When is a size 12 not a size 12? When it’s hanging on a
fashion rail. With clothing sizes getting smaller and smaller as the years go
by, I can guarantee that if you were to go into three different stores, you’d
be a different size in each of them. But just when did a size 10 stop being a
size 10? Simple; when the fashion world decided that all teenage girls should
be flat chest-ed and stick thin.
In a world where appearance is all that matters, a girl can
be reduced to tears when she finds herself barely able to squeeze into a pair
of size 14 jeans " despite the fact that she’s really a size 8. In fact, this
is exactly what’s happening across the country; teenagers are going shopping
and finding that although they may be one size in, say, Pineapple, that same
size is far too small for them in Jane Norman.
The size 12 of today is the size 6 of yesterday, and it
seems that this is one of the many reasons for teenage girls starving
themselves. With role models such as Victoria Beckham, girls are feeling more
and more under pressure to gain the “ideal figure”, and clothing labels are only
increasing that pressure with their unfair sizing. By the time girls have
achieved the size they want, that size has become the new size 18, and it’s
because of this that girls turn to starving themselves or harming their bodies
in other ways.
Anorexia and Bulimia are two of the leading causes for
teenage girls ending up in hospital " more girls have ended up in hospital due
to starving themselves, than they have due to alcohol or drugs " but, despite
this, there’s been no law put into place about clothing sizes. The EU have the
power to change this, however, they clearly don’t see it as enough of a problem
to pass a law regarding clothing sizes. In the past, they’ve put laws into
place that restrict how large a banana must be before it can be sold in a
supermarket, and yet they still haven’t found a good enough reason to ensure
that sizes are regulated across the market.
Also, I think it’s safe to assume that the fashion designers
have noticed the effect their sizing is having on the teenage girls of today,
so why do they continue to make their clothing so ridiculously small? Because
it costs less, of course. With money becoming a bigger and bigger issue, more
labels are turning to sweat shops in order to sell their clothing at cheaper
prices. Sweat shops are used by designers because they’re a quick, cheap way to
get their clothes manufactured, and one of the reasons these sweat shops are so
cheap is because they use the smallest amount of material possible. Although
sweat shops are no longer as big a problem, most designers have used them at
some point, and this is one of the reasons that sizing is still so small.
Between sweat shops and anorexic teens, the chances are that
so long as the sizing stays as small as it is, someone somewhere is going to be
hurting. If we’re ever going to change this size-obsessed society, we need a
law put in place as soon as possible that will ensure that a size 12 is the
same across the board. With such a law in place, the way many teenage girls
think will change " they may even choose normal sized celebrities as role
models as opposed to stars such as Posh Spice.
True, many experts are worried about the rising
numbers of obese teens; however, as many others have pointed out, just as many
teenagers are starving themselves. "You wouldn’t believe the number of
perfectly thin teenagers I've talked to who are worried about their weight
simply because they were a size 14 in Jane Norman. A law like that
would help so many teenagers across Britain and is far more necessary than most
would think," said child psychologist Wendy Burton, when asked for her views on
such a law. "In my opinion, there need to be stricter laws put into place, or thousands more teens will suffer."
Over the years, clothing has been getting smaller and smaller, and, without a law put into place, girls across the country will suffer. How long until girls are starving themselves to the point where their bodies become emaciated? How long until girls as young as 6 years old are taught that bones are the new black? Where will it end?
![[send message]](https://www.writerscafe.org/images/mail.png){kind=small}
![[befriend]](https://www.writerscafe.org/images/friend.png){kind=small}
Share This
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Read Request
My Library
Flag Writing
