Letters to the Editor
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other industries
that involve occupational health hazards require frequent screenings to ensure the well-being of the workers and the integrity of the industry. Porn actors have STD tests, athletes have drug tests (the efficacy of which can certainly be debated, but that's neither here nor there). Why not the fashion industry?
Probably because the fashion industry is convinced that it is "above" such mundane concerns as health, and the "girls", with the exception of the 1% that actually get famous, are nothing but interchangeable, disposable paper dolls. The fashion industry's product isn't clothes, it's images of unattainable perfection, and forcing it to confront these issues compromises that goal. It doesn't do to look at a picture of a girl in a $20K dress and think of her puking her guts out after eating a rice cake.
I worked as a high-fashion model for a long time, and I agree with other posters here that BMI and age are a red herring. But reform in the industry will not happen without force of law and the threat of harsh penalties; fashion designers, models and modeling agencies cannot be trusted to police themselves, because they're convinced that only "the little people" take this stuff seriously. A union for fashion models, something along the lines of SAG, would help, but it'll never happen -- the industry is too competitive, and there are too many girls who would scab their way to the grave. It's a jungle out there.