#2: How young is too young for girls in the modeling industry?          

                The fashion industry has always been a very stressful and laborious profession. Similarly, the modeling agency, fundamental in the promotion of the fashion industry, proves to be a great barricade. Nevertheless, society puts models in a refined light as their beauty enchants the eye of many individuals. Be that as it may, the way such beauty is obtained is unnatural and often degrading.  What is more, many modeling agencies are employing young girls who are not even 16 years old yet. Exploiting these developing children to the demanding nature of the fashion industry exposes them to pressing challenges that their bodies are not ready for. For this reason, the practice of employing minors is in need of serious reform.

                Being a teenager myself, I understand the importance of maintaining  healthy habits as the body develops.  As individuals progress into the tumultuous teenage years, many changes are taking place physically, emotionally, and socially. Thus, it is essential for teenagers to keep up with these changes so they can develop into healthy adults. The austere demands of modeling agencies, however, deny young girls the ability to practice healthy habits. Rather, the industry's clear-cut size and weight standards require the girls to diet or practice disordered eating which deprives them of the nutritional content they need. An immeasurable amount of pressure is placed on the models to look and behave a certain way. Consequently, the drive to remain as skinny as possible not only affects an individual's health but also her self-esteem and self-worth. Furthermore, there is often competition among the girls in a given agency as they try to be the best looking of the batch. This appearance-oriented culture  brings with it the risk of depression as frustration accumulates. Once depression is reached, harmful ways of coping with stress are often utilized. Some of these tension-relieving  practices include the use of drugs or harming oneself to reach pleasure. As models are trapped in the knowledge that skinny figures are what sell, they are constantly thrown into a circuit of mental crises. In short, allowing young girls into the modeling world puts them in a position of unnecessary risks that can negatively affect their developmental processes.

                Moreover, the employing of minors in the fashion industry gives them a false notion that they were "destined" to be models. Being trained at such a young age and already possessing the correct figure, most girls would feel obliged to continue their modeling career as they grow older in hopes of "making it." In reality, however, not all people achieve what they want to achieve. Therefore, not all child models will be able to stay in the modeling business once they grow older. In this case, years of missing educational studies and taking poor care of the body would be wasted.

                The fact is, no one knows what will happen in the future. Therefore, education and welfare should be the priority of children in case obstacles in the future should require a new occupation path. Let these young models finish high school. Let them develop and get a sense of the world around them. Let them discover their own interests and own voice. Above all, let them be children. Let them find their own identity so that in the future they will have a stronger sense of individualism and won't feel obliged to shrink into society's mold of the "ideal woman."

Works Cited

Machoian, Lisa. "Girls Must Finish Developing First." Www.newyorktimes.com. N.p., 14 Sept. 2012. Web. 21 Dec. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/09/13/sweet-16-and-a-runway-model/girls-must-finish-developing-before-becoming-fashion-models?gwh=E11FAA5B5D66A020962A036E2FEF5241>.

Misener, Jessica. "'Girl Model' Documentary Sheds New Light On Underage Modeling Problem (VIDEO, POLL)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Apr. 2012. Web. 21 Dec. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/10/girl-model-trailer_n_1414307.html>.

Otis, Carre. "Teenage Models Have Teenage Needs." Www.newyorktimes.com. N.p., 13 Sept. 2012. Web. 21 Dec. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/09/13/sweet-16-and-a-runway-model/teenage-models-have-teenage-needs?gwh=C6BA516C0CF9B1EC8651FD8C202FF41B>.