RUNWAY
Your Favorite Models
are Inside. And so are their
measurements!
3,303 pages Skinny or too skinny?
In-depth analysis of Vogue’s
social responsibility.
Headlines
Advertisements
Articles
And much more!
Interview with
Seattle Models Guild
Representative!
THEN AND NOW
A history of Vogue’s covers
Definition what is too skinny?
When we wake up in the morning, most of us
probably quickly walk past the mirror before
our shower in hopes to avoid seeing those ex-
tra 10 pounds you want to lose but never can.
But what if things were the other way around
and it was the 10 pounds you always wanted
to gain but couldn’t. The reasons why you
can’t gain weight can be things like your me-
tabolism or other health related consequenc-
es, but what if it was your work prohibiting you
from this? What if you knew that you would
lose your job after eating that burger and fries
or milkshake? This is what it is like for thou-
sands of models in today’s cutthroat industry.
In this issue I will critically analyze Vogue’s
coverage of the issue regarding their respon-
sibility, from their advertisements, articles and
editorials to their fashion spreads and head-
lines. However before diving in it is important
to have a definition of what is too skinny to
ensure the highest level of scholarly analysis.
But when does it go too far?
According to the Center for Disease and Control; a person’s Body Mass Index (BMI) is a tool to identify possible weight problems.
THE
GUIDELINES
What does
“too skinny” look like?
Sign of bone structure in: Arms, thighs, ribs, back and chest. Sallow complex with sunken cheeks and eyes.
Lack of lean muscle
BMI less than 17.5=Likely anorexia
-Vogue, nhc.uk,
The average U.S.
Woman
These are the measurements of the
average American woman:
Height: 63.8 inches
Weight: 164.7
BMI: 29.0
-www.cdc.gov
I ? I enjoyed my talk with Tammy however I had
trouble with a few things she told me. She said that
the media blows the issue out of proportion, I had
trouble with this because when you’re dealing with
peoples’ health and it’s an issue that affects women
all over the world, I think it is a very big issue.
I think the reason why she felt this way is because
she sees models all the time and can’t step back and
critically analyze the situation.
When she said that every client wants something
different, it made me think of Vogue and after look-
ing at the models in their magazine, it is clear what
kind of client they are.
They only want skinny models and do not pick
more athletic or plus-size models from these agen-
cies, because they want to keep reminding the read-
er of what Vogue is about.
n an effort to get more information about the current state of the issue, I spoke with a representative named Tammy from Seattle Models Guild.
EXPERTS In your opinion, what is the status of the debate over the use of “ultra-skinny” models? Do you feel people still care about the issue?
Well honestly I think that it still is an issue because there are women out there struggling with eating disorders because of modeling, but I think that a lot of people blow it out of propor-tion. They just know what the media tells them and so a lot of people think it’s a lot bigger of an issue than it is.
Does your agency have a policy or philosophy on what is too skinny?
No we don’t have a particular policy, obviously we want models who are healthy but we don’t have a defined policy
Does your agency balance its use of skinny and curvy models? Or do you primarily select one over the other?
As a modeling agency it’s our job to have a wide range of models available for our clients. Sometimes they want someone who is athletic and built, or they might want tall and skinny edito-rial style model, it’s all up to the client.
When you select models, do you use their BMI?
No we don’t typically take into ac-count their BMI
Is there a particular reason why?
No not really, we think everyone is different and we don’t want to just stick a number on them.
THE
GUIDELINES
THE ASK
In-depth look at their
social responsibility
A
fter flipping through
3,300 pages of Vogue and analyz-ing whether Vogue has been re-sponsible in dealing with the issue of models being “too thin.” I was still hungry for more, so I decided to look at a similar magazine to see how they dealt with the issue and how the two compare.
Redbook is a publication that deals with a lot of the same topics as Vogue; women’s health, mar-riage, family, and fashion. The readership profiles are relatively the same, Vogue coming in with a slightly higher average age of 37 and Redbook with 32.
{This information was found on both sites Media Kit section)
For this piece, I will focus solely on what is inside the magazine, this consists of looking at; headlines, advertisements, and articles.
Headlines
In Vogue the headlines have been relatively responsible in that they don’t put down overweight peo-ple, in fact there is barely mention of overweight people at all. This is precisely the problem though, they don’t talk about average sized people at all, it’s as if they don't exist. This seems like Vogue’s vision on overweight peo-ple, they would prefer if they did-n't exist.
The headlines of articles in Vogue do not hint at accepting all body types, only the skinny ones. I find this to be troubling because it shows Vogue’s disregard for re-sponsible reporting by showing only one side of things. Vogue is appealing to only one type of per-son here and sending a message by continually using these words. By featuring only skinny models and using words that refer to be-ing thin they are showing their true colors. They are also alien-ating any thoughts of being any-thing but skinny. The use of “thinonyms” in their headlines shows this, they use subtle hints to remind their reader that skinny is better.
Skinny Genes (APR 2009)
Skinny Dipping (May
2001)
Lean & Mean (Feb 2007)
In looking at Vogue and Redbook and comparing their headlines I discov-ered the two were fairly opposite. Redbook em-brace all sizes of bodies, big or small.
One headline in particu-lar that stood out to me was “You Can Feel Femi-nine & Beautiful at size 2 or size 12.”
I find this to be a good contrast between the two because you see Redbook saying all sizes are wel-comed, where as Vogue just fo-cuses on the thinness aspect and ignores larger sizes.
My reasoning for why this is, is that if Vogue were to come out and all of the sudden start em-bracing everyone from size 2 to 12, they would most likely have to stop doing business with a lot of the designers they feature, offer a wider variety of clothing sugges-tions based upon available sizing and start featuring models of all sizes. This conclusion lends itself to be said that if Vogue wanted to ever be considered fully socially responsible, they would have to make some drastic changes.
Mara Rooney, Vogue Nov. 2011
Vogue: Skinny or Too Skinny?
I
Notice the varying degree body types present in this
Dove ad. There is a range of different sized; stom-
achs, hips, and thighs and visible muscle mass. Body
types such as these are not featured in Vogue.
A
A
fter a long analysis of Vogue’s advertise-
ments over the past two years starting from May
2012 to May 2011, I have some interesting obser-
vations. In 9 out of 12 Vogues’ table of contents
were preceded by 40 pages of ads. The September
2011 issue was a whopping 68 pages of ads. To
draw an interesting comparison, in all 12 Redbook
issues the table of contents was never more than
4 pages into the magazine. What this says to me
is that the primary focus of the magazine is to sell
advertisements. This shows a lack of character
and desire for money. Clearly the advertisers have
influence over Vogue because they continually use
models with lack of lean muscle and visible bones.
After looking at over 1,000 pages of ads I feel qualified
in saying that the goal of Vogue is to remind you that
skinny people wear their clothes, as the visual signifi-
ers of being underweight and anorexic are present on
almost all of the models featured in the ads. Again,
Vogue is ignoring the presence of healthy body types.
Closer Look:
What is Vogue selling?
Rooney Mara’s
back bones.
Vogue Nov 2011
fter looking at the advertisements in Vogue
and how socially irresponsible they were, I decided to
look at Redbook to see if it was a trend across the
board. Redbook features ads from companies like Jen-
ny Craig and Dove, known for their new ad campaign
which features women of all sizes, shapes and colors.
n my opinion the cause of this is that Vogue
wants to keep its image that thin is better, because
When I spoke with Meagan Salt
from Vogue about how thin the
models in Vogue are, she quickly
reminded me that Vogue doesn’t
cast the models for it’s ads, and
that the are committed to their
new statement. To me this was an
excuse, to hide the fact that they
still choose to feature those ads. I
was pleased to hear however that
she felt that the media doesn't
make a big enough issue out of the
topic. Maybe she should tell that to
the editor. Their frequent use of
models with a lack of lean muscle
mass is not responsible. It heavily
challenges their claim to “refuse to
work with anorexic models” as
their new statement says.
I believe it is more for the publicity
coverage than anything else. It
begs the question “why now?”
Vogue obviously doesn’t care
about the issue or they would’ve
already done something. In April
2010’s shape Iisue, Anna Wintour
writes in her letter from the editor;
“In February there was
a spirited panel discus-
sion about the issues
involved in making sure
the models on the run-
ways are healthy and
representative of a
range of body types. “
-Anna Wintour 2010
shape issue
That’s what the advertisements are saying
Hype Over
Health Vogue released a state-
ment on May 3, 2012 re-
garding the ongoing battle
of anorexic models. In this
statement, Vogue and its
19 international editors
said that “good health is
beautiful” and they want
to make sure those in their
pages were well cared for
and educated in how to
take care of themselves.
Also in the statement were
the following guidelines:
Not knowingly work
with models under 16
or that appear to have
an eating disorder.
Check ID’s at photo
shoots
Encourage healthy
backstage working
conditions
Encourage designers to
consider the conse-
quences of unrealisti-
cally small sample siz-
es, thus limiting the
women who can wear
the clothes.
Runway model in April 2008 French Vogue
Visible rib bones
Visible back bones
T
S T
A
dvertising is to fashion, as a tie is to a
suit, they just go together. One of the most
fascinating pieces of Vogue to me is there ad-
vertisements. The designers featured in
Vogue are some of the world’s finest clothing
manufacturers; Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Yves
Saint Laurent, Ellie Saab, Ralph Lauren, Giorgo
Armani and the list goes on.
The models for these ads are picked by the
designer, so if they’re too skinny then it’s not
Vogue’s fault, right? WRONG
he designers are not the ones who pub-
lish the magazine, it is the editor’s job to do
this, namely Anna Wintour. It is irresponsi-
ble for someone to be outspoken about the
need for healthier models, yet continually
casts the opposite in her magazine. It must
be benefitting her in some way, maybe it’s
her 2 million dollar salary. (New York Mag)
he most likely reason as to why these
skin and bones models continually grace the
pages of Vogue is plain and simple;
Mo
del K
arlie Klo
ss in a sh
ockin
gly thin
ph
oto
. Vo
gue Italia
ince its creation in 1892 Vogue has built an
image revolving around fashion. Advertising is a ma-
jor money maker and vital to Vogue. Vogue could
not all the sudden abandon this image and stop fea-
turing high end European designers who intention-
ally limit the sizing of their clothes for a reason. If
they did they would lose a significant income from
their advertisers.
MONEY
“Vogue increased it’s January-to-October ad
pages more than 9% to 2,125..”
“Its September issue killed again with 584 ad
pages.”
-Advertising Age magazine
”
“
This letter seemed like a technique to save face and
look responsible all the while casting models that were
underweight.
The main reason why I believe this to be true is that in
this same issue are a lot of contradictions. There are a
number of models who do not reflect the ideals of the
Shape issue which according to Anna Wintour is
D
C
ontinuing with the April 2010 Shape issue,
Anna Wintour did discuss a lot of good things regard-
ing the issue and was very socially responsible in dis-
cussing the items. However nothing was done, no
action was taken until 2 years later. She wrote about
encouraging designers to change the runway ideal
size of 0 to something healthier, but nothing was
done.
When analyzing this letter I felt that there was truly
an effort to educate the reader on what was being
done to fight this issue.
evoted to transfor-
mations and is filled with in-
spiring stories about giving up
smoking, getting over an eating
disorder, changing one’s body
through exercise, and having a
facelift.
– Vogue Shape Issue 2010
Editor of Vogue, Anna Wintour
Shape issue
However at the end , it was wishful
thinking from two years ago.
In it there was no action plan,
nothing the reader could do,
nothing Vogue could do except
“encourage” designers to send smaller
sizes. If Vogue truly cared about mod-
els’ health they would have offered
more solutions to the issue, starting
with themselves.
Vogue’s shape issues serve one pur-
pose; to be their annual “semi-
responsible” issue. As if they keep it in
their back pocket for when people ac-
cuse them of promoting the thinness
ideal . Not that they do that...
Rihanna, Vogue April 2010 shape issue
Articles
What Do They Say?
Vogue doesn’t have control over
what models are cast for what ads,
or what size of clothing is sent to
them, but they do have control
over the articles and their content.
The articles in Vogue sometimes
seem to split right down the mid-
dle when it comes to responsibility.
Some are responsible and report
on the issue of too thin modeling
and what is too thin. They also talk
about embracing who you are and
will interview plus-size models and
show that you don’t have to be
skinny to be beautiful and fashion-
able. One article from April 2007
interviews plus-size model Ashley
Graham about her shopping habits.
Another article is from April 2010
and features plus-size model Kate
Dillon in the same light.
These examples show responsibil-
ity by showing Vogue isn’t blind to
the fact that there are plus-size
models who are attractive and styl-
ish and also that they are willing to
feature them. They are hypocritical
though because they feature exact-
ly what is considered too thin. In
the September 1999 they interview
the director of UCLA Center for Hu-
man Nutrition and he says “too
thin” is a lack of lean muscle mass,
which is all over the pages of every
Vogue.
To defy the industry standard of borderline anorexic models and feature in-
terviews with plus-size models is nothing short of socially responsible. Plus-
size model Lara Stone was interviewed by Vogue and talked about what it’s
like being a plus-size model.
“When you’re a model, nobody calls you
fat. What they say is curvy, but you
know they mean fat.”
-Lara Stone
After reading a quote like this, I’m not surprised that Vogue doesn’t regular-
ly feature plus size models. In fact, looking at the Vogue’s available to me I
found that plus-size models are only interviewed in the annual Shape issue
and in one other issue that year. Vogue’s responsibility is diminishing, if they
want to “embrace all body shapes and sizes” as written in Anna’s letter in
the 2007 Shape issue, then maybe they should start featuring them more.
Lara
Sto
ne,
Vo
gue
Turk
ey. A
pri
l 20
12
However at the end , it was wishful
thinking from two years ago.
In it there was no action plan,
nothing the reader could do,
nothing Vogue could do except
“encourage” designers to send smaller
sizes. If Vogue truly cared about mod-
els’ health they would have offered
more solutions to the issue, starting
with themselves.
Vogue’s shape issues serve one pur-
pose; to be their annual “semi-
responsible” issue. As if they keep it in
their back pocket for when people ac-
cuse them of promoting the thinness
ideal . Not that they do that...
F Karl Lagerfeld Apart from looking at the past year of Vogue I al-
so ventured out to find as many past Shape is-
sues as I could find. The 2007 issue had an inter-
esting article titled “Walking
a Thin Line” which was about
the dangers of the modeling
industry and the history of
how this issue came about.
Although this is an example
of responsible reporting on
the issue of too thin models
and raises awareness about
the issue.
Throughout that issue there
are 5 different articles talking
about famed Chanel design-
er Karl Lagerfeld. Vogue
must’ve forgotten what Karl’s
views on plus-size models
are. By featuring Karl in their
magazine so often Vogue
clearly shows it’s alliance to
certain designers and supports their beliefs.
Karl Lagerfeld’s connection to Vogue is a lot deeper
than most know. Karl has been designing for high
fashion brands since he started
with Fendi in 1965. This means
that his clothes, ads and influ-
ence have been spreading
through Vogue for over 40
years. He currently is head de-
signer at Chanel, which is al-
most always featured within
the first 5 to 10 pages in every
Vogue. In a ProQuest database
search of Vogue from 1989 to
2012, his name appeared in the
magazine 217 times. That is not
counting the amount of times
his clothing has been featured
in the magazine.
Vogue obviously disregarded
their previous article about
the dangers of thin modeling by promoting Karl
Lagerfeld. Vogue is promoting thin models by pro-
moting designers who think that way, because that’s
how Vogue clearly thinks based upon their con-
stant featuring of Karl Lagerfeld. “These are fat mummies sitting
with their bags of crisps in
front of the television, saying
that thin models are ugly.”
–Karl Lagerfeld in FOCUS
magazine
QUICK FACTS
Age: 79
Occupation: Creative director Chanel
Past work: Fendi, Chloe, Jean Patou, H&M, Hogan
Known for: Promoting skinny models, a white high
collared shirt and leather gloves.
Karl Lagerfeld at the end of one of his fashion shows
F ocusing back on the content of
Vogue’s articles; Skinny Genes was
an article that caught my eye. Up-
on reading the first three lines I
was surprised to find the words
“French women don’t get
fat. They have je ne sais
quoi”.
Implying that French women are
skinny, and that skinny people are
distinctively attractive. This again
shows Vogue’s true feelings about
skinny people and why they contin-
ually promote them. To simply
brand all French women as skinny
excludes and segregates the read-
er. The other reason why I don’t
understand this was published is
because it is false; according to the
Telegraph UK 15.1% of French
women are clinically obese. This
quote is racist and discriminatory
towards “fat” people, Vogue fea-
tures quotes like these because
they align with their beliefs.
Fashion Spreads
Vogue regularly does fashion
spreads, where the current trends
are laid out on the page for the
reader to look at and find infor-
mation about. I looked at
Redbook’s spreads and there was
one difference between the two.
In Vogue all of the clothes are on
the page as is, except there is al-
ways one model wearing an outfit
as well. Whereas with Redbook it
was just the clothes and no model.
What this said to me was that in
Redbook the focus is solely on the
clothes and nothing else, because
there is nothing else on the page.
With Vogue it told me that alt-
hough they’re focused on the
clothes, they want to remind you
who they are meant for and who
they want wearing them.
When analyzing Vogue’s article
content I couldn't help but feel
they have been socially irresponsi-
ble. Despite the handful of excep-
tions in their shape issue’s and oth-
ers, the majority of their articles
promoted skinniness and talked
about it as if it were the only body
type. Their constant reminders of
skinniness plague every issue.
However the few exceptions do
not outweigh the rest of their con-
tent, not even close.
I find myself leaning towards the
side of socially irresponsible be-
cause of certain things like the
quote in the upper left, the con-
stant reminders of skinniness, and
the lack of articles on plus-size
models and accepting other body
types.
Above: A fashion
spread in Redbook
with no models.
Left: A fashion
spread in Vogue
showing models
wearing the look.
Name Dress size (US)
Height Weight BMI Vogue appearances
Raquel Zimmermann 4 5’10” 128 18.4 75
Karlie Kloss 4 6’0” 140 19.0 66
Anja Rubik 4 5’10” 121 17.4 15
Lara Stone 4 5’10” 140 20.1 45
Joan Smalls 4 5’10.5” 110 15.6 32
Natasha Poly 2 5’10” 130 18.7 12
Sasha Pivovarova 4 5’8.5” 102 18.0 49
Liu Wen 4 5’10.5” 110 15.6 10
Karmen Pedaru 4 5’10” 117 16.8 4
Kate Moss 2 5’6” 105 16.9 176
Sienna Miller 2 5’6” 116 17.8 91
Daria Werbowy 4 5’11” 108 15.1 64
Heidi Klum 4 5’9.25” 120 17.7 3
Doutzen Kroes 6 5’10” 120 17.2 38
Natalia Vodianova 4 5’9” 115 17.0 102
Gisele Bundchen 2 5’11” 118 16.5 34
Average 3.6 5’4” 119.79 17.5 51
Average U.S. Woman 14 5’3” 164 29.0 --
BMI Weight Status
Below 18.5 Underweight
18.5-24.9 Normal
25.0-29.9 Overweight
30.0 and above Obese
You’re Favorite Models And Their Measurements
After searching numerous modeling agency and celebrity information websites, and of course Vogue, I was
able to put together a table of models that are featured regularly in Vogue. The first nine models on the list
were named Vogue’s favorite in 2011, the top spot belonging to Arizona Muse is absent because I was una-
ble to find reliable measurements.
“Nothing tastes as good as
skinny feels” –Kate Moss
-Women’s Wear Daily
“It’s better to be skinny than fat”
-Natalia Vodianova
-UK Vogue panel
Not only does Vogue feature ultra-thin models very
frequently, they feature the two who have made out-
rageous quotes about thinness. These quotes can in-
fluence young women and cause them to live un-
healthily and have eating disorders.
If Vogue endorses these models then they are endors-
ing their messages as well, which are incredibly irre-
sponsible and promote unhealthy life styles. This mag-
azine is iconic to some people, Vogue is clearly disre-
garding the effects these words have on people.
This data shows that heavier models are a major mi-
nority in Vogue where as those with lower weights
appear more. According to the authors of Media Eth-
ics Phillip Patterson and Lee Wilkins there are three
sources of responsibility:
Assigned: Employer-Employee
Contracted: Each party agrees to assume responsi-
bility and fulfill it.
Self-Imposed: Individual moral responsibilities.
Vogue has been responsible in the first two situa-
tions but has blatantly disregarded the third. Their
frequent use of ultra-thin models shows that they
have no regard for the message it sends and the
effects it has on the viewer. It projects a message of
thin is the only way to be beautiful because that is all
they show as beautiful.
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962576925765124553768956437215425679865341625545789825956314922785949787995794595297564672525962576925765124553768956437215425679865341625545789825956314922785949787995794595
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22785949787995794595297564672525962576925765124553768956437215425679865341625545789825956314922785949787995794595297564672525962576925765221042326497Beyond The Numbers
Looking at the data, you can see that :
Only 3 models in the top 10 have healthy BMI’s.
One of which is only .2 above underweight.
These 3 models make up only 15% of Vogue ap-
pearances among this group.
The 2nd lowest weight belongs to Kate Moss at
105lbs; coincidentally she has the highest number
of Vogue appearances at 176.
The lowest number of appearances is Heidi Klum,
interestingly enough she has the 2nd highest
weight at 136.5lbs.
The average weight of Vogue models is 44 pounds
less than that of the average woman, and the BMI
of Vogue models 17.5, a full point underweight,
and 11.5 points away from the average woman’s
BMI.
They rarely show healthy women in their magazine
and therefore can’t project the image that they are
accepting of all body types. They can only show the
message in which they are sending by only having
one body type in their magazine. The comparison be-
tween the average U.S. woman and the average
Vogue model shows that there is no regard to what is
realistic for women to aspire to. They are showing
women who potentially lead unhealthy lifestyles and
have unrealistic figures.
According to the UK National Health Center, the BMI
measurement for anorexia nervosa is 17.5; this would
mean that the average Vogue model could be ano-
rexic, as well as 9 others on this chart. This shows
that Vogue has no problem publicly saying they pre-
fer models who are considered anorexic, which is by
far one of the most irresponsible things they could
do.
This shows Vogue promoting that those who are super-skinny are their “favorites” and they don’t prefer models who aren’t stick thin.
Clearly Vogue does not want to feature these heavier models as they make up such a small percentage of appearances in the top 10.
Vogue clearly doesn’t like showing models who are at healthier weights because they consider them less appealing than those with lower weights, as the data indicates. The numbers clearly show that skinner models are featured more and heavier ones featured less.
This shows that Vogue completely disregards showing what is realistic and healthy for wom-en. These numbers lead me to believe that Vogue does not actually care about showing what is normal, but rather what is unhealthy and “looks better.”
Vogue is not responsible in the models they cast as dictated by these numbers.
F C
I
Vogue
Covers: The History
Vogue 1892
wanted to see if Vogue had been
irresponsible in the past or not. I looked
at the past covers from 1960 to present
day with four criteria:
Headlines
Clothing Shown
Visual signs of “too skinny”
Amount of body shown
Headlines: The headlines of Vogue have all been
relatively the same since the 1960’s,
they all talk about the new fall and sum-
mer looks as well as designer collections
make up and hair tips, as well as how to
find your style.
One thing that did not make the cover of
any of the Vogue covers except for their
annual Shape issues was the topic of
weight loss or body image. Never once
was the topic of different shapes or sizes
discussed, or the dangers or experiences
of models.
This tells me that Vogue doesn’t want the
reader thinking about their body image
when reading their magazine; they want
to put the body image of everyone else in
front of the reader. The exception to this
conclusion is Vogue’s annual Shape issue
in which they have headlines about sizes
0-20, or what to wear if your tall, short,
thin, curvy, athletic or pregnant as well as
different diet tips.
Although the Shape issue is a step in the
right direction, I cannot ignore the fact
that it is once a year. I conclude that
Vogue has been irresponsible in covering
the topic of too thin models and also in
not showing a wider variety of body types
on their cover.
Clothing:
lothing is undoubtedly a cen-
tral part to Vogue as it is a fashion
-oriented magazine. In the early
decades of the 60’s through the
80’s there are a lot more responsi-
ble covers in regards to clothing.
It was more focused on headwear
and the various accessories such
as rings, bracelets and necklaces.
This conveyed a slightly more
wholesome image focusing on as-
pects that could be worn by a
woman no matter her size or
weight.
As we transitioned into the 90’s to
present day there is a lot more
provocative clothing that could
not be appropriately worn by a lot
of body types other than those
featured in Vogue.
I find this to be socially irresponsi-
ble because it dictates who can
wear their clothes and ultimately
who should be reading their mag-
azines. They do not appeal to larg-
er body types and potentially ex-
clude them from being a part of
Vogue.
Vogue 1965
F
Linda Evangelista Vogue June 1990
Vogue
Covers: The History
Vogue 1892
As the years progressed and we en-
tered the 1990’s Vogue began to lose
their responsibility. We see a lot more
full body shots and waist up shots, as
well as more skin with the use of sheer
clothing and cleavage.
To me this suggests that it is no longer
about the person’s face but more so
about the body. It projects a heavily
body oriented focus.
The social irresponsibility of Vogue in
relation to the content of their covers
is huge. Even if someone sees the cov-
er at a newsstand or grocery store,
and is nothing but skinny models in
provocative clothing and poses, it will
send a message as what is normal and
desirable.
This message being sent is unrealistic
because as I pointed out in my index of
models’ measurements, most models
are much skinnier than the average
person.
Vogue is more concerned with making
sure you know what the ideal body is.
They put it on the cover and showing
you the entire body and sometimes
leaving little to the imagination.
Amount of body: Visual signs:
ollowing the trend of Vogue’s be-
ing socially responsible in the earlier dec-
ades and losing that responsibility in the
1990’s, we see a definite change in the
type of people on the covers of Vogue.
In the 60’s through 80’s we didn’t see
any chest, back or collarbones or other
visible signs of being unhealthily skinny.
In the 1990’s through today we see a few
more signs of potential anorexia with
some bone structures being visible.
However there are a lot of models on the
covers who have little to no lean muscle
mass. As was reported by Vogue this is a
major sign of being “too skinny.”
The first thing on the cover is someone
who is lacking muscle and showing off a
lot of skin. That sends a strong message
as to what the magazine is about. It
shows who Vogue thinks is important
enough to put on their cover.
In an interview with Barbara Walters,
Anna Wintour said “to be in Vogue has
to mean something, it’s an endorsement,
a validation.” Vogue is openly endorsing
and validating ultra-thin models by
putting them on the covers year after
year. For the millions of women out
there who aspire to be in Vogue, this
says that they must be ultra-thin to
achieve their dreams.
“To be in Vogue has
to mean something,
it’s an endorsement,
a validation.”
-Anna Wintour
Print circulation: 11.4
million
Online audience: 1.2
million
(Condenast.com)
VOGUE Nothing is Too Thin
THANK
YOU
In this issue I have presented a vast amount of information on Vogue about its social responsi-bility regarding the issue of too skinny models. I have discussed a number of aspects such as
the headlines, advertisements and articles in Vogue, the designers they feature and how they relate to Vogue’s constant use of models who are unhealthily skinny, the measurements of
those models, and also an analysis of Vogue’s covers over the past 52 years. With all of these pieces as my evidence, I feel that it is warranted to claim that
Vo g u e h a s o v e ra l l b e e n s o c i a l l y i r r e s p o n s i b l e . They feature models who fulfill visible and empirical signs of being underweight and potentially
anorexic
They increase advertising to make more money
They disregard other body types except in their shape issues
They challenge their own content and feature’s models who are unrealistically thin and
unhealthy.
They do not regularly feature plus-size models
They do not report on the issue of underweight modeling very often
They constantly feature and praise designers and models who perpetuate the ideal of being thin
The average measurements of commonly featured models are considered underweight
according to the Center for Disease and Control
Final Thoughts
When you walk away from this magazine, I hope that you understand why I have deemed
Vogue as socially irresponsible. That being said I hope you remember the small glimpses of
responsibility shown by Vogue, but know that they pale in comparison to their irresponsibility.
