Israel passes law banning use of overly thin models
Israeli fashion photographer Adi Barkan, right, works in his studio in Tel Aviv on March 19, 2012. Israeli lawmakers have banned underweight models from catwalks and commercials, a measure they hope will reduce eating disorders and promote a healthy body
Israel passed a law earlier this week that bans local advertisers from using overly thin models in their campaigns.
It also requires publications to disclose when images are altered to make models appear thinner. The law’s supporters hope it will promote healthier eating habits among models and stop glamorizing extreme thinness among the general population.
Adi Barkan, an Israeli fashion photographer and modeling agent who has long championed this legislation said over the past 20 years, television and advertising have been overrun with overly skinny, unhealthy some would argue, looking women.
“Now, it’s too skinny, and no one knows the difference between skinny and too skinny,” Barkan said.
Barkan said the law will save lives by changing the perception of what is normal among young women, and men, in Israel.
Barkan said the government had to step in and tell society what was too skinny — because no one else was and it was costing people their lives.
“Too skinny is not sexy. Too skinny is going to make you die. Too skinny, nobody wants too skinny. A guy wants a woman,” Barkan said.