The first three episodes of America's Next Top Model 3 explore self destructive low self esteem issues including anorexia nervosa, bulimia, malicious / violent acting out, co-dependence, and racial self hatred. By comparison, the men of Bravo’s new series Manhunt seem relatively sane but prove that obsession with looks crosses gender lines and is attributed more to vanity than femininity. Overall the men battle their own insecurity regarding their emasculated image. Observing these insecure narcissists will make your jaw drop.
Season three of America’s Next Top Model introduced us to 14 damaged beautiful dolls in search of universal validation for their insufferable sacrifices in the realm of fashion. In the season premiere, Tyra Banks introduced 40 hopefuls who are competing for 14 spots on the series. Two of the most shattered beauties are Tiffany, an incredibly stunning Nubian goddess from the projects of New York, and Amy, who at 5’10” and 105 lbs. (at most) is clearly suffering from chronic anorexia nervosa. Anorexia and bulimia are two consequences of body dysmorphia. Body dysmorphia is the distorted view of one’s own healthy body. For women, body dysmorphia usually means they view themselves as too heavy because of the unrealistic image of the perfect female form to be svelte with long thin limbs. Amy realizes she is thin but suggests that she does not suffer from an eating disorder. She blames her light weight to a high metabolism. It is painfully difficult to watch this gaunt woman stand there, her body eating itself up due to self-deprivation and mal-nutrition.
Tiffany has a long list of legal skirmishes; being in and out of trouble because of the tough neighborhood she was raised. She desperately wants to escape the influence of her surroundings and feels that modeling will be her ticket to start a new life. One can visibly see her scarred psyche and read the hopelessness in her demeanor should she lose. In her statements she has declared as much. One would fear that she would violently lash out if she snaps under the pressure and dejections associated with high fashion modeling. The judges’ decide both these women do not represent the ideal model for aspiring young female viewers to emulate and are cut. One can only hope that after viewing themselves on TV, both these women quickly sought psychiatric counsel.
Of the 14 that did make the cut, 4 of them garner much of the attention due to their personal difficulties that led to self-image problems. Eva is tough on the outside to mask the pain she suffered internally from the crushing taunts administered by the misogynistic male members of her family. Eva devised a defensive wall by bullying other women, raising herself up by keeping them down. Likewise, Cassie was also dejected by an abusive father and resorted to stripping as a way to make ends meet. In her quest for the perfect body to maintain her popularity as a stripper, she developed bulimia. She is permitted to continue on the program because she seems to be on a healthy upswing unlike Amy or Tiffany. Ann is chronically co-dependant, most likely from a sheltered childhood and overly protective mother. Ann quickly sought Eva as a substitute mother to nurture her co-dependant needs. Upon realizing that she would be separated from Eva in the suite sleeping arrangements, she panicked and threw a tantrum which had everyone wonder if she was mature enough to handle the constant travel, displacement, loneliness and spontaneity associated with the high fashion model lifestyle.
The most shocking self-image distortion of all belonged to Kelle. She is a black woman who was raised in a wealthy gated white community. While extremely beautiful, she is uncomfortable with her ethnic features. Deplorably, she shocked everyone when she described her mouth as a “monkey mouth”, an outrageous ethnic slur used generations ago by ignorant Caucasians to assimilate African Americans to simians. I have witnessed this type of behavior by an African American woman first hand in college. When introducing herself to a group of minority students recruited for a campus visit, she exclaimed rather condescendingly that she has never been surrounded by so many other black people before and she wished to “learn” a lot from them about their culture. She then expressed her discomfort being an African American woman with a dark complexion. I could see many people shaking their heads, already judging her and ostracizing her from the group. It makes one wonder why some African Americans like Michael Jackson, have so much internal self-hatred for their race that they would marry outside their race to alter the features and complexion of their children. In Michael’s case, go to the extreme of exchanging his own afro-centric appearance and complexion for European features thru complex plastic surgery.
Given only four women cast on the show demonstrate extreme forms of self-loathing or insecurity can it be concluded that most models are in dire need of therapy? No, most certainly not. The majority (of the cast) seem stable and several have even demonstrated positive self-image and strong character in the face of extreme adversity. Amanda is a 25 year old mother who is legally blind, suffering from a degenerative eye disease which will cause her to lose her sight completely by the age of 30. Despite her illness, she is surprising self-confident and tranquil. She has proven to be a stable rock, an inspiration and endearing presence among the models. Interestingly, her persona is evolving as she progresses in the competition but not necessarily for the better. The praise she has received combined with the new blonde make-over has increasingly made her more of a diva. Although I believe that Norelle was cast to be the geeky ugly duckling that morphs into a beautiful swan like last seasons’ Shandi, it is Amanda whose personality is currently undergoing the transformation. However like Mercedes last season, Amanda is the special interest cast member who was selected to overcome a physical disability. Those who have read my other editorials will recall that I have made the specific conclusion special interest casting was devised to lure in sympathetic viewers for higher ratings. It is therefore my assertion that Amanda will be around until the finals.
My pick for this season’s Next Top Model is Tocarra. She is the plus sized model hopeful with the charming personality that lights up a room. She reminds me of Queen Latifah, a dynamic woman who does it all: sing, act, produce, and model, all while maintaining a positive attitude regarding her weight. A powerful woman, she is not hung up on the status quo of beauty, but redefines it and owns her interpretation of feminine qualities. Tocarra is the same way. Unlike her predecessors in season one and two, she does not apologize for her voluptuous figure. Nor does she view her curvaceous form limited to that of plus size modeling, a rather small segment of the advertising spectrum. Tocarra blossomed before the panel upon her introduction and cheerfully exclaimed, “Yes, I’m a big girl... [batting her eyes] what, what?” Her confidence is exuberant and captivating. It would be refreshing for the producers to select a nonconformist to represent a different standard of American beauty.
By comparison, the men of Bravo’s new reality competition, Manhunt, seem to conform to one standard of male perfection: the lean, athletic, muscularly proportional body and chiseled facial bone structure. The status quo for male modeling seems to hold statuesque figures in high regard. That means the men must be tall, between 5’10” to 6’6” (yes, that’s correct…they actually have a lean muscularly proportionate 6’6” giant in the cast), hairless faces, torsos and limbs with flawless complexions of various shades. Unlike the women, all of them, with the exception of Casey C.W., exude confidence. They are very self-assured of themselves, to the point of arrogance. The interesting psychological observation is how the men attempt to defend their masculinity in a field that is more attributed to feminine qualities. Most have downplayed their interest to be a model for other professional ambitions, which incidentally got Julie (the Indian contestant on America’s Next Top Model 3) eliminated from last week’s episode. They have also shown disdain for the term “Pretty Boy”. In complete contradiction, they obsessed about their hair, clothes and grooming at every opportunity. Captivated by their own reflections, like Narcissus, the Greek male namesake for self-love and obsession, the men demonstrate that vanity is not an absolute feminine attribute.
Carmen Electra is the host of this series. She informs us that 30 men were selected from thousands of applicants to vie for 20 slots. 10 were quickly eliminated without much introduction. Of the 20, 4 were eliminated before the first challenge even commenced. It seems modeling in general is a highly competitive arena ideally suited for body dysmorphia complex. Body dysmorphia has the opposite effect in men than women. It doesn’t matter how muscular or defined they are, they view themselves as too small. It was observable when the men lined up next to each other and they checked out their competition. Each male compared his body development to that of the others and the majority felt inferior. Yet unlike the women of America’s Next Top Model 3, the men do not resort to diets or suffer emotionally crippled psyches. It does appear that at least Kevin P. has probably tried anabolic steroids, because of the shape of his pectoral muscle. It looks more like female breast tissue, a side effect of anabolic steroid use. All work out daily, take metabolic supplements (to keep lean) and several must undergo complete body wax or electrolysis for the hairless look. Of the 16 that remain, two are openly gay, Rob and Ron. While there may be a few more who would not admit it yet, the majority are straight males eager to prove their sexual prowess with women, even at the risk of disqualification from the competition for breaking the rules. So at the very least, the men need therapy to cope with their obsessive quest for physical perfection and the balance between their masculinity in a feminine profession.
With 10 contestants remaining in America’s Next Top Model 3and all 16 men remaining in Manhunt, it will be interesting to see what other neurosis are reveled amongst these visually stunning but emotionally stunted individual men and women.
