Tagged FYI:

The Friday FYI : Underage Models are a Thing at NYFW.

It’s coming to light that many of the models walking at Fashion Week this week are underage. The New York Times covered it in the Thursday Styles. Why are they turning to younger and younger girls? Because they’re thinner. 

Back in 2006, the death of South American model  Ana Carolina Reston prompted a debate and a movement towards healthier BMIs in the modeling world. American designers, though, have in part argued against BMI restriction saying that because of their height, it’s difficult for fashion models to meet standards seen as normal by health organizations. 

I don’t usually make these FYI things personal, and I kind of enjoy living behind a computer screen, but here’s my 50-cent piece: I’m 5’ 10” and I weigh 155 pounds. I’m lovely. And I’m healthy. So hearing the “she can’t have a normal figure because she’s too tall” line from designers I really love feels a bit like an insult, and a baseless one.

The upshot of the age debate at Fashion Week is that designers are designing for a certain age group (their consumers) and body type (women with BMIs over 17), but are marketing their product using a completely different age group and body type. I’m not even sure how I’m supposed to know how a garment will look on me based on this marketing tactic. 

Fashion Week is a cultural event in New York City. An awesome one. But this trend is making it look more and more like a circus sideshow. 

————————————————————-

Elizabeth Burke is attending her first New York Fashion Week event today.
Feb 10
The Friday FYI : Underage Models are a Thing at NYFW. It’s coming to light that many of the models walking at Fashion Week this week are underage. The New York Times covered it in the Thursday Styles. Why are they turning to younger and younger girls? Because they’re thinner.  Back in 2006, the death of South American model  Ana Carolina Reston prompted a debate and a movement towards healthier BMIs in the modeling world. American designers, though, have in part argued against BMI restriction saying that because of their height, it’s difficult for fashion models to meet standards seen as normal by health organizations.  I don’t usually make these FYI things personal, and I kind of enjoy living behind a computer screen, but here’s my 50-cent piece: I’m 5’ 10” and I weigh 155 pounds. I’m lovely. And I’m healthy. So hearing the “she can’t have a normal figure because she’s too tall” line from designers I really love feels a bit like an insult, and a baseless one. The upshot of the age debate at Fashion Week is that designers are designing for a certain age group (their consumers) and body type (women with BMIs over 17), but are marketing their product using a completely different age group and body type. I’m not even sure how I’m supposed to know how a garment will look on me based on this marketing tactic.  Fashion Week is a cultural event in New York City. An awesome one. But this trend is making it look more and more like a circus sideshow.  ————————————————————- Elizabeth Burke is attending her first New York Fashion Week event today.

The Friday FYI : Planned Parenthood, Susan G Komen, and the Embroiled world of anti-abortion legislation.


In what (interestingly) was something of an Occupy Facebook-type viral meme yesterday, outrage exploded all over the internet (and presumably the real world— I wouldn’t know because I wasn’t there) over the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s decision to cut their grants to Planned Parenthood.

Less than 1% of the Komen Foundation’s grant budget was allocated to Planned Parenthood last year. But that $700,000 was helping to provide a lifeline for the organization and the absence of the grant will be felt by the women in America most affected by inequality, poor education, and lack of access to tools and resources to escape poverty. 

The abortion issue is so hard to address— not only because it’s hard not to take a strong stance on it, but also because it’s just complex. The easiest perspective belongs to Bill Clinton, when he expressed his hope that Americans keep abortion “safe, legal, and rare.”

No matter your views on abortion, however, the oversimplification of the services Planned Parenthood provides is a dangerous issue. As Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday, “Politics have no place in health care.” And the decision on the part of the Komen Foundation is eerily reminiscent of the Lowe’s Hardware chain’s decision to pull their advertisement allocation from “All American Muslim” after getting backlash from groups who find Muslims offensive. For a movement that has so much stood for open access to health care and preventative education and services for women, the pull feels like a betrayal for many who have donated to the Komen Foundation in the hope that those women most in need would benefit from the donation.

Before anyone runs off and rail for or against the Komen Foundation’s decision, take a look at the New York  Times’ analysis: that state legislatures have had a serious uptick in recent abortion-related legislation, with over sixty major abortion laws enacted by states in 2011. And much of that legislation has served to limit the average American woman’s access to basic healthcare.

Regardless of your opinion on abortion, it’s hard to argue that basic healthcare services and education don’t have a positive impact on the inequality and social mobility issues that are hindering the American economic recovery. Maybe more importantly, the midst of a multi-year recession isn’t a great time to make long-term issues like education and access to health care top-of-mind for our government (viz. the sheer volume of abortion-related legislation proposed this year) when our federal government is exhibiting the level of dysfunction and pre-Presidential Election folly that we’ve seen in the past year.
Feb 03
The Friday FYI : Planned Parenthood, Susan G Komen, and the Embroiled world of anti-abortion legislation. In what (interestingly) was something of an Occupy Facebook-type viral meme yesterday, outrage exploded all over the internet (and presumably the real world— I wouldn’t know because I wasn’t there) over the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s decision to cut their grants to Planned Parenthood. Less than 1% of the Komen Foundation’s grant budget was allocated to Planned Parenthood last year. But that $700,000 was helping to provide a lifeline for the organization and the absence of the grant will be felt by the women in America most affected by inequality, poor education, and lack of access to tools and resources to escape poverty.  The abortion issue is so hard to address— not only because it’s hard not to take a strong stance on it, but also because it’s just complex. The easiest perspective belongs to Bill Clinton, when he expressed his hope that Americans keep abortion “safe, legal, and rare.” No matter your views on abortion, however, the oversimplification of the services Planned Parenthood provides is a dangerous issue. As Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday, “Politics have no place in health care.” And the decision on the part of the Komen Foundation is eerily reminiscent of the Lowe’s Hardware chain’s decision to pull their advertisement allocation from “All American Muslim” after getting backlash from groups who find Muslims offensive. For a movement that has so much stood for open access to health care and preventative education and services for women, the pull feels like a betrayal for many who have donated to the Komen Foundation in the hope that those women most in need would benefit from the donation. Before anyone runs off and rail for or against the Komen Foundation’s decision, take a look at the New York  Times’ analysis: that state legislatures have had a serious uptick in recent abortion-related legislation, with over sixty major abortion laws enacted by states in 2011. And much of that legislation has served to limit the average American woman’s access to basic healthcare. Regardless of your opinion on abortion, it’s hard to argue that basic healthcare services and education don’t have a positive impact on the inequality and social mobility issues that are hindering the American economic recovery. Maybe more importantly, the midst of a multi-year recession isn’t a great time to make long-term issues like education and access to health care top-of-mind for our government (viz. the sheer volume of abortion-related legislation proposed this year) when our federal government is exhibiting the level of dysfunction and pre-Presidential Election folly that we’ve seen in the past year.

The Levo League

Posted on Friday February 10th 2012 at 09:46am. Its tags are listed below.

The Friday FYI : Underage Models are a Thing at NYFW. It’s coming to light that many of the models walking at Fashion Week this week are underage. The New York Times covered it in the Thursday Styles. Why are they turning to younger and younger girls? Because they’re thinner.  Back in 2006, the death of South American model  Ana Carolina Reston prompted a debate and a movement towards healthier BMIs in the modeling world. American designers, though, have in part argued against BMI restriction saying that because of their height, it’s difficult for fashion models to meet standards seen as normal by health organizations.  I don’t usually make these FYI things personal, and I kind of enjoy living behind a computer screen, but here’s my 50-cent piece: I’m 5’ 10” and I weigh 155 pounds. I’m lovely. And I’m healthy. So hearing the “she can’t have a normal figure because she’s too tall” line from designers I really love feels a bit like an insult, and a baseless one. The upshot of the age debate at Fashion Week is that designers are designing for a certain age group (their consumers) and body type (women with BMIs over 17), but are marketing their product using a completely different age group and body type. I’m not even sure how I’m supposed to know how a garment will look on me based on this marketing tactic.  Fashion Week is a cultural event in New York City. An awesome one. But this trend is making it look more and more like a circus sideshow.  ————————————————————- Elizabeth Burke is attending her first New York Fashion Week event today.

The Friday FYI : Underage Models are a Thing at NYFW.

It’s coming to light that many of the models walking at Fashion Week this week are underage. The New York Times covered it in the Thursday Styles. Why are they turning to younger and younger girls? Because they’re thinner. 

Back in 2006, the death of South American model  Ana Carolina Reston prompted a debate and a movement towards healthier BMIs in the modeling world. American designers, though, have in part argued against BMI restriction saying that because of their height, it’s difficult for fashion models to meet standards seen as normal by health organizations. 

I don’t usually make these FYI things personal, and I kind of enjoy living behind a computer screen, but here’s my 50-cent piece: I’m 5’ 10” and I weigh 155 pounds. I’m lovely. And I’m healthy. So hearing the “she can’t have a normal figure because she’s too tall” line from designers I really love feels a bit like an insult, and a baseless one.

The upshot of the age debate at Fashion Week is that designers are designing for a certain age group (their consumers) and body type (women with BMIs over 17), but are marketing their product using a completely different age group and body type. I’m not even sure how I’m supposed to know how a garment will look on me based on this marketing tactic. 

Fashion Week is a cultural event in New York City. An awesome one. But this trend is making it look more and more like a circus sideshow. 

————————————————————-

Elizabeth Burke is attending her first New York Fashion Week event today.


The Levo League

Posted on Friday February 3rd 2012 at 07:06am. Its tags are listed below.

The Friday FYI : Planned Parenthood, Susan G Komen, and the Embroiled world of anti-abortion legislation. In what (interestingly) was something of an Occupy Facebook-type viral meme yesterday, outrage exploded all over the internet (and presumably the real world— I wouldn’t know because I wasn’t there) over the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s decision to cut their grants to Planned Parenthood. Less than 1% of the Komen Foundation’s grant budget was allocated to Planned Parenthood last year. But that $700,000 was helping to provide a lifeline for the organization and the absence of the grant will be felt by the women in America most affected by inequality, poor education, and lack of access to tools and resources to escape poverty.  The abortion issue is so hard to address— not only because it’s hard not to take a strong stance on it, but also because it’s just complex. The easiest perspective belongs to Bill Clinton, when he expressed his hope that Americans keep abortion “safe, legal, and rare.” No matter your views on abortion, however, the oversimplification of the services Planned Parenthood provides is a dangerous issue. As Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday, “Politics have no place in health care.” And the decision on the part of the Komen Foundation is eerily reminiscent of the Lowe’s Hardware chain’s decision to pull their advertisement allocation from “All American Muslim” after getting backlash from groups who find Muslims offensive. For a movement that has so much stood for open access to health care and preventative education and services for women, the pull feels like a betrayal for many who have donated to the Komen Foundation in the hope that those women most in need would benefit from the donation. Before anyone runs off and rail for or against the Komen Foundation’s decision, take a look at the New York  Times’ analysis: that state legislatures have had a serious uptick in recent abortion-related legislation, with over sixty major abortion laws enacted by states in 2011. And much of that legislation has served to limit the average American woman’s access to basic healthcare. Regardless of your opinion on abortion, it’s hard to argue that basic healthcare services and education don’t have a positive impact on the inequality and social mobility issues that are hindering the American economic recovery. Maybe more importantly, the midst of a multi-year recession isn’t a great time to make long-term issues like education and access to health care top-of-mind for our government (viz. the sheer volume of abortion-related legislation proposed this year) when our federal government is exhibiting the level of dysfunction and pre-Presidential Election folly that we’ve seen in the past year.

The Friday FYI : Planned Parenthood, Susan G Komen, and the Embroiled world of anti-abortion legislation.


In what (interestingly) was something of an Occupy Facebook-type viral meme yesterday, outrage exploded all over the internet (and presumably the real world— I wouldn’t know because I wasn’t there) over the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s decision to cut their grants to Planned Parenthood.

Less than 1% of the Komen Foundation’s grant budget was allocated to Planned Parenthood last year. But that $700,000 was helping to provide a lifeline for the organization and the absence of the grant will be felt by the women in America most affected by inequality, poor education, and lack of access to tools and resources to escape poverty. 

The abortion issue is so hard to address— not only because it’s hard not to take a strong stance on it, but also because it’s just complex. The easiest perspective belongs to Bill Clinton, when he expressed his hope that Americans keep abortion “safe, legal, and rare.”

No matter your views on abortion, however, the oversimplification of the services Planned Parenthood provides is a dangerous issue. As Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday, “Politics have no place in health care.” And the decision on the part of the Komen Foundation is eerily reminiscent of the Lowe’s Hardware chain’s decision to pull their advertisement allocation from “All American Muslim” after getting backlash from groups who find Muslims offensive. For a movement that has so much stood for open access to health care and preventative education and services for women, the pull feels like a betrayal for many who have donated to the Komen Foundation in the hope that those women most in need would benefit from the donation.

Before anyone runs off and rail for or against the Komen Foundation’s decision, take a look at the New York  Times’ analysis: that state legislatures have had a serious uptick in recent abortion-related legislation, with over sixty major abortion laws enacted by states in 2011. And much of that legislation has served to limit the average American woman’s access to basic healthcare.

Regardless of your opinion on abortion, it’s hard to argue that basic healthcare services and education don’t have a positive impact on the inequality and social mobility issues that are hindering the American economic recovery. Maybe more importantly, the midst of a multi-year recession isn’t a great time to make long-term issues like education and access to health care top-of-mind for our government (viz. the sheer volume of abortion-related legislation proposed this year) when our federal government is exhibiting the level of dysfunction and pre-Presidential Election folly that we’ve seen in the past year.

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