America's Next Top Model Cycle 15

So, my guilty pleasure show is America's Next Top Model. You would think, that someone such as me who likes to praise all sorts of different female body types would be repulsed by a show about modeling where they only really hail the look of the starved Amazon. However, I enjoy it because surprisingly they do address issues of various body types in relationship to the fashion industry, and that's what fascinates me.

(Ann in the fallen angel challenge, like all of her photos thus far, this was named the best)

This cycle, the prize is that the model gets to be on the cover of Italian Vogue and the Vogue beauty magazine. So it's really a whole different level of modeling than the show has delt with before. The judges are incredibly impressed with Ann, who has won best picture all four episodes! She is the tallest of the models, standing at 6'2" and is naturally thin with crazy large hips. She's awkward and disproportional, and best of all, she's a complete nerd! I love her, she seems like me in her nerdom. She seems genuine and honest, and the judges love her, which is really cool to see, and odd because usually the judges do not like my favorite. Although I think that Ann still falls under the catagory of a "starved Amazon" she is a different sort of starved amazon... she has strange proportions by having a tiny bust and large hips and also towering over most men, and a personality that is unique from other models. A real cool beauty.

(Esther showing off her chest as well as the rest of her body for the first time in the competition in the after-makeover photo)

The other very exciting thing is that there is a model with my bra size on the show! Her name is Esther, jewish of course, and she's a 30G! I was expecting them to boot her off right away because her boobs were so large and couldn't fit into the clothes they way they wanted, and in the first few episodes the judges were concerned about it and made a big deal about it. But Esther just calmly said, "don't worry, I hide them well." And so far she's been a favorite of guest judges and is hailed as a "classic beauty" which also makes me happy. Now, although I'm surprised and thrilled that she is doing well in the competition, my critique is that she and the judges try to play down her breasts a lot and almost pretend they are not there in fear of her coming off as too sexy and "sports illustrated". She because you have a body and show it, doesn't mean that you look pornagraphic. That's my critique.

(Kayla was runner up for best photo with this one, in which they had to choose a bully word that they were teased about and a power word to over come that negative word. She was overly emotional about it, but came out with a great picture. This was before her red hair makeover btw)

There also is a lesbian on the show named Kayla from Rockford who I love. I hated her at first... she had a normal model body and big curly hair and laughed like a dumb school child, but after her makeover with her hair a dark red, she's much cooler and edgy. She really has a good handle of who she is and how to bring her personality and her experiences to modeling.

Other than these three, none of the others really seem to appeal to me, I liked the "Flower Child" hippy girl but she was booted off in episode 3.

Tyra made it a point to boot off the deathly skinny girl right in the first episode for that very reason, a part of me wonders if they had her on the show just so they could boot her off and make the stand that the modeling industry does not want deathly skinny girls. Even if they don't want deathly skinny girls, only 8% of the female population can naturally obtain the BMI they look for. But still, I think it's a start.

I really think the ideal female body is going to change soon, it has to. If you look through the past 100 years like I did in my last post and see how society changes and repeats over and over... It's inevitable that the fashion industry's models are going to have to change too. I know it's easier to sell the clothes when they are on hangers... few bumps and curves to deal with... and because they are so tall, they will stand out as larger than life... but the androgenous and awkward look can only stay edgy for so long.