE AND CULTURE
THE CIRCULAR
SIZE ZERO: FASHIONABLE
OR FATAL
By Aine Cotter
Having dinner recently with some
of my girl friends, I was drawn
into a discussion about the phenomenon
of size zero culture. As
we munched on our bruschetta
topped with feta cheese, we deliberated.
The general consensus was
that it is a sick trend; a cancer in
our society that the celebrity world
is promoting. However, after five
glasses of Merlot, Jane, whose
chief life ambition is to be a
WAG, spoke up. She (or maybe it
was the wine, we couldn’t be sure)
posed a question… given the
chance would we opt to be skinnier
Yes, of course we wanted
smaller waists, but zeros are mere
emaciated twigs. She then accused
us of jealousy; deducing that we
were envious of the will power of
these women. Will power I was
lost for a response.
That night I began to think
about what Jane had said, I couldn’t
help but feel that my inebriated
friend had a point. Being tiny in
tinseltown does seem to reap benefits.
Nicole Ritchie went from
Paris’s podgy side-kick to tiny
trend-setter after she lost weight.
Sure, there are a few nasty side
effects to being thin, but nothing
in this life worth having comes
without a cost. Increased body
hair can be fixed by wax, fatigue
can be banished with ginseng and
who wants periods or sprogs anyway
Being a zero is fashionable,
it’s cheap (hell, you can shop in
kid’s clothes sections) and you are
certain to bag yourself a gorgeous
guy (just look at Posh and Lindsay
Lohan).
I was almost converted. That
was until I turned on the television
and caught the final segment of a
documentary by Louise Redknapp.
She aimed to uncover who was
responsible for this increasing
trend, while simultaneously she
sought to become a size zero herself
over a three month period.
She started a regime of over-exercising
and under-eating. As her
weight plummeted, she endured
more and more horrendous side
effects. She suffered skin problems,
headaches, acute stomach
cramps, fatigue and diarrhoea
(after taking laxatives in an attempt
to drop a few extra pounds). The
stark reality of being a lollipop
had been revealed to me and it
was not pretty. I was curious to
investigate what the long-term
consequences of maintaining a
low body weight were.
I discovered that the incidences
of eating disorders are growing at
an exponential rate in our society.
As the stars get smaller it seems
the number of people becoming
affected gets bigger. We look to
them to set trends, we want the
clothes they wear, the cars they
drive, the houses they own.
Accompanying the rise of eating
disorders is the sudden growth of
pro-anorexic and bulimic web
sites. Sufferers chat about their
obsession and exchange tips on
how to become thinner. The best
strategies for avoiding meals without
arising suspicion and methods
for curbing hunger pains are common
issues debated. Frequently
they refer to hating themselves and
having low self esteem. Some even
mention suicidal thoughts and
some have actually attempted to
take their own lives as they felt
they could never attain the perfect
body. It is not just mental issues
sufferers deal with, being underweight
for an extended period of
time is detrimental to one’s physical
health also. Anorexia is linked
to kidney disease, heart failure,
osteoporosis, cancer and infertility.
In January this year two European
size zero models died as a direct
result of starving themselves. This
has led to size zeros being banned
from numerous catwalks around
the world. However, some bosses
within the industry will not conform
and during London Fashion
week skeletons paraded up and
down the runways.
What I have just mentioned is
just the beginning. Numerous academic
journals as well as popular
press articles have been written on
size zeros and eating disorders.
The material is as abundant as it
shocking. What surprised me the
most was my own personal ignorance.
I didn’t realise the extent
and diversity of eating disorders
and I was blissfully unaware of the
real contributors and consequences
of these conditions. I
think we use the phrases anorexic
and size zero so loosely in our culture
that we neglect to stop and
think what they actually mean. But
we should. My eyes weren’t
opened they were pulled apart.
The next time I see a picture of
Posh on the red carpet I’ll think
twice about being jealous and putting
down the box of chocolates.
Anorexia: The Facts
By Violette Ouassa
Anorexia is a behavioural problem
that effects between 1 and 2% of
women. This disease primarily
affects girls from the ages of 12 to
20. However, it can appear in girls
and boys as young as nine or ten
years old.
This obsession for thinness can
involve other drastic measures,
such as bulimia and the excessive
use of laxatives and diuretics.
Other psychological troubles can
occur such as anxiety, depression,
dependence on drugs and alcohol
and even suicidal tendencies.
Physically, this disease results in an
extreme loss of weight that can
reach up to 50% of the recommended
weight for the sufferer’s
height. Food deprivation obviously
has consequences for the body:
insomnia, hairs loss, loss of memory
and the discontinuation of the
menstrual cycle.
The causes are still difficult to
identify, they are complex and
controversial. Some people blame
metabolic or genetic factors; others
think that the psychological
and irrational causes are decisive.
The starting point can be a simple
diet, mourning a loss, a school
phenomenon or simply a fashion
trend. Anorexia, by defying
nature, allows a teenager to prove
that they hold control over their
body. Moreover, it can mask a lack
of self-confidence or a tendency
towards personal devaluation.
External help is generally necessary.
The main difficulty is then
the refusal of a treatment. These
teenagers do not admit to being
sick and reject the specialised consultation
or follow-up treatment in
a rehabilitation programme.
The treatment generally consists
of psychotherapy which helps to
engage a dialogue with the teenager.
Unfortunately, the various treatments
for anorexia have a limited
effectiveness. In one third of
cases, the sufferers recover and
can start to lead a normal life. For
another third, the treatment is not
completed and victims continue to
show an unhealthy weight and psychological
disorders and therefore
risk relapse. For the last third, the
anorexia problem persists and
patients require constant treatment
for their disease. It should be
known that 10% of anorexics die
from the effects of the disease;
either from malnutrition or suicide.
Size zero - this is the new craze
in our stars’ world. Size zero is
now the desired size of a huge
number of the Hollywood stars.
What does “zero” mean For me,
its mean “nil”, but I get lost in the
maze of fashion, where, apparently
my definition of zero and the
fashion industry’s definition of
zero do not have the same meaning.
In the fashion industry, sizezero
means very thin, and involves
an extreme diet to squeeze into
designers’ small clothes.
In celebrity, size zero is a
chance to be on the front page of
magazines. But size zero also
means putting your life in danger
on behalf of fashion. Who are
these designers who insist on creating
clothes for these skeletal
models How can the fashion
industry condone the publicising
of these models, especially after all
the alarm signals given by the specialists
When I think about all those
tiny stars making the front pages
of our favourite magazines or if I
think about giving a good example
to a teenager considering one of
these diets, I just want to tell to
them, “stop making your body
into an unnatural shape. You are
sick and you need to get some
help.” What is happening to our
fashion women We are in the 21st
century, what about all those
women who worked so hard to
improve our civil rights It is like
the age of women’s lib never happened.
All of the Dublin fashion
industry people I tried to talk to
about anorexia seemed to be
unconcerned. One of them told
me that all his models are naturally
thin and nobody would like to
work with an overweight girl.
I would like to tell every woman
that the most important thing is
to have a size that makes you feel
good in your body, one that is not
going to put your life in danger.
The most important thing is to be
yourself; to eat healthily and to
exercise sensibly. Girls, you are
beautiful, whatever your size.