It bemuses me how people make such a fuss over issues like this when...

a) Obesity is a much bigger problem then anorexia

b) The problem is nothing to do with the sexual desires of men, the 'distortion' of images used to sell stuff, the competitiveness of women, the plainly false ideas of women on what men find attractive, the vanity of women. They're all complimentary side issues to this small problem.

c) The core reason is the fact that women have chosen to place being a clothes model as the most desirable occupation on the planet. Getting to wear the latest clothes and walk down a plank and then turn around and walk back seems to resonate with women. Meanwhile men are off idolising sporting heros and rock stars...

I suppose the underlying desire is based on doing something you love for truck loads of money, being famous, getting lots of drugs and sex. Cant argue with that!

Sylvie,

You are missing my point. The issue is where is the sexualisation coming from?

In Victorian times, women were largely treated as property, were expected to cover up, and sexuality was largely repressed. As women got more power politically and in relationships, they began to realise and express their sexuality.

I have a 13yr old daughter (14 shortly) who when out with a bunch of boys will dress casually, but at a party with her peers (girls only) will dress to kill. Young girls compare themselves against their peers more than in magazines.

While it can be argued that magazines influence trends, magazines that don't reflect the existing trends tend to go out of business quickly. So pressurizing the magazines is trying to treat the symptoms, not the cause.

Clothing models are generally much thinner than those from men's mags, simply because clothes look better on them, and it is about the clothes they are selling and not the models.

@shadow minister

i'm all for liberating people sexually, and have genuinely no desire to dictate to people what they should and should not be allowed to do in the bedroom. totally against the whole idea of repressing and denying female sexuality and sexual desire.

but the constant bombardment of sexualised imagery (including padded bras for 8 year old girls etc) - surely there is a difference between commercialised porn that prescribes certain behaviours to girls rather than giving them the freedom to decide what they like to do?

A recent study in Minnesota reported more college girls reporting to doctors with anal calluses because they were engaging in anal sex with their boyfriends. now feel free to correct me, perhaps *some* women enjoy anal sex but i would imagine that a lot of that sex has to do with pressure and normalisation of that sort of thing from porn culture increasingly entering mainstream media, music videos etc?

Dolly Doctor (mag for teens) for example talked about how to have anal sex with boyfriend but no comments on the fact it may be painful or the girl may not want to engage in that at all... perhaps this has the effect of normalising and popularising a practice that a lot of girls wouldn't otherwise choose to do (and probably don't enjoy)

@Houellebecq

i stand by my previous comments, even if you disagree. you seem to take an anti-female slant in all of your posts and i just can't be bothered arguing with you anymore.

what i will say is that your assumption that the thin-ideal is warranted in order to curb obesity, and that anorexics just have to sacrifice themselves in this 'war' is misguided. there's an excellent article somewhere in the online opinion archives that discusses this - titled 'tv show a loser for weight loss' or something like that- i recommend you read it

@shadow minister

you said

"While it can be argued that magazines influence trends, magazines that don't reflect the existing trends tend to go out of business quickly."

that's exactly right, and precisely why legislation is needed to regulate these industries rather than a voluntary code of conduct which, as melinda states, "bears no teeth"

Sylvie,

Please outline the anti-female parts of my post. Just because someone doesn't agree women are victims of magazines does not make them anti-female. All I have done is given women the responsibility for their own choices, and rejected that it is men putting pressure on women to be thin. I just see it as a women-centric problem with FA to do with men. Women have created a market, and willingly buy the products. In no other area of marketing and advertising (especially those aimed at men) do we hear of regulating industry to stop it selling stuff that people want, and making it look attractive to those people.

'your assumption that the thin-ideal is warranted in order to curb obesity'

Nowhere did I state this. In fact that's a bizarre interpretation. I just think obesity is a much bigger problem, and something that would be more valuable for feminists to be tackling. But naturally they wouldn't be interested in the greater proportion of women who are overweight, as that has no utility in shifting the responsibility of women's diet and consumer desires onto men and away from women.

See, I'm a true feminist. I give women credit for being virtuous enough to take responsibility for their own vanity and also intelligence enough to distinguish between fantasy and reality.

'precisely why legislation is needed to regulate these industries'
What practical regulations do you propose? It boils down to a measure of degree, and as I said, every photo in every magazine, whatever the topic, is doctored. How will you police it?

I believe the money regulating photos would be better spent on regulating dietary advice. Some of the ridiculous diets advocated in women's magazines would not be accepted by the vast majority of dieticians.

BTW: Should car enthusiast magazines be forced to show cheap second hand family sedans, pictured with a bit of dust and mud? Isn't it a health risk to have guys working away, under stress, wasting their lives trying working to afford and maintain these unattainable goals.