Cherry Xu

Last week, I wrote a blog on the ideal images women portrayed in recent media have deeply influenced how women behave in their daily lives. The pursuit of beauty and thinness is turning into a social phenomenon which acts as self-censoring block to their own development. Do all people just sit at home and mimic this negative trend?

 No, some people take actions by boycotting or disputing this phenomenon. For example, the well- known brand Ralph Lauren has outraged followers of fashion by using an extremely thin model, named Filippa Hamiltonon, in their advertisements. This advertisement shows a female model with jeans and tight tank top. Her waist and hips are even smaller than her head which makes the picture look really abnormal.

However, after working for Ralph Lauren for eight years, Filippa was fired by the company because she had become too fat for them. After further investigation, readers have found out that the advertisement was retouched in order to create a very skinny look. After this incident was exposed, people especially women started to criticize the company online. The reputation Ralph Lauren built for 42 years was ruined. Many women felt really uncomfortable and disrespected because the advertisers distorted images of a women’s body and conveyed the faulty idea of beauty. Afterwards, the company apologized for its mistakes. Society is taking this into account and some fashion designers are trying to avoid using skinny and unhealthy models. The organizers of Milan and Madrid Fashion Week have banned skinny women, with body mass index of less than 18, to develop healthier image.