A professional model is fighting against “skinny” industry standards – by starting a petition urging the British Government to protect vulnerable models from being pressured into losing too much weight.
Rosie Nelson says one of the UK’s biggest model agencies told her they wanted her “down to the bone” and at photoshoots the “underlying message is that you shouldn’t eat”.
The 23-year-old model is a size 8 to 10 said but under pressure from bosses at a modelling agency she lost nearly a stone last year.
“They told me I ticked all the boxes except one – I needed to lose weight. So I did. Four months later I lost nearly a stone, two inches off my hips. When I returned to the same agency they told me to lose more weight, they wanted me ‘down to the bone’.
“I’ve dealt with being told I’m too big, I’m not the right shape, I need to look and be thinner, all by people who were technically superior to me in the workplace,” she posted on Facebook.
“Modelling can be a lonely place,” she says, “especially for girls working internationally who are away from the usual support network of friends and family. When models travel overseas they are often put in shared accommodation with other models, and being surrounded by girls who are all striving to stay thin can perpetuate bad eating habits and encourage eating disorders.
“I’ve been on shoots for up to 10 hours where no food is provided – the underlying message is always that you shouldn’t eat.
“Models’ health and well being is somewhat of a hidden issue, there are no health checks, there are no guidelines. We are simply told to lose weight, be this, be that.”
France became the first country last year to criminalise the use of models who are dangerously thing, and Rosie says it’s time for the UK to do the same.
“I slaved over my body for someone else’s wants, something no one should have to do. Eventually I realised I’m not a slave, I’m not happy and I’m not someone to be pushed around,” she says. “I’ve been struggling with this issue for years now, and finally I have an opportunity to make a difference.”Read more at:plus size prom dresses uk
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