The show is a “reality” contest on which young women compete to become “America’s Next Top Model,” in hopes of becoming a model professionally. Each episode, the women are eliminated based on the opinions of a panel of judges. Throughout the show, the ladies are primped and prepped and then faced with a challenge of completing some sort of themed photo shoot, often which is degrading or humiliating, not to mention the harsh and generally unfounded comments provided to them by the judges.
The overall context of the show places huge emphasis on gender roles and ideologies, infused with a glaringly obvious sexual sentiment. The bulk of the photo shoots consist of little clothing (in some instances nude, with paint “covering” certain parts), and sexually provocative and even explicit subject matter. The girls picked to compete on ANTM are the typical tall, thin, waif-like supermodel types; apparently the ideal body type for portraying fashion. In fact, there has even been recent controversy over a promo for the show, in which the woman depicted was excessively thin (an apology from Tyra Banks followed the airing of the promo). In one season, the height standard for the women was lowered to give “short” women the chance to model. The woman in this season were required to be under 5’7”, which is really not all that short, given the fact that the average height of women in the United States, according to the National Center for Health Statistics is 63.8” (5’3”) [CDC, 2006]. It appears that most of the women in the United States will never be a ‘super’model in accordance with these acute beauty standards. Aside from setting these generally unobtainable beauty standards to even audition for the show, the women selected are subjected to a full makeover in order to be supermodel beautiful, as set by the standards of Tyra and the other judges on the show. It is a truly remarkable example of gender roles in today’s society.
Although the overall context of the show seems to be a montage of stereotypes, gender typing, and beauty ideals, it is what is in the individual episodes that is strikingly unsettling. There have been many photo shoots on the show that portray death, violence, objectification of women and even homelessness as “art” and “fashion.” These issues are glamorized in a way that is both offensive and degrading. There have also been shoots in which the women are nude, except for some paint on their bodies, posed next to nude men, as well as ones where the models were “transformed” to a new race through costuming and makeup. The latter included the use of “blackface” for the lighter women to make them appear darker. The idea was to make the woman look bi-racial, with the races chosen for each woman based on things such as their bone structure. The only woman whose color was not altered was the African-American woman; apparently she already appeared to be bi-racial. To many, this idea that race is a costume is troubling, not to mention the excessive stereotyping that goes into a shoot such as this.
The show features a blatant overemphasis on sexuality throughout, while at the same time “addressing” topics such as bulimia and homelessness. Yes, a model was actually asked to pose as if she was a bulimic who had just purged, sitting on a toilet with vomit in her hands. Some were posed as homeless people amidst some high fashion extras. It I almost a mockery of the societal problems we face today. The money for the homeless shoot alone probably could have made a substantial impact in those less fortunate, rather than capitalizing on their circumstance. On top of this, almost every photo shoot on ANTM is very sexual in nature. Sex is an icon of the fashion industry, and the show is no stranger to this. Even the theme song’s lyrics say, “You wanna be on top?” For a show that is aired on mainstream television, the message is clear to young viewers: You must look like a beanpole, while humiliating yourself and selling your body to be beautiful. When did this type of message become tolerable, even accepted?
The most disturbing scenes from the show are those which glorify violence against women. In March of 2007, the show did a photo shoot that involved the girls being “dead” and placed in a murder scene. They were provocatively dressed, with makeup on and bruises, cuts, etc. on their body. They were the laid out in a crime scene with the instruction to look dead. The photos depicted models as electrocuted, decapitated, and stabbed, among other things. Even more disturbing was the judges comments to the photographs. “Miss J,” the stereotypically flamboyant judge on the panel told one model that “death becomes her,” and spoke about another saying, “What’s great about this is that you can also look beautiful in death.” Other comments about the photos of the already frail looking models, laying their lifeless, as victims of a horrible crime included words such as “amazing,” and “beautiful.” This particular show was truly a dehumanizing and disgraceful rendering of violence against women.
The consequences of such a controversial display of women as victims and objectification of them can have profound effects on viewers and society as a whole. Although I do believe some of the intent is positive, trying to create art and portray beauty, as well as give young women an opportunity at a career in the modeling industry, the latent, negative consequences far outweigh this. I do feel that part of the manifested consequences are derived from trying to create “shock value,” and entertainment based on curiosity as to what they will do next. Even as intended consequences, these contribute to the negative impact of the show. In terms of latent consequences, I feel that people watching the show are being bombarded with images of women being victimized and discriminated against. In addition, things such as violence, homelessness and extreme thinness are being glorified. It sets standards and expectations for women that are unobtainable, as well as immoral. This show is creating a niche for women in society that permits them to be degraded and abused.
In my opinion, this show is an absolute disgrace, and an insult to women. Although I do appreciate the beauty of photography, I see no justification for parading women around as victims of violence and alternate races through the use of paint, and coining it beauty. The over-sexuality of the show is only adding to a problem embedded deep in our society. As a woman, it saddens to see these women allow themselves to be subjected to such an atrocity. Most importantly, I feel that shows of such extreme natures should be kept off of basic television, as they are not acceptable for young viewers. It is difficult enough to find anything decent on the television today.
Source Cited:
"FASTSTATS - Body Measurements." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 02 Apr. 2009. Web. 30 Nov. 2010.
Hello... I have to say, I completely agree with you on this topic. The nature of this show is quite degrading when you look at it from a wider perspective. Although I'm a male I remember seeing a few episodes (since my sister was a big fan of the show) and the content was over the top for a show promoted to teenagers and young adults.
ReplyDeleteEven more incredible is the fact that the show is run by Tyra Banks, who to her credit has spoken out throughout her career about the degradation of women, and has created a foundation devoted to empowering young women and promoting positive body image and self-confidence. Yet her show promotes that which she is speaking out against. It undermines the positive messages of her foundation and makes it seem like a publicity ploy rather than one of her passions.
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