This! Don't blame others for not noticing, especially if you do not appear unhealthy:
This is from 2004, which I'm assuming was her "prime".
Zuzanna Buchwald: I'm Not Your Clothes Hanger
- Thread starter FashionThin
- Start date
This! Don't blame others for not noticing, especially if you do not appear unhealthy:
This is from 2004, which I'm assuming was her "prime".
Sometimes I wonder if these girls don't believe the industry is the cause for their problem and are really just doing it for publicity because they know the general public eats this shit up and they didn't get their 5 seconds of fame they wanted from their ~career in the fashion industry (once they figured out that they would have to, y'know, do their job).
Agreed. She's still on the MC2 Miami website and the Ice website from what I can see so obviously she doesn't hate the industry that much
I agree, it seems to be the case for a lot of them, like justifying their lack of success as a model by hating on the whole industry
I just want to add something since I have read her article.
For a former athlete she truly lacked what these rolemodels of sports are admired for: talent, passion, focus and dedication. Being together with athletes is always a joy for me because they have a different type of motivation, which is addictive to anyone around.
I am aware that you can develop mental disorders very quickly and I am not sure whether I am understanding it right, but as an athlete she would be aware of nutrition and dieting, who is she trying to fool at this point ?
she would have earned my respect if she would have written,
'I picked the wrong job, I didn't meet the requirements, I was lonely and unlucky, I got sick and it's a daily battle since then but now I do this and that, I am better because I was the one who realized it was ME who only could change this miserable state of being.'
It happens to a million other people that you are stuck in the wrong working field and some get sick from it but seriously stop blaming others and an entire industry.
For a former athlete she truly lacked what these rolemodels of sports are admired for: talent, passion, focus and dedication. Being together with athletes is always a joy for me because they have a different type of motivation, which is addictive to anyone around.
I am aware that you can develop mental disorders very quickly and I am not sure whether I am understanding it right, but as an athlete she would be aware of nutrition and dieting, who is she trying to fool at this point ?
she would have earned my respect if she would have written,
'I picked the wrong job, I didn't meet the requirements, I was lonely and unlucky, I got sick and it's a daily battle since then but now I do this and that, I am better because I was the one who realized it was ME who only could change this miserable state of being.'
It happens to a million other people that you are stuck in the wrong working field and some get sick from it but seriously stop blaming others and an entire industry.
This was literally my face after reading that article.
Listen, some people aren't cut out for modeling-and she's obviously one of them. Yeah, anxiety and depression suck (I would know) but you need to be able to move past that and get on with your life. If you really care about something, you do everything in your power to stick with it and not give up.
Listen, some people aren't cut out for modeling-and she's obviously one of them. Yeah, anxiety and depression suck (I would know) but you need to be able to move past that and get on with your life. If you really care about something, you do everything in your power to stick with it and not give up.
I agree with the sentiments. But you could make the same arguments with acting, and yet even actors have a union. I do think that models deserve some method of coming together for a better structure of compensation, overtime, etc.
Then again, I agree with others who mentioned the typical lifespan of a modeling career. I don't think younger people are more likely to have an interest in unionizing. Plus, I'd imagine models model for fewer years than actors act. So it'd be harder to negotiate the terms to actually bring a positive change.
Idk. I don't know if this is considered taboo here, but I'm sure we've all heard of sketchy arrangements, and I don't like the idea of the typical victims -- young, unassuming women. I'd like to think they deserve some standard of equity.
That being said, I don't appreciate anyone pointing fingers over a mental illness. Genes load the gun, and environment pulls the trigger; people who are predisposed to anorexia can start exhibiting symptoms from many forms of stress. But the onus is on the individual to seek treatment and be aware. You don't see bulimics whistleblowing their bakeries. It's naive and destructive to imply that one, specific factor is to blame for your mental disorder.
For anyone who doesn't live in the UK, usually when British girls proclaim they are "a size 6-8" it's code for "I'm definitely not a size 6 and my body is nothing impressive but I want to sound skinny until I've eaten so much nando's that I physically can't shove my ass into W26 jeans anymore" (unless they're very tall)
"Here's a big FUCK YOU to Harvard for saying that with a GPA of 2.5 and a SAT score of 1100 (naturally) I'm not smart enough to attend an Ivy League school."
No would sympathize and sensationalize a story like that so why does it always happen with modeling?
Here's a big FUCK YOU to Rozen & Katz for saying that even with my natural IQ of 100 I am "ill-equipped" or "unsuited" to work in the legal industry.
I will no longer allow you to dictate to me what's wrong with my intellect and what I need to change in order to be "qualified" (like working to get one JD degree), in the hope it might force you to find me work.
I refuse to feel ashamed and upset on a daily basis for not meeting your arbitrary, unobtainable standards of "passing the bar exam" or "professional legal experience," whilst the CEO of the company has not even gone to law school himself and sits behind his desk slagging me and my friends off for having done the same. The more you force us to "study" and "build a resume" to get a job, the more clients are going to expect us to actually provide them with legal council, and the more young lawyers will actually have to be stressed out by the job. It's no longer an image I choose to represent.
In case you hadn't realised, I am a woman. I am human. I cannot miraculously pass the bar, just to show my legal competency or to meet so called 'agency standards.' I have fought nature for a long time, because you deemed my critical reasoning "incompetent," or my work ethic "sub-par" but I have recently begun to love myself. I can't read about torts, but I have read all of the Divergent series
Ironically, I do love the idea of being a lawyer - the people I've met, the places I've visited - I mean, I love Paris and I would absolutely love to meet Elle Woods. I would want to do it, but only on my personal terms. My mental and physical health is of more importance than a number on a transcript that I have to work to maintain, however much you weirdly wish to emphasize this.
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Here's a big FUCK YOU to Rozen & Katz for saying that even with my natural IQ of 100 I am "ill-equipped" or "unsuited" to work in the legal industry.
I will no longer allow you to dictate to me what's wrong with my intellect and what I need to change in order to be "qualified" (like working to get one JD degree), in the hope it might force you to find me work.
I refuse to feel ashamed and upset on a daily basis for not meeting your arbitrary, unobtainable standards of "passing the bar exam" or "professional legal experience," whilst the CEO of the company has not even gone to law school himself and sits behind his desk slagging me and my friends off for having done the same. The more you force us to "study" and "build a resume" to get a job, the more clients are going to expect us to actually provide them with legal council, and the more young lawyers will actually have to be stressed out by the job. It's no longer an image I choose to represent.
In case you hadn't realised, I am a woman. I am human. I cannot miraculously pass the bar, just to show my legal competency or to meet so called 'agency standards.' I have fought nature for a long time, because you deemed my critical reasoning "incompetent," or my work ethic "sub-par" but I have recently begun to love myself. I can't read about torts, but I have read all of the Divergent series
Ironically, I do love the idea of being a lawyer - the people I've met, the places I've visited - I mean, I love Paris and I would absolutely love to meet Elle Woods. I would want to do it, but only on my personal terms. My mental and physical health is of more importance than a number on a transcript that I have to work to maintain, however much you weirdly wish to emphasize this.
Baker: Welcome to your new job! I hope you'll like it here! Now, I'll need you to start tomorrow at 4 am so we can get the bread ready by 7 am.
New employee: Well, I naturally sleep until noon so how about I meet then?
B:... No. It's 4 o'clock
NB: Well, that's just unrealistic and unnatural! I can't get up at 4! I like to play video games 'til 3-4 in the morning and sleep until noon.
B: Then I don't suggest you be a baker...
NB: But it's my human right to be whatever I want no matter how unskilled I am at it! What am I going to do? Just find another job that's more appropriate for me or actually work for the job I want? Don't make me laugh!
New employee: Well, I naturally sleep until noon so how about I meet then?
B:... No. It's 4 o'clock
NB: Well, that's just unrealistic and unnatural! I can't get up at 4! I like to play video games 'til 3-4 in the morning and sleep until noon.
B: Then I don't suggest you be a baker...
NB: But it's my human right to be whatever I want no matter how unskilled I am at it! What am I going to do? Just find another job that's more appropriate for me or actually work for the job I want? Don't make me laugh!
if only we had such sympathy (and media fanfare, for that matter) for coal miners that get lung cancer or truckers that develop spinal injuries...
After reading these comments I feel like I have thought of this issue from a new perspective and to some extent wonder whether those models actually believe what they are saying and whether people actually care about the well being of models or just want a flashy story. You see, the modelling industry has a lot of issues: hard hours, no control of any part of your job unless you are the Creme de la Creme, no workers' union, short career span (as mentioned above) and obviously more. Although I agree that when you choose to become a model you make a conscious choice to embrace everything that comes with the job, I find it rather peculiar that when models DO complain it's about the modelling industry wanting them to be thinner. It almost seems like a cop out to talk about something so insignificant and obvious (you are meant to be thin, you are meant to model the clothes- it's in the job description) rather than something of actual substance. It's almost like they are playing up to what the media is currently into- in this case the whole 'fat-pride' and 'anti skinny' movements, rather than focusing on real issues because those won't get nearly as much publicity.
Just my two cents anyway
Just my two cents anyway
While I don't agree with these childish, lazy complaints I suppose I can understand where they are coming from. The differences with modelling compared to working as a doctor, lawyer, etc is that the requirements to be a certain size is simply an industry wide subjective view on what a good model needs to achieve in order to be successful. It's a view that has changed over the decades (eg. in the 80s and 90s the ideal models were not required to be as skinny as they are today) and a view that could change in the future. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the fashion industry (and Western society) has decided that beauty = super skinny. I think what these girls are trying to say is that the definition of "beauty" needs to change and the modelling industry should no longer require models to be super skinny.
The differences with other industries is that in order to be successful you need to meet standards that are not only objective but also measurable. For example, to be a lawyer, you need to be smart enough to understand, interpret and explain complex legal principles. That is measurable because you can either do it or you can't, and you can use a person's IQ to determine whether they would be capable of doing such things. To be a professional athlete, you have to be strong/fast/agile etc. Again, this is measurable because you easily determine who is the fastest, the strongest etc. You can't change people's opinions on these things because they're not subjective requirements. You can't ask the legal profession to accept lawyers that can't understand legal principles, or to expect an Olympic swimming team to accept athletes that can't swim. You can however, change people's opinions on what they consider beautiful. The definition of "beauty" has evolved over time - compare the Renaissance era to the 1960s. Indeed, what is considered beautiful varies considerably from country to country.
Just my thoughts.
The differences with other industries is that in order to be successful you need to meet standards that are not only objective but also measurable. For example, to be a lawyer, you need to be smart enough to understand, interpret and explain complex legal principles. That is measurable because you can either do it or you can't, and you can use a person's IQ to determine whether they would be capable of doing such things. To be a professional athlete, you have to be strong/fast/agile etc. Again, this is measurable because you easily determine who is the fastest, the strongest etc. You can't change people's opinions on these things because they're not subjective requirements. You can't ask the legal profession to accept lawyers that can't understand legal principles, or to expect an Olympic swimming team to accept athletes that can't swim. You can however, change people's opinions on what they consider beautiful. The definition of "beauty" has evolved over time - compare the Renaissance era to the 1960s. Indeed, what is considered beautiful varies considerably from country to country.
Just my thoughts.
I appreciate your viewpoint – I think it was very well put and certainly made me consider your argument for a while.
While I see where you're coming from, IMO the requirement that models be skinny is not that much about social standards of beauty being "skinny." I, for one, know that I sure as hell am not trying to be skinny to conform to social norms, since probably the most "general" attention I got was back when I was around BMI 18.5. Of course the definition of "beauty" has evolved, yet though I'm by no means an expert on the matter I don't think that old and curvier pin up models were so much for high-fashion / runway work. (Though I honestly don't have an exact knowledge of the history so I may be wrong.) I think that high fashion clothes models objectively need to be skinny because their job isn't to be pretty or beautiful, it's to showcase the designer's clothes. On a skinny body the clothes can hang exactly as they're meant to according to how the designer themselves structured them – if a dress protrudes in a certain area it's because that is what is intended etc. whereas with a curvy model, it would not be the case. I mean, art galleries have plain white walls so as not to distract from the artwork, and similarly, for runway models you are there to see the clothes hanging on their frames and curves would distract from that. Basically the purpose, from the POV of the designer is for them to a walking clothes hanger (although obviously other elements are required... like facial expression.
) Also, economically, they all need to be a standardized size to a degree so that the clothing can fit them without having to be insanely adjusted all the time to fit all the different special snowflakes.I agree and disagree. Your post reminded me of something else that bothers me, and that's that these girls are throwing these highly public tantrums at their agents. Agents are there to provide the kind of "product" that clients want. Clients seek the kind of girl who's going to sell the product to the most people. And the people determine what kinds of advertising they support by buying products with skinny models, or with Gigi. It's not the fashion industry that determines what's beautiful or we'd all be wearing Iris Van Herpen on the streets, it is ultimately a democratic process. If skinny models didn't sell the clothes better, the industry wouldn't use skinny models.
So if you really want to change the way the modeling industry works, if you really want to point the finger at someone, stop shitting on the messenger and make your pleas to the people actually buying the clothes.