PARIS — France, which often seems to have style and elegance written into its genetic code, is again confronting one of the dark sides of fashion: the glamorization of too-thin women.
巴黎——时常被认为骨子里透着时尚和优雅的法国,再次要面对时尚领域的一个黑暗面:对过于纤瘦的女性的美化。
The French Parliament is debating legislation that would effectively set minimum weights for women and girls to work as models, a step that supporters of the bill say is necessary to combat the persistence of anorexia.
法国议会正在对一个提案进行讨论。该提案将对以模特为职业的女性的最低体重进行切实的规定;法案的支持者称,要和持续存在的厌食症状况作斗争,这样的举措是有必要的。
If it becomes law — it is backed by President François Hollande’s Socialist government — modeling agencies and fashion houses that employ models whose body mass index measurements do not meet minimum standards would face criminal penalties.
倘若它能成为法律——法国总统弗朗索瓦·奥朗德(Francois Hollande)所属的社会党政府对其表示支持,模特经纪和时尚公司就不能聘用体重指数不符合最低标准的模特,否则将面临刑事处罚。
Israel already bans the use of underweight and underage models, while other countries, including Italy and Spain, have weighed legislation similar to the one under consideration in France but for now continue to rely on voluntary pacts with the fashion industry.
以色列已经禁止使用体重不达标的模特和未成年模特,而包括意大利和西班牙在内的其他国家,虽然拥有与法国正在考虑的法规相似的体重法案,但目前仍然依赖与时尚行业之间的自愿协定。
If France approves the legislation, it would almost certainly raise the debate to a new level, especially in Paris, the spiritual capital of the fashion world. An effort to pass similar provisions in 2008 failed after heavy criticism from the fashion industry.
如果法国批准该法案,几乎肯定会把讨论提升到一个新层次,尤其是在巴黎——时尚界的精神之都。2008年,由于遭到时尚行业的猛烈抨击,一项相似的提案未能得到通过。
“We can’t resolve it with a law but we can begin a public health policy to prevent and protect and limit the number of those suffering from anorexia,” said Olivier Véran, a neurologist and a member of the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament.
神经学家、法国下议院国民议会(National Assembly)议员奥利维耶·韦朗(Olivier Véran)说,“法律解决不了这个问题,但我们可以推出一项公共健康政策来预防厌食症,为这些人提供保护,并限制厌食症患者的人数。”
He is the author of the anti-anorexia provision, which is part of a comprehensive health law being debated in the National Assembly. He estimated that 30,000 to 40,000 people in France suffer from anorexia.
他是反厌食法规的起草者,这项规定是国民议会正在讨论的全面健康法律的部分内容。据他估计,法国有3至4万人患有厌食症。
The proposed legislation would use as its base internationally accepted body mass index standards to determine whether a model was too thin and would set criminal penalties for hiring models who fell below the standards determined by the law. The index suggests that a woman who is 5 feet 7 inches tall should weigh at least 120 pounds. But the final legal standards would be determined by the French health authorities, who could adjust them for factors such as bone size.
这项提案将以国际公认的体重指数标准来确定模特是否过于单薄,如果雇佣体重不符合法律标准的模特,还将接受一定的刑事处罚。根据这个指数,身高5英尺7英寸(约合170厘米)的女性的体重至少应该为120磅(约合54.5公斤)。但最后的法律标准还将由法国卫生部门决定,该部门可以根据骨骼大小等因素对标准进行调整。
Violators would have to pay a fine of about $83,000 and serve as many as six months in prison.
违规者要支付大约8.3万美元的罚款,最高可判6个月徒刑。
The struggle over the appearance and health of fashion models is hardly a new one. It became more public in 2006 after the deaths of two models, a Brazilian and a Uruguayan, which set off a spate of voluntary standards in the industry and the effort in some places, including New York, to use healthier looking models.
有关时装模特外形与健康的争论已经不算新鲜事。2006年一名巴西模特和一名乌拉圭模特死亡后,这一问题变得更加公开。该事件促使业界采用一系列自愿性标准,促使纽约等地开始雇佣看起来比较健康的模特。
The death in 2010 of a French model and actress, Isabelle Caro, who at one point weighed just 55 pounds, fueled further calls for steps to address anorexia.
2010年,法国模特兼演员伊莎贝尔·卡罗(Isabelle Caro)的去世进一步推动人们要求采取举措,解决厌食症问题。卡罗一度只有55磅重。
So far the fashion industry has opposed legislation to address the issue, although a number of designers have spoken out in favor of using “healthy models” and promoting healthful lifestyles.
到目前为止,时尚界仍然反对通过立法解决该问题,尽管很多设计师明确表示支持雇佣“健康模特”,推广健康的生活方式。
There is no official database of models’ heights and weights, and with regulations against using underweight models on the rise, most models and agencies are close-mouthed about the subject. Many in the industry say, however, that a number of the top models would likely weigh less than the healthy threshold set by the body mass index of about 18 or 18.5.
目前还不存在有关模特身高及体重的官方数据库,随着禁止雇佣体重不足的模特的规定越来越多,大多数模特和经纪公司对该话题保持沉默。然而,很多业界人士表示,一些顶级模特可能没有达到体质指数18或18.5的健康临界值。
Widely publicized figures for weights of models like Kate Moss at the height of her fashion career indicate she would have had a body mass index of 15 to 16, which was similar to that of Twiggy, a 1960s supermodel. More recent models, such as Naomi Campbell and Gisele Bündchen, are reported to have body mass indexes between 16 and 17. A body mass index of less than 18 does not necessarily mean that someone has an eating disorder.
有一些模特的体重数据被广泛宣传,比如数据显示,凯特·摩丝(Kate Moss)在事业高峰期的体质指数为15到16,水平与20世纪60年代的超模崔姬(Twiggy)差不多。在她之后的纳奥米·坎贝尔(Naomi Campbell)、吉赛尔·邦臣(Gisele Bündchen)等模特的体质指数在16到17之间。体质指数低于18并不一定意味着存在饮食紊乱问题。
The National Union of Modeling Agencies in France issued a statement saying it was complying with a voluntary charter that discourages the use of anorexic models and that was approved by the government in 2008. The statement also said that an appropriate minimum weight for models had yet to be determined.
法国全国模特经纪公司联盟(The National Union of Modeling Agencies)发表声明称,该联盟遵照一项自愿性规定,不会雇佣存在厌食症问题的模特,该规定于2008年获得政府批准。该声明还表示,模特的最低体重标准尚未确定。
“Anorexia is a mental illness that cannot be fought by a ‘arithmomania,’ ” the union’s statement said. It called on the fashion world to take a uniform approach internationally and deplored the use of “selectively repressive” measures, referring to those now under consideration.
该联盟发表声明称,“厌食症是一种精神疾病,靠‘死抠数据’是无法与之对抗的。”该联盟号召时尚界在国际上采取统一方法,对使用“选择性压制”举措表示谴责,这里指的就是目前正在考虑之中的提案。
Calls to 10 modeling agencies with offices in Paris found none willing to respond to questions on the issue.
记者给10家模特经纪公司的巴黎办公室打电话,没人愿意就该问题作出回应。