Tyra, Diversity and "Being on Top"...

Tyra and the ANTM ladies strike a pose...Some of you may know that I'm starting a research project on Tyra Banks and her reality model show, America's Next Top Model so I tuned in to this week's Season 13 premiere. And because Tyra is all about opportunity, this season she gives "short" models (that's girls under 5'7, but - don't worry - still sizes 0-2) the chance to be crowned America's next Top Model. Sure, they won't be able to work the runway (even Tyra can't change that fashion law), but they can now get the opportunity to sell Cover Girl products ad appear on Seventeen Magazine.

In true Tyra fashion the show kicked off with introductions of the potential contestants, revealing details about many of the girls that apparently touched Tyra and Co. One girl revealed she lives in a trailer in New Orleans with no running water, another confessed that she had been physically abused by a boyfriend. Then there was one contestant that had been kidnapped and sexually assaulted, and of course, there was the hot lesbian (making Miss J cheer with glee!). This focus on diversity, coupled with an attention to social issues -- poverty, sexual violence, and even a disability (granted, it was a broken leg) were all given lip service to. And while I appreciate Tyra's interest in longstanding commitment to having diverse contestants on the show, her attempts at constructing meaningful social dialogue within the premise of a show about modeling seems a bit...misguided? Or perhaps it's just a genius strategy to get these issues into prime time television?

But as quickly as the deeply personal stories were revealed, they were neatly packaged back up again and the girls were shuttled off for hair, make-up, and the photo shoot. This practice of revelation has been key to the success of ANTM, as the premise of the show rests on the notion of individual merit and strength -- a girl battling through society to reach the "top" of the modeling world.

For this fairytale to work it's imperative to construct the girls as having survived hardship (other seasons have incorporated issues ranging from female genital mutilation to a transgendered contestant), but still making it all the way to the ANTM studios -- just in time for Tyra to step in and give them the opportunity to shine. We never hear about the social conditions that create the various problematic situation for the girls -- it's almost assumed as though it's a personal misfortune that requires a strong personal ethic to overcome. It's a constructed fairytale that I'm hoping to explore in the coming weeks....   

In related Tyra news: I can't post about her this week without mentioning...her hair. In my Race, Nation, Media class earlier this week the topic of Tyra Banks' hair came up (yes -- I'm totally not joking!) and some of us wondered why Tyra hadn't tackled the topic of African American hair yet, despite covering other appearance-related insecurities, like weight. We all remember 'kiss my fat ass', right? If not, see below.

With the upcoming release of Chris Rocks' documentary Good Hair, about black womens' relationship with their hair, as well as the critique launched at Malia Obama for wearing her hair in twists on a summer visit to Rome, it seems as though the topic of hair is ripe for some Tyra-analysis. 

Coincidently, later that day Tyra kicked off the fifth season of her talk show by revealing her "true hair". Presented as a moment of personal revelation (similar to her younger proteges above), but speaking to the larger issue of black women and their struggle with beauty norms, Tyra finally took the issue up.  

For those of you that don't know, Tyra has been a faithful wearer of wigs and weaves for as long as most people can remember. She also loves putting weaves in ANTM contestant's hair when she deems appropriate, which has led some people to wonder what's up with Tyra and her hair obsession? Well, wonder no more. Because according to Jezebel, Tyra has declared that, "Wigs and weaves are options, not something you need." 

And this is why Tyra is a complicated persona... she takes beauty culture to task, yet runs a modeling show sponsored by Cover Girl, she (sometimes) tackles gendered social problems without addressing root causes and solutions, and at the same time she is a black woman who began her career as a model but has now carved out a cultural space where she is deemed both a successful businesswoman and potential role model. More to follow on these ideas as my research continues throughout the term and Cycle 13 of ANTM....In the meantime: What does everyone else think -- love Tyra or hate her?

xo, jessalynn