Airbrushing, Photoshop and expert lighting help make celebrities appear flawless for magazine covers and ads. But Hope McPhatter wants to show students the perfect images are misleading. Students paraded the latest fashions at the fourth annual I <3 ME Fashion Show on Tuesday in the Live Oak Lounge in commemoration of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. The show promotes positive body image by featuring models with realistic body types. ”What today’s media and society considers to be beautiful — it’s all the same,” said McPhatter, Wellness Education coordinator in the Student Health Center. “We want to do something different and show people that it’s OK to be what you are.”The show featured 20 models of a wide range of sizes, shapes, colors and ages.Britney Haydel, biological sciences senior, said she chose to participate in the show because she agrees with the message. ”Loving your body no matter what shape or size you are — it’s something everyone could afford to do,” Haydel said. The University participated in the American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment survey in spring 2008. Of the 715 randomly selected respondents, 1.3 percent reported experiencing anorexia in the previous year, and 1.9 percent reported experiencing bulimia.Models answered questions from the audience after the show about how they each overcame their struggles with self image. ”Hopefully the people [at the show] found someone they could relate to and say, ‘That person is comfortable with their size, and maybe I can be comfortable with mine,'” McPhatter said. “It inspires confidence.”Clothes were provided by Buckle in the Mall of Louisiana, and the hairstyles were by Vanguard College, a Paul Mitchell Partner School.Ashley Prescott, assistant manager at Buckle, said people can be fashionable no matter what their body type. She said her store offers a fitting service and puts together outfits for customers. The I <3 ME model sizes ranged from 2 to 16 for women and up to size 42-inch waist size for men.Kendrea Harris, English junior and model at the show, said she liked the diversity I <3 ME featured. ”Major fashion industry designers pick only tall people or people with perfect skin,” Harris said. “So other people might feel like it kills their dream of being a model.”Some of the show’s models were personally affected by eating disorders or body image issues in the past, and they shared their stories as they showed off their newfound confidence. Anthony Saliba, biochemistry freshman, participated in the show to raise awareness. He said it’s not easy to tell when someone has an eating disorder — something he knows from personal experience with friends.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, eating disorders usually develop during adolescence or early adulthood, making them especially common in college students.Vanessa Richard, dietician at Wellness Education, said eating disorders are a reality at the University. ”Eating disorders are not a choice,” she said. “They’re a disease just like any other kind of addiction. It’s not just about food.”Eating disorders are the deadliest mental illness, with serious consequences that affect every system of the body, Richard said.Wellness Education will host a seminar tonight on intervention strategies for disordered eating from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in Room 225 of Peabody Hall.”Society has a view of what beauty is,” said McPhatter. “And we’re just trying to show that beauty comes in all sizes.”
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Contact Elizabeth Clausen at [email protected] Follow Elizabeth Clausen on Twitter @TDR_EClausen.
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February 25, 2010