Saturday, December 26, 2009

America's Next Top Model

It's no secret that I love "America's Next Top Model". I like to pretend that I oppose all reality television, but that simply isn't true; I'm a sucker for the reality shows with professional contests, like "Top Chef", "Iron Chef", "Project Runway", "RuPaul's Drag Race", and so on. And if there's an ANTM marathon on the TV (which Bravo does far too often), I am drawn like a moth to a flame to sit down for six hours or so until a girl is finally crowned America's next top model.

It's my guilty pleasure, and yes, I'll probably keep watching it, even as Tyra gets crazier, the show declines, and the winners continue to not, in fact, become top models at all. Now on Cycle (the fancy modelized word for "season") 14, they are certainly milking things as much as possible, including a line of clothing and cosmetics sold at Walmart, and the recently released book for young women: "Fierce Guide to Life: The Ultimate Source of Beauty, Fashion, and Model Behavior".

It caught my attention mostly because of this particular excerpt from the section about body hair: “Yes, you’re secretly a hairy beast. While there is no medical or hygienic reason to get rid of your body hair, the current standards of beauty absolutely require you to remove all hair from your armpits, legs and face for a smooth, youthful look. It’s a regular chore that every model must handle. If you’re going to be modeling a bathing suit or lingerie, you will definitely need to groom your bikini line.”

Makes sense, really. Modeling is a competitive industry with impeccably high (or perhaps unrealistic and unattainable?) standards regarding one's physical appearance; every other show, it seems, has to talk about height, race, hair, body size, and so on in relation to a model's acceptability. It follows logically that body hair would be just as scrutinized, just as subject to standards of beauty. And indeed, body hair got a starring spot in ANTM during Cycle 10, when Fatima Siad did the above-shown gloopy paint photoshoot . . . with a bit of armpit hair. The judges were appalled and chastizing, as you can watch below:



Except that . . . their attitudes are a little "off", as some Googling shows.

If the queen of supermodeling can go out with an unwaxed upper lip, or sporting a bit of armpit hair, and if Carmen Kass is a popular model consistently getting work despite her hairy legs, and if they can airbrush body hair out of your photos anyway . . . well, it seems that ANTM and the book are providing some very conflicting messages.

I don't think that I really need to say that I find the infamous picture of Fatima lovely; her eyes are so captivating that I can't imagine anybody's first focus is the hair (which, incidentally, is pretty measly compared to the pelts that some ladies grow). In the end, the "Fierce Guide To Life" seems not so fierce at all.

1 comment:

  1. It is my favorite show.i watch all the episodes of America's Next Top Model.There are many unforgettable moments in this show which i can't forget.Characters of this show are just remarkable.

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