Israel Endorses Ban on Underweight Models and Photo-Editing

Last week, Israel’s parliament endorsed a bill that aimed to keep underweight models out of commercials, prohibit modeling agencies and photographers from employing them, and ban the media and advertising agencies from airbrushing models to extremes.

The bill was submitted by advocates for women’s health issues as part of an effort to combat the international eating disorders epidemic.

According to the bill, "The prevalence of eating disorders, including Anorexia, has been on the rise in recent years in the Israeli society, particularly among young girls. Studies show that one of the reasons for eating disorders among teenage girls is the influence of the media and the advertising industry, which feature particularly thin women as role models, thus influencing teenagers' standards. The fashion and advertising industries, in particular, have created a distorted image of an ideal woman using many underweight models. The purpose of this bill is to reduce the extent of teenage eating disorders.”

The bill further proposed the restriction of models as brands’ spokespeople, should their body mass index (BMI) fall below 18.5. It also pushes for fines anywhere from $20,000 to $60,000 should a media campaign feature underweight models.

On June 14, The Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs signed off on the bill, with slight alterations. Advertisers will continue to be able to use airbrushing and photo-altering software, but they will also be required to identify any altered images.

While the intentions for healthy role models is extraordinary, it seems that government imposed restrictions do infringe on freedoms of speech and expression. I suspect that warnings for health risks can trump free speech—they certainly do on cigarette cartons and prescription labels—but the question is, are airbrushed ads and images equally dangerous to our health?

What do you think? There have been similar debates in France and England, and minimum BMI requirements have been enforced on international runways for years (remember Madrid Fashion Week 2006?). But are laws like this moving the fashion and media industries in healthier directions? Better yet, do you think a law like this would be effective in the United States?

Looking forward to your feedback!