As a child I was dazzled and infatuated with the myth of the "supermodel" If you were a young person in the 90s and early 00s there were stories and even documentaries about the world of fashion modeling and "the rise of the supermodel."
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As a child I was dazzled and infatuated with the myth of the "supermodel" If you were a young person in the 90s and early 00s there were stories and even documentaries about the world of fashion modeling and "the rise of the supermodel."
If a young girl was looking for someone her age in media, looking for someone who was important. Who seemed to be taken seriously: the supermodel was at the top of constructed notions of female success.
Role models for better or worse.
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As a child I was dazzled and infatuated with the myth of the "supermodel" If you were a young person in the 90s and early 00s there were stories and even documentaries about the world of fashion modeling and "the rise of the supermodel."
If a young girl was looking for someone her age in media, looking for someone who was important. Who seemed to be taken seriously: the supermodel was at the top of constructed notions of female success.
Role models for better or worse.
Boys might look up to wrestlers, or to basketball stars.
But, somehow the presentation in media conveyed to me that while it might be nice to be a young woman who was good at sports or music, to really be the most important, to have your face blown up to the size of a buildings, to be on the covers of magazines, to be talked about? be a "supermodel."
Looking back on this as an adult it's kind of embarrassing the extent that I fell for it. In my defense? I was a child.
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Boys might look up to wrestlers, or to basketball stars.
But, somehow the presentation in media conveyed to me that while it might be nice to be a young woman who was good at sports or music, to really be the most important, to have your face blown up to the size of a buildings, to be on the covers of magazines, to be talked about? be a "supermodel."
Looking back on this as an adult it's kind of embarrassing the extent that I fell for it. In my defense? I was a child.
I assumed that the supermodels must have had some talents, some process through which they cultivated their magmatism. And modeling is real work and it can be difficult work.
But, I didn't understand that for many people it was the photographers, the men who "managed" the agencies and contest who were the real focus source of envy.
But, that Cinderella story of the supermodel is enchanting to young girls also serves the interests of these men rather well.
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I assumed that the supermodels must have had some talents, some process through which they cultivated their magmatism. And modeling is real work and it can be difficult work.
But, I didn't understand that for many people it was the photographers, the men who "managed" the agencies and contest who were the real focus source of envy.
But, that Cinderella story of the supermodel is enchanting to young girls also serves the interests of these men rather well.
Antoine Verglas is a famous photographer. You can find news segments where they share his photographs and talk about his career. He's remembered for taking photographs of very beautiful young women mostly nude. But, even as that "career" is gaining scrutiny his work is still presented with dualism.
For that child I used to be? It's artful photography. It's clinical. Work.
But, it's also a man who has this very public record of his access to the bodies of women. I didn't see that at all.
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I assumed that the supermodels must have had some talents, some process through which they cultivated their magmatism. And modeling is real work and it can be difficult work.
But, I didn't understand that for many people it was the photographers, the men who "managed" the agencies and contest who were the real focus source of envy.
But, that Cinderella story of the supermodel is enchanting to young girls also serves the interests of these men rather well.
@futurebird
I don't know if it's intentional that you wrote about the "magmatism" of supermodels but I'm keeping it!
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Antoine Verglas is a famous photographer. You can find news segments where they share his photographs and talk about his career. He's remembered for taking photographs of very beautiful young women mostly nude. But, even as that "career" is gaining scrutiny his work is still presented with dualism.
For that child I used to be? It's artful photography. It's clinical. Work.
But, it's also a man who has this very public record of his access to the bodies of women. I didn't see that at all.
It took time to realize that not all media was good at helping you to find out who was important or worth paying attention to.
I was in my late 20s before I *really* deeply questioned any of it. "What is the purpose of making young women who are good at looking beautiful and being photographed seem more important than any other women their age? Who benefits from this?"
Some young men might say "young women do, they have so much power over us" but this is just a side effect of the main project.
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It took time to realize that not all media was good at helping you to find out who was important or worth paying attention to.
I was in my late 20s before I *really* deeply questioned any of it. "What is the purpose of making young women who are good at looking beautiful and being photographed seem more important than any other women their age? Who benefits from this?"
Some young men might say "young women do, they have so much power over us" but this is just a side effect of the main project.
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J jwcph@helvede.net shared this topic
