America's Next Top Model is Tyra's Pupet Model Government
Last night was the season finale of America's Next Top Model and for the first time in ANTM history the winner was a Plus Size model. Now before I start talking smack let me say that the winner Whitney is not really plus size. She is a normal size girl who at most wears a size 8. All I can say is that this season was such a calculated fraud of a cycle.
Over this past year Tyra Banks has been so very outspoken about weight and body issues. I can only imagine it's because for the first time in her life she actually has them. It seems like every time I turn on Tyra she is either crying about people kissing her fat ass, or wearing a red swimsuit with her weight on it, making her celebrity guests tell her how hot she still is, or she pushes her "So What" campaign. (This is where the girl from Boy Meets Girl gathers a mob of women off the street and makes them hold signs that say "So What I have fat ankles". )
Well now she has gone to far. When she deliberately rigs a television modeling reality contest to make a point. Really I could tell by week 6 that these other girls may actually have a chance at a "real" modeling career but, there was no way in hell that they were going to be ANTM. Which I guess is okay because what "real" modeling have any of these past winners ever done. All I can say Tyra is "How dare you!" If I can't trust reality TV to run an true modeling contest who can I trust?
posted by Monticore @ 7:43 AM
20 Comments:
It's sooo funny to me that Ed and Brian were upset about this last night and then to find out you are too.
It's a Tyra Banks show. C'mon.
Anywho, Ed and Brian were also trying to tell me she wasn't attractive and I looked up some pictures. She's very attractive.
No, she's not a plus-size model.
And yes Ed, the industry is shifting. Fat-acceptance is on the rise and anorexia is beginning to be banned from runways.
Adam I just disagree with you on the point that the industry is shifting.
I think "they" would like you to think that the industry is changing because they have asked people to not use supper skinny models but designers, editors and photographers still love the supper thin image. I've only seen this issue being paid lip service in the media but no real change in what is being put out there in the magizines
Change takes time with an industry where people are entrenched.
You know what, I say kudos to Tyra for bringing this to the forefront of discussion. Who cares if it was rigged? If it makes people talk, then it succeeds.
We just need less people focusing on Tyra and more people focusing on Whitney. So Tyra did something. Big whoop.
I agree with Monti.
People like Whitney winning ANTM is exactly the type of thing that happens so that we can all feel warm and fuzzy while 99% of models are still a size 00.
(Damn it, I took so long to hit post because I had to go do stuff that Adam already responded).
Adam, should we really call her ANTM when no one besides Lane Byrant will book her for a show. It's like she is the token "big girl" whose been promoted because that's what the media wants not because she earned it.
I agree she is totally pretty but she really wasn't a great model in print, runway or on camera.
I think seeing plus size women in Hollywood on the covers of magezines or in add campgains will do more in the long run than this.
I really don't know. I'm not an expert in the field and I would never claim to know what makes a great model.
I just think that questioning the merits of someone just because they're the exception to the rule is endemic to the problem.
I just think it's interesting that you and Ed think this result was rigged. Because ANTM is a paragon of unbiased reality TV? Do you call into question the winners of every season past or just the one where the "fat" chick wins?
Maybe the top down solution isn't the way to go. Maybe designers should feel pressure from the public.
Take this instance as a reminder to do more and speak out about that which you're decrying rather than saying the show was rigged. So a big woman won a modeling contest and can't find work. That says less about both the woman and the contest than it does about the industry.
Make it more than a warm fuzzy as E put it.
Speak out about the objectification of women. Stop buying from clothing makers who refuse to design for anything over a size 2.
milan putting a minimum weight doesn't mean the entire industry is shifting. it just means that runway models will be a size 2 instead of 0.
and it's rigged every year. that is, the winner is decided by a panel of judges. it's not like there is a quantifiable science to determining the winner. so, i'll stand by saying it's rigged. and this cycle tyra rigged it to pick the big girl.
as for her attractiveness, well that's debatable because that's a subjective label. so, if you find her attractive, adam, fine. i don't think she is. i'm not saying she's some sort of uggo, but most of the other girls in the competition were more attractive to me.
finally, i'll stand by my comments over @ the beehive on this subject. they didn't pick the girl who will be a top model. had they actually wanted to pick the next potential top model they would have picked either of the other two that were in the top three.
Kind of a side note but..
I think she's pretty in that very "girl next door" kind of way. Blond and blue-eyed, all American etc.
Which is interesting because I think that's one of the few looks that plus size models are "allowed" to have.
Adam- No I don't call Whitney into question because she is plus size. I call "the show" it question because every season before when they had plus size women Tyra would be-rate them every week about how their pictures have to be twice as good as the skinny girl in order to break through. And every week the judges would question the reality of a plus size girl becoming a Supermodel.
I don't think things have changed so much that they did not feel the need to remind Whitney of this every week.
Case in point Tyra used to tell the same thing to women of color until she decided that a women of color was going to win ANTM.
I guess I just find Tyra to be a bit of a blowhard for reminding us every year during Black History month that she was the first Black women on the cover of Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Now she can give herself mad props for having the first Plus Size Model win on a reality show modeling contest.
milan putting a minimum weight doesn't mean the entire industry is shifting. it just means that runway models will be a size 2 instead of 0.
How is that not the very definition of shift? I'm not talking about going from 0 to 10 in one go.
I guess I just don't understand how you can say the show is rigged every season but be so outspoken about this particular season. Is it just because the ugly fat chick won?
Here's the million dollar question. If Ed thinks the show is rigged every season and is unhappy with this season's winner in particular, and at the same time, Monti thinks Tyra is a blowhard who's completely full of herself and really isn't trying to do anything but get herself in the limelight, and you both think she's working to perpetuate the unhealthy objectification of women and stereotypes, why are you two watching her show?
Excellent Question Adam, I don't have a good answer. I guess it's like scratching a chickpox. You know it's bad but it feels so good.
i watch the show because heather watches the show. and there isn't something else i'd rather watch and use the other tv. plus, there are several other times when heather watches stuff i want to watch.
places like milan aren't a shift in the industry because it's not the industry doing it. the city is passing rules. if designers wish to show their, they will have to use a slightly heavier model. to me it would be a shift in the industry if the major designers were using size 4 women.
Isn't Milan one of the most important cities involved with high fashion? The only ones I can think of are Milan, Paris, New York, L.A., London, and maybe Tokyo.
That one of the most important fashion arenas in the world is changing their requirements is going to have an impact.
damn it, now i have to look up this whitney chick.
okay, i dont think whitney is that cute. also, i didnt watch the show, but i think katarzyna is the cutest.
okay, i take back the not that cute comment, as i have looked at more photos of her, but she is definately not the cutest girl.
Adam-I don't what ed's been feeding you but Milan is a major fashion capital.
Timid- I agree with you about Kat but Claire was my favorite.
I think she did great job throughout the whole season!
Cool!
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