Linda Hall: Hard to set a model example

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I wonder what reaction former Shortland Street actress Emily Roberts would have had if the mannequins in Glassons had rolls of fat showing rather than ribs.

Would she have been just as outraged or would she have laughed about it while telling her friends later.

Personally, I think the outcry over these mannequins is way over the top.

I imagine the mannequins are exactly the same size as they have always been. I'd bet a tenner that nearly every fashion shop that caters to young women has the same sized "models".

The only difference is that someone decided to mould some ribs on the ones in Glassons.

Glassons has apologised profusely and withdrawn the mannequin. Good on them, but really the poor mannequin was just doing its job - showing off clothes.

They are little more than a glorified coat hanger.

If Ms Roberts is offended by this, is she also offended by skinny people?

I know a few skinny people and you can see their ribs, it doesn't mean there is something wrong.

Before anyone gets up in arms and says "what kind of message is this sending to our young girls" let me say just one word, "Barbie".

Barbie is certainly not an appropriate portrayal of the female form.

She has got the skinniest waist I have ever seen in my life. Right then ... let's ban Barbie.

Little girls will not be allowed to comb her hair, dress her up, put her in her car or her pool just in case they think her waist is too skinny.

Then, when they get older, don't let them look at magazines because all the models are thin. I could go on.

Body image is a huge part of everyone's life.

Not just women. Men also have issues with their bodies, they just don't talk about it as much.

Cries of "I don't like my upper arms"; "my legs are too short", or the all time favourite, "does my bum look big in this?" are heard all over the world every day.

It is quite simply human nature.

Yes, young girls who shop at Glassons are at an impressionable age but give them a bit of credit.

They know that the model is not real, just like Father Christmas, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Tooth Fairy, they are not real.

Eating disorders are a problem, both over eating and under eating, and not just for young people but this mannequin did not starve itself, it does not have any issues with its body.

I don't think any mannequin represents an achievable female form for probably 99 per cent of the population: should we ban them all?

No, I think it's time to chill out and give our young shoppers a bit more credit (in the brain department that is).

I will be watching with interest to see if those in the fashion world do take notice of the outrage over the skinny mannequins.

Will we be seeing bigger models on the catwalk? Somehow I very much doubt it.

• Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today