A ban on ultra-thin models
Photo: ReutersIf you look at posters in MTR stations and adverts on TV, you might believe that beauty is everything.
Trying to get a thin body is an obsession among women and girls. Some do extreme things such as not eating or over-exercising. Such behaviour leads to diseases such as osteoporosis, and eating disorders such as anorexia.
A recent study showed that number of eating disorders is increasing drastically in Hong Kong. The situation is alarming. I think we should put a ban on ultra-thin models as quickly as possible to save these girls.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The government should reinforce the belief that looks are less important than actions.
Dick Cheung, STFA Tam Pak Yu College
From the Editor
Thank you for your letter, Dick. Welcome to a "free market". It seems that advertisers can use any means they like to make their point, as long as they don't lie. This kind of in-your-face advertising doesn't just affect the way girls view their bodies, but how people see themselves and each other. Even boys feel the pressure to muscle-up and slim down.
What's more, beauty seems to come hand-in-hand with expensive products, like cars, shoes, handbags and clothes. It spills over into all aspects of our lives. If you listen to people talking about the US elections race, you may hear unkind things about Hillary Clinton. Not for anything she's done, but simply because she looks old, so some people believe she is not capable of running a country.
It seems that unless you are rich, young and beautiful you are worthless. So some people will do whatever it takes to attain those very subjective qualities. At the same time they will turn their backs on honesty, humbleness, generosity, friendship and love. We desperately need to cling to our values or risk growing up in a soulless world.
Susan, Editor