HEALTH PROBLEMS IN THE MODELLING INDUSTRY

The road to becoming a successful model is often rocky and bumpy. It may seem really cool walking the ramp, but dear friends, be cautious! Life of a model is not always a bed of roses, rather, there are thorns like stress, health concerns and changes in lifestyle that pose a serious threat on a model's physical and mental health.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE: stay away from it to become a successful model. (www.ehow.com)

Let's take a look at some of the issues associated with a model's health. I don't intend to scare modelling aspirations but all I really hope for is to pen down some of the risks that come with a modelling career. If a person stays focused about his/her health and keeps the lifestyle positive, a modelling career can earn him/her everything-wealth, name and fame with the health just being fine too. The following are few of the most serious health hazards that need to be taken care of and avoided in order to make a successful career as a model:

• Substance Abuse- Modelling often brings with it, the risk of substance abuse. Stress is one of the key elements that often trigger the risk of substance abuse. So an aspiring model should always try for ways to keep stress at bay and stay away from substance abuse.
• Anorexia- People in the modelling profession may often suffer from Anorexia, which leads to developing apprehension over getting obese and losing contracts. The key to keep anorexia at bay is to eat healthy diets and exercise along with techniques such as yoga or aerobics that help to keep mental and physical composure normal.
• Irregular Work Schedules- Irregularity in work schedules is a part of modelling career. your sleeping timing and diet timing may often change, thus impacting your health. Appropriate diet and sleep should be preferred to socialising and parties.

ANOREXIA: eat healthy diets and exercise to stay healthy. (www.anorexia10.com)

If you are cautious and make positive changes in your lifestyle, the sky is the limit in a modelling career. So eat healthy, stay fit and I wish you good luck in your endeavour of becoming a model!

ARE THE DIETS AND THE DRASTIC CHANGE IN EATING HABITS WORTH THE TROUBLE?

How much should you eat to get your body to match the stats of Size Zero? Models and girls across the world diet and reduce their food intake to become skinny and look good in fashionable clothes. But are the diets and the drastic change in eating habits worth the troubles?

Emotional Eating: The trick to staying slim. (www.foxnews.com)

In today's society, we are bombarded with messages from all sides on what to eat and what not to eat. On the one hand we should control ourselves: fat or sugar or whatever is taken out of certain foods and they are sold to us as diet foods, while on the other we should give in to desire: fat and sugar is added to other foods which are sold to us as indulgent treats. According to a few fashion communities, Size Zero means the woman has treated her body like a temple, working out and dieting smartly to achieve a beautiful figure that complements the strong woman beneath the surface. Apparently, Size Zero clothing accentuates the way woman feel inside!! Well, I don't think so.

Pizza Express: Eat pizza, stay thin! (www.fabfrocks.blogspot.com)

Are the diets and drastic change in eating habits worth the trouble? The calories required for an average woman to turn herself into a "Lollypop Lady" are 400 calories. The lack of calories causes a metabolic melee in the brain resulting in fierce mood swings, loss of sense of proportion and the inability to see outside the immediate world (www.lovepanky.com). The uproar over the Size Zero brings a new debate on the quotient of beauty. What is beautiful? Who is beautiful? It goes without saying that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, who are these beholders? Wherever you are on this planet, is beauty just skin deep?

MODELLING SCAMS

Suckers are not born a minute, but dreams are. We all dream of fame, fortune and glory, and for teenage girls, all three are rolled into one tenacious fantasy: the dream of being a fashion model. What are you going to do if your agent says you're fat and tells you to lose weight? You're not fat and you know it. Your friends think you're thin and maybe your mother feels you're too thin. But the agent explains you need to be slimmer to get bookings. What if you try to shed some kilos but can't?

MODELLING SCAMS: Is that great offer a fake? (www.modelingscams.net)

Thousands of young women are interested in modelling and get scammed every year, but surprisingly few books have been written about modelling scams. In fact, you would be lucky to find half a dozen books ever written on them in general or about one of them in particular. The bad news about the modelling industry is: it is full of scams. The good news is: education can keep you from avoiding them.

SCAMS: Spot fake modelling agencies. (www.ehow.com)

The Internet has become a force for both education and relevation. Some sites help you learn what scams look like, while others specifically name which one are frauds. www.ModelingScams.org emphasizes modelling scams in the United States, but very similar if not identical schemes are found in South Africa and other English-speaking countries, as well as virtually every other country that has models. Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Take some time to learn the history of the modelling industry so you can avoid big mistakes or small ones. 

MY LOVE AND VIEWS ABOUT THE MODELLING INDUSTRY AND THE POWER OF IT ALL.

I love anything that has to do with modelling. I will watch any old reality TV show if it has models in it, I used to be majorly addicted to America's Next Top Model so much! I dislike the manipulative editing that makes it seem as if everyone is constantly fighting or crying, but I will watch it anyway. What I like best is the bits when they are working it because of the glimpses into the model's lives.




Myself (Refilwe Pearl Makamedi): I love anything that has to do with modelling.


I wish modelling was just treated as a job with pros and cons like any other, but I just find it so weird that it's this thing that so many young girls aspire to the extent that they will completely screw their life chances in other areas such as education to pursue it. i can understand why it appears glitzy, since models are the public face of the fashion industry. Unfortunately, the things I have found out about professional modelling are not so encouraging:

1. Clients demand models with 31 inch hips: Which is basically not physically possible.
2. Models don't get paid for Vogue covers: Editorial models basically work for not that much at all in the hope of getting their face recognised  hope so that eventually they will pick up one of the many big advertising contracts, but obviously there aren't many of them.
3. Fainting is not an excuse: Agencies never understand why a model is so tired. (www.oranges-and-apples.com)



Myself (Refilwe Pearl Makamedi): Not sacrificing chances in life to pursue modelling.


So why then am I so interested in all things modelling? I'm not even into high fashion that much, and my fascination definitely goes beyond clothes... The best I can explain it is that what I love is the transformation and I take heart from the fact that gawky teenager with thin short hair can end up as internationally renowned symbol of beauty.

MODELLING CAN ADD VALUE TO ONES LIFE...

The training a reputable modelling agency provides their models can create essential building blocks to be successful in life or prepare a young person for a long term career. Modelling can teach aspiring models life skills such as: poise, posture, personalised branding and style, grooming, business acumen, etiquette, how to work well under pressure and with an extreme variety of personalities, anger management, how to work independently a s a team, flexibility, negotiation and customer service skills.

MODELLING CAN CREATE ESSENTIAL BUILDING BLOCKS TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE: Don't give up on your dream of becoming a model (www.happyquotesworld.com).

The other bonus to modelling is not just the financial incentives or learning money management skills but the exposure to successful businesses and their associates, travelling and building long term friendships with other young people in the business that can often last a lifetime. However, the dark side to modelling is that young models can be exploited if managed improperly, drug use can become a method to lose weight quickly and eating disorders among models have never been sorted.

LIVE YOUR VALUES: Don't let criticism get to you (www.trueinspiration.com.au).

Criticism plays a big role in the modelling industry, always think the positives, be passionate about what you do and be driven to what you believe in. When you finally accomplish it, the best part is looking back on how strong you are and how much you went through and focus on how you'll become a role model for someone, for people.

POSITIVE CHANGES IN THE MODELLING INDUSTRY...

Many critiques in the modelling industry have less in common with the loving mother who tries to flatter you with compliments that empower you and more in common with a devil's advocate who tells you to skip your next two meals because your bum looks to large in your favourite pair of jeans and that you need to hit the gym daily for about three hours minimum. Both their have their place but one is said in love, the other is much more forceful and can affect ones self-esteem, income and career of an aspiring or professional model.





CURVES ARE NOT BAD: THEY REDEFINE AND RESHAPE THE WORLD'S STANDARD BEAUTY. www.examiner.com

 

For years, fashion designers created the demand for models to be thin, preferring human hangers on the runway and models of picture perfect perfection in their advertisements. Major changes were noted when modelling agencies Ford and Wilhelmenia first expanded into the plus size market. In the late nineties Mode Magazine launched its first fashion magazine targeted for the plus-size consumer and was also supported by Wilhelmina. Then in 2004 Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty began pushing the envelope further with a national campaign using plus size models. The main stream public was accepting more variations in curvaceous beauty with people like Anna Nicole Smith, Mia Tyler, Emmie Aronson and Queen Latifah shining in the spotlight.



EVERY WOMAN SHOULD BE ABLE TO SHOW HER CURVES: MYSELF (REFILWE PEARL MAKAMEDI)



Thankfully the plus size movement has continued with Wilhelmina W. Curve Models Organisation, Curves for Change where the models are removing the superficial shell of the fashion industry to become personal mentors of success. They utilise their good looks and sharp wits to advocate for a variety of charities that empower and help women. Two of the organisations they are currently supporting are:

• www.hardygirlshealthywomen.org which is a nonprofit organisation that works to create opportunities, develop programs, and provide services so that all girls and women experience equality, independence, and safety in their everyday lives.
• The other organisation Curves for Change supports is the www.komeraproject.org, an organisation created to assist girls in Rwanda where most struggle to be educated beyond elementary school.

The expectation is for every woman to be able to come out and show off her "curves" to support both these great causes and to celebrate how far we as women, have come to redefine and reshape the world standard beauty.

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA HAS CHANGED THE MODELLING INDUSTRY

Fifteen years ago, all a model had to do was show up and look pretty. But in today's social media-saturated world, a great pair of legs and killer cheekbones do not make a supermodel. More and more, a model's earning power is derived not only by how many shows she walked or magazines she covered, but how many Twitter followers she has.




SOCIAL MEDIA: A powerful asset in a model's career (www.memeburn.com).


Name recognition has always been a powerful asset in a model's career, but whereas in the past the public mostly got to know the industry's biggest players through countless covers, campaigns, gossip columns and paparazzi photos, today's social media has enabled models to make names for themselves. Now, any business-savvy model can get her name out there, and control her brand, through Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook (www.newyork-tokyo.com) .




KATE UPTON: First supermodel to use social media as a powerful asset (www.theplace2.ru).


Kate Upton is the first model to use social media as a powerful asset in her modelling career. She is an American model and actress known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue first in 2011 when she was named Rookie of the Year, and again in 2012, when she was announced as the cover model. Today, up-and-coming young models like Kate Upton, have their web-savvy skills and digital popularity to thank for their skyrocket to fame. Social media imprint (from Facebook and Twitter) has ranked the following models as the top 5 for using social media as a powerful asset (www.ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com):

1. Tyra Banks:          9 126 761
2. Adriana Lima:       2 310 529
3. Heidi Klum:          2 191 447
4. Miranda Kerr:      1 838 532
5. Gisele Bundchen: 1 797 789

My question is, while a large social media presence is no doubt a useful tool, does it really equal more success????