THINK PIECE: Supermodels and McDonalds: A Healthy Alternative?
Hiii,
This is my first ‘real’ blog post and although I was going to open this blog with a more light-hearted approach, this was the post idea that I had a developed plan for and the one that I had thought about writing the most. So here it is, hope it makes you have a think.
I got the idea for this post after seeing a comment on an interview in which a runway model spoke repeatedly about how they hated salad and exercise. The comment in question stated that the ‘relatable model/celebrity’ is a toxic idea pushed by magazines, that damages young (and old) people’s perception of reality and body image. After first reading this comment I was quite intrigued because surely models and celebrities who openly state how they like a Big Mac now and again are a healthier image for us all to look up to than what was seen in the 80s and 90s; other worldly creatures of perfection who spurt out crap (for want of a better word) like “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”. But after reflecting on the comment for a little longer I began to question the relationship between models/celebrities and the need for magazines to present these people as ‘relatable’ via the endorsement of junk food.
The next part of this post will make more sense if you watch the three videos that I’m referencing and they can be found here:
Vogue has a series of YouTube videos which supposedly show the luxurious yet busy lives of supermodels. It’s quite obvious that the videos are heavily scripted and staged for comedic value. In the three, three minute videos (linked above), we see Gigi Hadid talk about her almost non-existent 7 minute workout and how she’s “really pushing [herself] this week” then later in the video ordering a large burger meal with a vanilla milkshake from In ‘N’ Out. Next up is Kendall Jenner’s video when it’s supposedly just before New York Fashion Week. I was expecting to see lots of fittings, stress, exercise and clips of her eating well. Instead, Vogue show Kendall dancing around wearing Gucci, eating stacks of pancakes and having bags full of McDonald’s delivered by Kim Kardashian. In the video featuring Taylor Hill, that opens with her talking about french fries, she goes shopping at Bergdorf, talks about how she eats full bags of Hot Cheetos in one sitting and how she’d wear different $1000+ dresses to different fast food chains, “my Shake Shack dress”.
The models and arguably even Vogue themselves, I imagine, didn’t intend any harm to be caused by these videos. But they are harmful. Although they are an attempt to remove the dangerous cliche from fashion that “runway models don’t eat”, pushing an unrealistic ideal isn’t helping either. It doesn’t stop with these videos though, it only takes a few scrolls on Instagram to find photos of slender influencers posing with cheeseburgers and matching their outfits to the interior of Five Guys.
While the videos from Vogue are trying to present these people as more down-to-earth (the Taylor Hill video even refers to her as ‘The Supermodel Next Door’ in the title) , the constant need to come across as relatable via talk of how much junk food they eat while they strut about in petite designer outfits becomes very confusing and disillusioned. Whilst I was watching the videos I felt myself thinking “I ate like that the other day and I haven’t exercised all week either. Why don’t I look like that?”. It pushes these people even further away from reality rather than bringing them closer; are they actually heavenly beings who are incapable of being bloated or gaining a bit of weight in that awkward spot at the top of their thighs?
Of course they aren’t. But if fashion houses and magazines wish to bring these people to relatable level and truly want to help to hinder the rising cases of eating disorders and poor body image in people of every age, then they can start by accurately portraying the strict lives that models lead and the daily hard work and training that is included with it, rather than shoving the names of fast food chains in our faces and calling it a day.
Hope you enjoyed this somewhat ranty post, I’ve struggled with body image and eating in the past and I just thought that this was something that I’ve seen be endorsed over the past few years and never really discussed. I understand that the videos are, at points, very tongue-in-cheek and of course everyone can eat whatever they want, in this case I just think it’s done in a very OTT way that can spark toxic thoughts subconsciously and I think better things can be done to present models having a healthy relationship with food.
Have a think and if you want to, let me know your opinion.
Byeee <3
rxchz
rxchz
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