Vive la France. No, I really mean it!

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Occasionally, maybe once every 300 years, France actually does something that is intuitively correct, progressive and ethically enlightened. Sometimes, delicious. The croissant, for example, was created in 18th century Paris.

Now, 300 years later, and not a moment too soon, France leads the way again, with a legislative initiative that could change the world for women. France’s minister of health, Olivier Veran, a physician, has proposed legislation that would make it illegal to hire anorexic models. The new laws would also prohibit ads that feature excessively thin women. France, the leader of haute couture, is actually saying that it is possible to be too skinny.

What a delightful turn of events.

Think about the skeletal women we encounter in our own lives — women clearly struggling with eating disorders — and then tip your hat to the clothing manufacturers, food companies, advertising agencies and fad diet marketers that have encouraged our young women to starve themselves down to skin and bones.

Much publicity has been directed recently to the “new wave” of advertising that is beginning to focus on healthy eating and realistic body images for women. But it is a ripple, not a tsunami. Advertisers boast about the Super Bowl ads that targeted domestic violence and others that featured women in strong roles, but it really is very little, way too late.

Make no mistake. The money is in pitching to women during the Super Bowl, or advertisers wouldn’t be leaning in. People buying football airtime know two things for sure: one, women comprise a big part of the fan base, and two, women control much of the household spending. So Madison Avenue hasn’t suddenly gotten religion. Madmen and women are just responding to an increasingly activist female viewing audience.

Still, despite the activism, most ads still objectify women, promoting flawless beauty, thinness and idealized body parts when all they’re trying to do is sell beer. For many years, both TV and magazine advertising have promoted an image of the perfect woman, with milky skin, silky hair and svelte body.

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