Is the Influence of Role Models and Celebrities something that causes Anorexia?
DESCRIBE YOUR KEY QUESTION (AO1)
Make sure you have learned at least 4 descriptive points relating to this question: examples of real-life events, quotes,
terminology, inventions, projects or conditions
POINT 1 (AO1) POINT 2 (AO1)
Anorexia nervosa = eating disorder Size zero is equal to a UK size 4 (84-64-89cm)
Affects up to 5% of females in the UK – form of Average size in the UK is a size 16
intentional “self-starving” Model Luizel Ramos died of a heart attack brought on by
Symptoms: extreme weight loss with no discernible anorexia in 2006 – this started the concern
medical reason; ritualistic food habits; denying Madrid and Milan fashion weeks, as well as Prada,
hunger; and exercising excessively Versace and Victoria Beckham banned Size Zero
See themselves as overweight models
Commonly starts in girls ages 16, the age range is 10- Kate Moss said “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”
40 Katie Green won a competition to become the new
90% of cases are female Wonderbra model, turned it down when she was asked
25% of cases are so weak that they require to drop from a 12 to a 10 – she then started the “Say No
hospitalisation – doctors think that when a person’s To Size Zero Campaign”
weight falls below a certain level, they cannot make
rational decisions anymore
Debate as to whether anorexics should be force fed or
whether they have the right to starve themselves to
death.
About 1/3 of patients recover fully, with another 1/3
improving significantly, however the final third do not
recover.
POINT 4 (AO1)
POINT 3 (AO1) Photoshop manipulation has been used to make models
appear thinner than they really are
Plus size models have been favoured after the 2 types of photo manipulation
outbreak of the “Say No To Size Zero Campaign” Technical re-touching: this sharpens the image,
Models wear UK size 10-16 removes shadow and background clutter but it is also
Sophie Dahl, who has appeared on the covers of Elle used to smooth skin imperfections and alter skin colour
and Vogue, is a plus size model Creative re-touching: this alters the shape of the image
Plus size models criticised for being bad role models, and is often used to “stretch” arms and legs or flatten
inspiring bad eating habits, in terms of diet and weight stomachs on photographs of models.
management Brad Pitt, Kate Winslett and Jennifer Laurence all spoke
They often eat too much salt to help them retain fluids. out about photoshopping
2010, Britney Spears released “unairbrushed images of
herself next to the digitally altered ones” to “highlight the
pressure exerted on women to look perfect”
Dove Soap has turned against photo manipulation,
launching “Campaign for Real Beauty”
Editor of French magazine Marie Claire stated that their
readers are not idiots and that they can tell when a
model has been retouched
Survey by New Look found that 15% of readers thought
that cover images represented how the model looked in
real life
33% of women surveyed were aiming for a body image it