Actress Scarlett Johansson is revealing herself in the October issue of InStyle magazine. I don’t mean literary, I mean she is talking about issues few Hollywood beauties like to delve into—mainly the topics of weight and body image. Johansson tells the magazine that she is confident, rather than critical of her shapely figure.
“I’m curvy – I’m never going to be 5’11’ and 120 pounds. But I feel lucky to have what I’ve got,” said the 21-year-old.
Refreshing remarks given the recent controversy surrounding models, actresses and socialites dealing with weight issues. By now I am sure you are familiar with the unprecedented decision made by fashion organizers in Spain to ban underweight models from walking the ramp, saying they wanted to project an image of beauty and health, not a waif-like look. Now, India is following suit by putting the kibosh on skinny young women “sashaying down the catwalk and acting as role models for thousands of girls who are starving themselves to get svelte figures.”
India’s health minister said many girls in India’s cities and small towns were suffering from osteoporosis due to strict dieting.
“India faces both problems: obesity and osteoporosis. Though many more suffer from obesity, the number of young girls, starving to become thin-like models, is also rocketing,” the minister told local news reporters.
According to the United Nations, India is home to 57 million of the world’s 146 million malnourished children under the age of five. But at the same time the country’s growing middle class is also dealing with health problems typically found in the West, including obesity and anorexia.
Fashion shows and modeling have become the rage for millions of Indian girls. Many attribute it to Indian models Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai who in 1994 became Miss Universe and Miss World respectively. It seems no one is immune. Geography doesn’t matter. I know as a child growing up in Hawaii I wanted to look just like the models in fashion magazines—who didn’t?
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