The French parliament has tabled a bill that will ban the glamorisation of extreme thinness. Any media that are deemed to have put people’s health at risk by advocating thinness look set for up to two years in prison or a €30,000 fine.
The development, seen widely as an attempt to clamp down on so-called ‘pro-ana’ websites (see News, February 2007), comes weeks after a voluntary charter was signed by the French fashion industry agreeing not to promote extreme thinness. It also follows the 2007 ban by Spanish authorities of ultra-thin catwalk models.
Psychologist David Giles at the University of Winchester believes the French authorities are making a mistake. He has conducted research on pro-ana websites and is sceptical about the degree of danger they pose, telling us that one or two highly publicised cases doesn’t provide sufficient evidence that the sites themselves constitute a serious health risk.
‘The research to date suggests that the sight of lots of thin models can possibly add to the pressure a vulnerable teenage girl feels to lose weight,’ Giles said. ‘But whether they can be held directly accountable for anorexia or bulimia is another matter. All we can say is that the media is a broad contributor, but each separate case has a different origin - often the family. Many people in treatment for anorexia aren’t particularly attracted to thin celebrities at all.’
Giles also doubts the likely effectiveness of an online ban. ‘You’d need Stasi-level scrutiny for it to work. This would be out of all proportion to the actual health risk,’ he said.
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The Psychologist
