Hard-Hitting Ad Shows Naked Anorexic Woman

[Fleshdancer]

You can see the ad and read the entire article here: http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,507842,00.html

An Italian fashion chain has stoked controversy with an advertisement featuring a naked anorexic woman. The ad, which is intended to raise awareness about eating disorders, is timed to coincide with Milan fashion week.

Back in 1992, photographer Oliviero Toscani caused controversy around the world with his pictures of a man dying of AIDS which formed part of a Benetton advertising campaign. Now he is back in the headlines with an equally shocking image of a naked anorexic woman, which a fashion chain is using to raise awareness about eating disorders.

The Nolita advertisement, timed to coincide with Milan fashion week, appeared Monday in Italian newspapers, including a two-page center spread in La Repubblica, and on billboards in Italy. A slogan above the naked photograph reads "No Anorexia."

[Coexist]

1. I saw just this on CNN - here is some video:

illegal codeCNNPlaylistManager.getInstance().BVPMVideoSelected('/video/health/2007/09/26/black.italy.anorexia.ap.json','by_section_world');

very powerful.

[Fleshdancer]

2. I'm glad the fashion world is being forced to have this conversation

The idea that clothes should hang on models like a hanger is ridiculous.

[supernova]

3. Yes, exactly

What crackpot decided that in the first place?!? 'clothes should hang on models like a hanger"

I like looking at clothes as much as the next person, but a walking clothese rack? Why is that considered the most flattering in order to sell the clothes? In that case, who needs a model. Just install automatic racks over the runway to move the clothes along, like a coveyor belt.

[youthere]

4. It's sad when the wire hanger fills the clothing out better than the models do.

I applaud this ad. One of my friends 17 year old daughter is battling anorexia as we speak. It's about damn time we put the spotlight on this killer.

[rubberducky]

5. OMG this poor, poor lady breaks my heart.

I`v been there and it is not any fun. I had a wonderful doc that helped me to realize that I was not fat. I was bone-skinny and still when I looked in the mirror I saw fat. It almost became a game to see how little I could live on. I NEVER saw a skinny person in the mirror.

[ThomCat]

7. I'm very glad you were able to work past your eating disorder.

I hope you are now healthy, both physically and in your perception of yourself.

[0007]

8. She is certainly a brave woman to come out of hiding and be a lesson for all .....

The woman in the photo is Isabelle Caro from France, who is 27 years old and has been anorexic for 15 years. She weighs a mere 31 kg (68 lb) and suffers from the skin disease psoriasis. "I hid myself and covered myself up for too long," she told the magazine Vanity Fair in an interview to be published Wednesday. "Now I want to show myself without fear, even though I know my body is repugnant."

http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,977738,00.jpg

[ThomCat]

6. Wow. She's only 27 years old, and she looks over 50.

I hope this gets a lot of attention and helps raise a lot of awareness about eating disorders and the body image issues that lead to them.