France's National Assembly passed a law that requires models in the country to pass a health exam before they can get to work. The new law, which bans fashion models who are excessively thin, comes with £54,500 or U.S. $81,161 fine and up to six months jail time for employers.
The law now requires all models to provide a medical certificate proving their body mass index (BMI) and health are suitable for their body shape, age and weight. The new law also requires Photoshopped materials to include a caveat "retouched photograph," which will take effect starting Jan. 1, 2017.
The measures aim to battle the growing anorexia issues among models and the continuous rise of eating disorders in younger people. An earlier version of the law imposed a minimum BMI for the models, a clause that was rejected by the French MPs.
Instead, the Parliamentarians agreed to give doctors the decision to determine whether a model is too thin based on a criteria that looks into their body shape, gender and age.
The proposed law was attacked by critics during its house introduction in April. Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Marie-Rose Moro commented it the law, when passed, would not solve anything.
Moro stressed providing more resources to help anorexia patients could have been a better alternative, as well as raising awareness to highlight eating disorders. Various modeling agencies also raised concerns.
"It's very serious to conflate anorexia with the thinness of models and it ignores the fact that anorexia is a psychogenic illness," said Synam's secretary general Isabelle Saint-Felix. Synam represents approximately 40 modeling companies in the country.
In France, about 30,000 to 40,000 people are suffering from anorexia. Around 90 percent of these people are female. Other countries, including Spain, Israel and Italy, are also considering proposed laws that concern models' health and body image.
It remains unclear how France's new law will affect fashion industry's international nature. Approximately 90 percent of working models in France are not French. There are also very few models who claim France as their residence.
Based on the "Girl Model" documentary, the United States (U.S.) is the leading country that produces majority of the world's international models. The U.S. currently does not have laws regulating the anorexia issue.
Photo: Charlotte Astrid | Flickr
