I AM sure that by this point you have read at least some of the furious debates about sizing in the modelling industry.

It has been something that has been talked about for many, many years, but there has never really been much of a change in the way that models have been expected to look.

In the eyes of many designers, models are just the hanger for their creations and nothing more. They expect these ‘hangers’ to look a certain way; as in super tall and super skinny.

I think that there has been a slight change over the past number of years because models are no longer just a blank canvas for these designers to work on; because thanks to instagram and a bunch of different social media sites, these models have built a celebrity status in their own right.

The term ‘supermodel’, that once would have just applied to the rare few; like Cindy Crawford or the like, is now placed on a lot more faces. Purely because of the large social media following that these women have managed to obtain. It’s the way that modelling has adapted to the times.

Despite the way that these models have come on in leaps and bounds in the past few years; the sizing issue has not changed.

Models are still expected to carry almost no body weight just to fit into the sample sizes provided for the shows. I guess most of us can just nod along to this fact as it is what we have grown accustomed to when dealing with the modelling industry.

However, it becomes even more terrifying when the term “triple zero” is thrown around.

That is straight up unhealthy; and that is not the kind of ‘beauty’ that anyone should have to aim for.

The thing is, we can throw hate at it all we want, but these girls still want to get booked and get paid. So they are going to do their well best to try and fit into these sizes even if we have deemed it inappropriate. What else are they supposed to do?

If this is their livelihood and their career; what can they do? Laugh in the designer’s face? There are another million girls queueing up waiting for their chance to walk in that show; and one girl’s defiance is not going to help the situation.

That girl will probably just be called overweight by the designer and simply cast aside.

Recently, Gigi Hadid posted a statement on her instagram, saying that she had let some of the negative comments get to her over the fashion week period, as people had been calling her ‘fat’ and ‘unsuitable for the modelling industry’.

If you have ever seen Gigi, you will know that she actually is very very slim, and her main difference is probably that she carries a larger bust size than the rest of them.

And this is what people are calling ‘fat’? You see, it’s not just the industry that is at fault here. We are the ones who are part of the problem as well.

Gigi went on to say that the modelling industry is changing, which is why she is able to front all the designer labels and walk in these shows. She said that she is happy to be at the spearhead of it; which I thought was a very admirable statement.

But is the modelling industry changing?

I think the only difference is that we have become even more aware of the issue; but we haven’t exactly set new standards or anything. We are judging these girls as well; do not forget it.

Designers continue to demand the scarily thin girls and as long as they continue to do so, there will be that queue of triple zeros out the door.

We need to change our own ways as well. De-program our minds from thinking that all models need to look a certain way to have a career in the industry. We need to refuse to view these images; and support the healthier girls. The girls who are living normal lives, who manage to maintain their figures by healthy living, not starving themselves.

I can only hope that health is the way forward. So that these models can convince us to live healthier lives, rather than convincing us that scarily thin is beautiful.

• Check out Zoë O’Connor’s website teen times.eu and follow her on Twitter here…