By Ame Phitwong
Another atrocious season of "America's Next Top Model" (ANTM) starts on Feb. 20, and you can bet I'm one person who'll be missing out on that jolly, good-for-nothing-show. You guessed it, I hate Tyra Banks, and I've decided to officially come out and proclaim my hatred.
Seeing her spew her nonsense and ridiculous contradicting "knowledge" about looks and the modeling industry should have been confined to ANTM. Whoever got the bright idea to give that woman her own talk show deserves a punishment I can't exactly print here. Furthermore, her recent aspirations to be "the next Oprah" are disgusting.
Let me begin my argument against Tyra with an attack of character and by presenting evidence of hypocrisy. I will give her credit for showing the "grueling" hustle and grime of the modeling and fashion world. It is somewhat true to reality, but she makes the job appear so "ride or die."
She goes to the extremes to change young women to "fit" into the industry by doing a "makeover" portion each season to the standards she believes fit. She also criticizes models at the judging portion about how they dress and how they need to be more model-like.
But what she says on ANTM is very different from the message she conveys on her show. Tyra recently created the "So what" campaign. Let me share a direct quote,
"So what if I am overweight as long as I am happy! So what if I have pimples! So what if I have cellulite! So what if don't wear makeup or the latest fashion trends!"
This is complete bull. On episodes of ANTM, I've seen Tyra send girls to dermatologists to fix their skin; she's pointed out to others when they've been getting that "extra junk in the trunk" and scrutinizes them for pictures that captured their bad features like a "short neck." How can she tell people to not care about their physical appearances on her talk show when on ANTM she tries so hard to create perfection? "So what"- my ass.
I know she's trying to sell a product on ANTM, but the women who a part of the "So What" campaign should question AND feel weird when they see her true colors and opinions on what "perfection" is in a woman.
I just don't understand how editors can air half of the crap she says. It is just unfathomable that people look up to her thinking she has any type of intelligence. Through my extensive research to find some hard evidence of Tyra Banks being a moron, I came upon a "list of restrictions" the supermodel had before she would accept a shoot. The list included: no frontal nudity, no birds, no cats, no fish, no cigarettes and no alcohol. About her "no fish," she said, "No fish, meaning no dolphins, because everybody knows I'm scared of dolphins." So if she is so scared of dolphins, how is it acceptable for her to force models to do photoshoots with animals they have phobias of or in situations they are deathly scared of, such as heights? How is this ethical in any way? I wish I could trap her in a room with tons of cigarette butts on the floor surrounded by an alcohol aquarium full of dolphins and the constant ruckus of birds and cats fleeing and chasing one another. Now that would be justice.
One thing that irks me to no end about Tyra is her constant mentioning of how "black" she is. She does this through the change in her speech patterns to show "attitude" and constant proclamations of how proud she is to be a black woman. Then, on ANTM, with her black contestants, she constantly picks and nags at them to refine certain attributes. With Danielle Evans from cycle six, it seemed Tyra made it her mission to change Danielle's Arkansas accent because it was to country bumpkin and "black." But with Nnenna Agba, the Nigerian model, her thick accent was fine and elegant. So I guess Tyra's down with African accents, but not African-American ones.
I see the world transforming into a Tyra world ... okay not really, but just her presence is quite enough damage to young women's esteem. Do we really need her opinion to rule the world? I feel like there will be no end because there will a constant supply of young aspiring models to try out for ANTM and those that can't make it will sit at home and soak in Tyra's every word. I guess if the demand's there, it will continue.
My argument may have not swayed whether or not you continue to watch her shows, but I hope it has alerted you to be more aware of the message she's trying to portray and how contradicting she is. Just don't be a Tyra in real life.
Ame Phitwong is a Senior Staff Writer
for The Beacon
