Teenage Model Talks about the Stress to Look Thin

Pre discussion questions

What do you know about the fashion industry?

What do you think about the size of fashion models?

A teenage model is trying to expose the bad and unkind side of the fashion industry. She is doing this by taking a series of candid Instagram posts.

She has talked about airbrushing her skin, editing her "uneven" teeth and feeling "uncomfortable" about her nose

In one post, she said a modelling agency told her that her hips were "way too wide." And that she needed to lose weight " if she wanted to be successful at the London Fashion Week

On a black and white selfie photo she wrote on the photo: "At this point the only reason I'm still on Instagram is because the video directors wanted to know how many followers I have. If I have more followers then the directors can decide if they want to use me or not.

She also said that she did not know how to feel about expectation.  But they needed me to keep taking selfie photos to stay in the game.

In another post, she talks about cutting out salt, sugar, fat and alcohol "for months" before London Fashion Week to keep her skin looking clear.

She remembers thinking for hours about whether or not to post a photo on Instagram because she felt "uncomfortable" about her nose.

In a full-length mirror photo, she wrote: '"This took me like 15 minutes to take and I was close to falling off my bed because I had to make my legs look slim."

Her followers have given her positive comments about her no-holds-barred attitude and thanked her for her honesty.

She said beauty standards are stupid. And what is happening in the beauty industry is even more stupid. For example, most designers only make fashion pieces in one size; And that is size 4-6 UK size. So when they go on the hunt for fashion show models, they look for girls who have a size 4-6 or 0-2 U.S. size.

She said that's one big issue. She thinks, if more designers created standard sizes, the pressure to be underweight would decrease. There are many more reasons why the industry needs a big change. Promoting a healthy body image is so important.

Speaking about her Instagram posts, she said: "I think, even if only one single person thinks about my words and changes their thinking when it comes to the fashion and media industry, I already feel like I'm doing the right thing."

She added: "I get so many messages from young people who ask me how they can lose weight or other beauty questions.

"I never give them advice, I only ask them: 'If you were the only person on this planet and no one could see you. Would you still want to change your body?'

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=6, B=1, C=8, D=2, E=3, F=7, G=4, H=5

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1.      Wear a warm coat, you don’t want to be exposed to the cold air outside.

2.      The politician spoke candidly about the big issue about the president of Korea.

3.      I want to say I will go, but at this point I can’t tell you 100% yes or no.

4.      If you want to stay in the game and succeed then you need to practice a lot.

5.      To lose weight you need to cut down on sugar.

6.      Our team was not as good as their team, but we won because we had a no-holds-barred attitude in our playing.

7.      What is happening in Korea with Park Gun Hye is a big issue these days.

8.      Jeju Tourism is promoting their island and an excellent summer destination.

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1.      How do you feel about this young model exposing the fashion industry attitudes?

2.      Do you think it was hard for her to be candid? Will her no-holds-barred attitude be bad for her modeling career? Why do you think so?

3.      At what point do you think the fashion industry might change?

4.      Do you think this model stay in the game for a long time? Will the stress be too much for her?

5.      What habits would you like to cut out? Why?

6.      Is this also a big issue in your country?

7.      How is fashion promoted in your country? Is it different to other countries?