To think banning this ad is outrageous?

[JadeyLauraPie]

As a society are we so emotionally fragile and immature now that we can't handle seeing someone thin without going off the rails and being at risk of making unhealthy choices to aspire to fashion? There's jabs everywhere for God's sake and somehow m&s are being taken to task about this : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/07/23/ms-advert-banned-for-featuring-unhealthily-thin-model/ why are we all treated as though we can't think for ourselves and make decisions that are right for us? I also strongly resent the notion that people who are thin are unhealthy. I don't even think anyone in the public cares? It's just such a non issue.. I wouldn't call the model unhealthy either, I'm Slavic and by our standards that's a pretty normal physique. I'm so fed up with how molly coddled we have become. Aibu?

If people didn't respond to adverts, they wouldn't be made. So the whole premise of your post, that people can make their own decisions, is flawed. People are manipulated by what they see. So there needs to be some responsibility taken that the ads they see are appropriate

I think that would be well reasonable.
Neither extreme is healthy, it's just that one kills faster than the other generally imho.

Edit to add iirc fashion weeks have minimum bmi for decade now. Can't find if they have max

Reading the ASA judgement, it seems to be about how the pose and the camera angles portray the model rather than her inherent thinness. She looks nothing like the heroin chic models of the nineties who looked genuinely ill rather than just thin.

Yep. There are plenty of photos of her which haven’t been banned. Posed differently, and within the ASA guidelines.

Olympic runners aren’t posed in a way that accentuates their physique nor held up as a beauty standard
That's not the point. The point is that you CAN be healthy looking very thin as well as slightly fat.

If we want to focus on role models and ban very thin looking women, then we should ban those that look fat. I don't want the young generation to think that fat is good, especially when we have a struggling NHS and the biggest cost to it is obesity.

Either we accept that one can be healthy whatever their size, or we only feature slim people.

I think it would be better for the same clothes to be modelled by different sized women, I think I've seen that on other clothing websites. Not only does this help more customers with different body types decide how the product might look on them, it detracts from 'thin is good'.

I agree that it shouldn’t have been banned. It’s an odd angle where it look like it could be a combo of 2 models tbh
As a consumer, I would like clarity on digital touch ups and if I was the same size as the model then I would want to see if there were safety pins and clips making the clothes fit better.

Err, I don’t think she’s even that thin! She’s just little. She’s a similar build to me. I have a slight frame and ‘athletic’ build (no boobs, not much force to my hips), but I’ve been pregnant three times, and just happen exercise a lot and eat a shit load. Not remotely unhealthy.

This. ^ They were right to ban it.

YABU @JadeyLauraPie

You can’t have morbidly obese models and call it ‘body positivity’ and then ban slim models! Many, many girls are slim why do they deserve less recognition/representation than any other body type.

I also strongly resent the notion that people who are thin are unhealthy.

You're frothing about something you've made up.

To me, it looks as if the picture has been poorly edited.

You have a very beautiful young woman, who's lower half looks disproportionate to the top half, in a way that does not look natural. I believe this is down to editing, rather than the model.

You are unreasonable for being another poster that posts links to articles that we cant read without a subscription. Times and Telegraph articles cant be seen.

Yep absolutely, totally right to ban it. I have an Anorexic daughter.

Thank you for posting something that can actually be read

In answer to the OPs query, yes I think its offensive to make out theres something wrong with her, its her physique and figure

Average everyday people are almost certainly going to be overweight.

How is that ok to have as a standard?

Why not put a fag in their hand as well?

She's also still on the M+S website in other outfits

Although to be fair Im amazed they found anything to fit her

Also - double standards everywhere as there are plenty on adverts featuring ‘body positive’ overweight women and that’s not healthy, either. But I’m sure I will get flamed for that.
I think any retailer should use models appropriate to the size range they sell. Potential buyers want to see the outfit on as similarly sized person as possible. Does M&S sell UK size 6? If so then those images should be available, as can models up to UK 24 (I think that is the biggest size in M&S?).

I disagree, she looks petite but not ill.

How have I made it up lmao? The ad was banned because of this exact thing

Maybe the poor models themselves didn’t get off quite so easily? If ads using anorexic models are banned, it prevents already thin models being forced to starve themselves by unscrupulous agents.

And the model in this advert has an undeniable lollipop head.

I think then ads need to stop featuring unhealthy weights both over and under weight - as this is ridiculous.

a beautiful woman who is very slim, probably have a low unhealthy bmi- this is nothing compared to all the plus size models who have a higher deviation from
a healthy bmi

I would love to hear her voice, but of course theres tons of people deciding to speak for her. Is that because she is perceived as having nothing to say because she's a model? I dont know what country she is from, assuming an African country, lots of different communities in Africa have physiques just like this, is that to say there is something wrong with them? I think they'd have something to say about that

As someone who’s obese.

I think this whole body positivity thing is a load of shit.

wtf am I reading on this thread

I’m just as thin if not even smaller than the model yet I run marathons, ultra marathons, triathlons! I cycle 20 odd miles for fun. I do 100 press up and sit ups regularly and can carry my 15 stone husband on my back. I’m strong as hell and fit as hell. No way in hell am I bloody unhealthy