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The National Assembly, or the lower house of Parliament in France, passed an amendment on Friday that prohibits the use of anorexic models.
The move was part of a larger bill looking to modernize France’s health system, and this action is intended to help both malnourished models and those who see their underweight images. The amendment prohibits anyone with a body mass index (BMI) below a certain level to model. This BMI level, which is calculated by dividing height by weight, has not yet been decided on. Anyone who operates a modelling agency or pays a model for work yet does not follow this amendment can be punished with six months in jail and a fine of 75,000 euros.
Though the government had a voluntary charter on the same issue in 2008, the amendment states that this charter created little action. In Parliament on Friday, supporters of the amendment outlined how modelling while malnourished is dangerous for the model and how it conveys a dangerous body image to others.This legislative intervention is meant to work against stereotypes that contribute to eating disorders and to protect workers from this dangerous activity. Though this law is specific to France, legislators hope that it will have a positive impact on the rest of the fashion industry. Prior to this law, both Israel and Spain had taken similar approaches.
France has an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people afflicted with anorexia.
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