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I Guess You Can Be Too Thin
By AprillBrandon in Pop Goes the Culture
April 15, 2008

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Well, France, you've done it. Thanks to you, women throughout the world will now have to find a new way to make themselves feel bad. How dare you try and pass a bill making it illegal for magazines and advertisers to promote extreme thinness. I mean, what are you trying to do? Raise our self esteem? The nerve!

For the sarcastic impaired, I'm being, um...well, sarcastic. Actually, I think its a potentially good idea that someone, even if it is France (motto: "We hate stupid Americans") is finally doing something about the extreme thinness craze that has pervaded mainstream media since, well, for as long as I can remember.

 If you haven't heard yet, according to a recently posted CNN.com story, France's lower house of parliament has just adopted a bill that bans Web sites, magazines and other organizations from "inciting extreme thinness."

Of course, many in the fashion industry are against this bill, (surprise, surprise) which will go to the French Senate in coming weeks. Fashion leaders are saying that they are opposed to legal restrictions on beauty standards. Although I'm guessing these fashion leaders don't find a 5'11" woman weighing 64 pounds offensive since they too probably only weigh as much as my left thigh.

While the journalist side of me thinks this bill might border dangerously on censorship of expression and art, which I am firmly against, the woman in me is going "Yippee!" I mean, I can't even pick up Vogue without hating my thighs within the first 30 seconds of flipping through the pages (which is quickly followed by chowing down a pint of ice cream in a defeatist attitude of "oh well, I'll never look like that...may as well punish my body further").

 Is it fair to put legal restrictions on beauty ideals? I guess that is the question put before France's government. And their decision could place a precedence for other countries thinking of passing similar bills.

While I'm torn on the issue, my biggest fear is that should this debate hit American shores, the rice cakes will really hit the fan. Because in true American style, I'm afraid that once we ban skinny models, banning other things may follow. And as much as I loathe watching young girls starving themselves for a ridiculous beauty ideal, I'm much more afraid of the government dictating to us what is or is not acceptable in yet one more aspect of our lives.