When a Fad Does a Body Harm

As the super-skinny “Twiggy look” re-emerges as the fashion ideal, many observers wonder if it might inspire women to starve themselves.

“Twiggy is the one who started the whole onslaught of anorexia,” says Lynda Chassler, a Beverly Hills psychologist who specializes in eating disorders. “In our society, we measure beauty and admirability by weight--slim is beautiful--and it’s perpetuated by magazines and designers. With a return to that ideal, it could make the problem even worse.”

Says Barry Glassner, a sociologist and author of “Bodies: Overcoming the Tyranny of Perfection”: “A change in fashion toward a really thin look is not just an innocent fad or trend; it’s a serious health hazard for many women who are already inclined toward eating disorders.”

The ‘80s, many observers say, ushered in a healthier ideal.

“The look of the late ‘80s, early ‘90s has been the strong, powerful woman.” Glassner says. But “there has been a lot of concern about women getting more power and position,” he says. “As the power and strength of women in a lot of different spheres is coming under attack again, it’s not surprising that that would be reflective in fashion. ‘The (new) look’ is weak, less powerful.”

Says feminist Naomi Wolf, author of “The Beauty Myth”: “It’s uncanny how consistently the theory of the beauty myth--that any advance for women politically is met with punishment in terms of beauty ideals--is born out. It’s a law of politics meeting the collective unconscious that women are never allowed to imagine having Senate seats and adequate meals at the same time. “

Twiggy Lawson, 43, insists she’s never dieted--can eat just about anything--and says neither she nor fashion deserves blame for society’s ills.

“In the fashion world, somebody decides to make someone a look, and people follow,” says Lawson, now an actress. “I never condoned girls going on diets. I don’t think anyone should stop eating. How they choose to live is up to the individual.

“The look that I had was a part of me then,” she says. “It was not contrived, that’s what I looked like. . . . I don’t look anything like that anymore, nor would I want to.”