This model was told to lose weight, instead she’s campaigning to change the fashion industry
Rosalie Nelson is 23-year-old UK model. She wears a UK size 8 to 10 (that’s a US size 4 to 6). When she tried to sign with one of the UK’s top modeling agencies she was told she needed to lose weight. So that’s exactly what she did. She dropped “a stone,” or, about 15 pounds, and 2 inches off her hips. When she returned to the same agency 4 months later, after this physical transformation, she was told she needed to lose more weight if she wanted to sign with the agency. In their words, they wanted her “down to the bone.”
If this makes you sad, solidarity, sister, it makes us sad, too. Awesomely, Nelson decided she was done with this agency who was determined to drive her down to an unhealthy weight before they would consider taking her on. That said, she’s not done with the disturbing issue of the modeling industry pressuring girls to lose a dangerous amount of weight. As A Plus reports, Nelson recently started a Change.Org petition, demanding that a law be passed in the UK that ensures that only girls who are a healthy weight will be hired.
This law wouldn’t be the first of its kind. In 2013, Israel passed legislation banning underweight models from runways, advertisements, and fashion spreads, and this year, France passed a similar law. As Nelson explains in her petition, there is “growing momentum” for this kind of legislation in the UK. ” Caroline Nokes MP is the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Body Image and is campaigning for the Government to look at the possibility of legislating to ensure models are of a healthy weight,” Nelson writes in her petition. “The time is now for us all to come together.”
It’s Nelson’s insider perspective that has convinced her that this industry needs to change.
“Modeling can be a very lonely place, especially for girls working internationally who are away from the usual support network of friends and family,” she explains on Change.org. “When models travel overseas they are often put into 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.”
As of this writing, the petition has over 57,000 supporters, and needs another 17,000 to meet its 75,000 signature goal. Of course we hope this petition meets its goal (and if you’d like, you can lend a hand over here), and we REALLY hope that this legislation is created and passed, not just in the UK, but everywhere.
Related:
This underweight model says she’s being kept out of the industry for being “too big”
This high fashion ad was just banned for using an underweight model
Image via Instagram
