In a surprising trend to those who follow beauty pageants and the fashion industry, Georgia Horsley, who has one the crown of Miss England was told to gain weight before entering the Miss World pageant in China on December 1st. This is welcome news after the spotlight has been illuminating the dangers of eating disorders in the beauty and fashion industry.
In August of 2006, fashion model, Luisel Ramos died at the age of 22 from heart failure. Within months, her sister, Eliana Ramos died at the age of 18 from a heart attack. Both sisters were fashion models and both suffered from Anorexia. On November 15, 2006, Brazilian fashion model, Ana Carolina Reston died at the age of 21 from complications due to Anorexia. It was said that Ana Carolina Reston ate only apples and tomatoes while Luisel Ramos’ diet consisted of eating lettuce and drinking Diet Coke. Ana Carolina Reston was 5’8 and weighed 80 pounds at the time of her death.
One of the most disturbing aspects of the deaths is the fact that those in the modeling, beauty, and fashion industry turned a blind eye to the conditions and health risks that the women took. Usually a photographer, agent, or other representative in the fashion industry tells a model that she is too fat and needs to lose weight in order to land the job. This begins a cycle of eating disorders that proves disastrous. Even if the model recovers from the disorder she is left with lifelong emotional and sometimes physical scars. It is time that the fashion industry is held accountable for the role that it plays in eating disorders.
Miss England, Georgia Horsley, is reportedly a size 8 (size 4 in U.S.) and is eating a high fat diet to ensure that she will not be bone-thin during the Miss World competition. This is a positive step and one that most women globally applaud. Eating disorders are far too prevalent and those who suffer the greatest tend to be young children. Young girls become infatuated by the images of beauty and perfection that they see displayed before them daily in the media and internalize those images. In fact, since the recent deaths associated with eating disorders and the fashion industry, many designers and those in the fashion industry are refusing to let models who are underweight continue to work.
It will also be interesting to see if Georgia Horsley can make her weight gain goals in time for the competition. She is eating three meals a day, indulging in snacks and treats, and says that she has a strong affinity for chocolate. She has also stated that she isn’t dieting, but just has a very high metabolism that is responsible for her slender physique. If you visit the Miss World website you will see that the past contestants have been noticeably curvier than you may find in other beauty pageants. Hopefully, this trend will extend far beyond the Miss World pageant and reach into all branches of the beauty and fashion industry.
