All the Rage
American Apparel Hires First Transgender Model -- Good for Them!
First, the Miss USA pageant decides to allow transgender contestants, and now a major apparel company, American Apparel, has its first transgender spokesmodel. It's none other than Isis King, whom you may recognize from America's Next Top Model.
Isis didn't make it far into her cycle of ANTM, but she came back for the All-Stars season, and now she's been signed to American Apparel for a series of ads.
I think this is all well and good and great and blah blah, but Isis is seen modeling gay pride-themed T-shirts with mottos like, "Legalize Gay." I'm actually not quite sure what that means. It's not illegal to be gay anymore, though I suppose sodomy is still on the books in some states. Maybe they mean "Legalize Gay Marriage"? I dunno.
Isis was discovered by Tyra Banks when she was scouting for models for her reality show, and she was clearly always a favorite of the supermodel. At the time she appeared on the show, Isis was homeless. Most of ANTM's winners haven't gone on to big time modeling success -- in fact, Isis would be one of the few to sign a contract with a large retailer.
I think it's great that American Apparel signed her, but I think it would be even more great if Isis modeled some flowery summer dresses too, without all of the political posturing. And if she wasn't even identified as being transgender. Of course, I guess the whole point is to get the transgender thing out there -- to make it more acceptable to people, and to have young people who are transgender or thinking along those lines to see someone in the pages of a magazine whom they can relate to.
But Isis is a pretty young woman, and it would be great to also just see her modeling and not being an activist for anything other than a cute outfit.
What do you think of Isis?
Image via American Apparel
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douxmusique
the4mutts
But I don't want someone who was biologically born a male, modeling female clothing.
No matter how many hormones you inject, they are STILL built differently. They still have different hips and asses and breasts.
It would just be one more move that the modeling/fashion industry takes toward giving WOMEN an unattainable goal that they're supposedly supposed to reach.
How would it be fair, for example, to have Isis model a style of jeans, then have women go try them on, wondering why they don't fit? I'll tell you why they don't fit:
Even men who live as women, are more narrow through the hip. Look how skinny she is. She will never have the hips of a woman that's had kid, even if she gets fat.
Even young, non mommy, skinny 19 year old girls don't typically have such narrow hips.
I'm sorry, her, as a female clothing model, would not make sense. Let her model makeup, shoes, hair, ANYTHING else. But not clothes.
Michael
SoJaided
DallasGirl214
WowIllbeamom11
I think SHE is beautiful, and it's awesome that she's getting work!
Stacey.
I agree with 4mutts.
@sojaided, you cant deny men are built differently than women. A skinny man still has different bone structure than a skinny woman, it's science not opinion.
Fashion is taking baby steps towards not featuring sickly models anymore, but whats the point if they are going to be replaced with men who obviously have unattainable bodies for women.
Stacey.
@Michael - the thing is, you can usually tell without someone telling you. I used to work with a guy who became a female, and I could tell he was trans my first day there. The way his feet looked in flip flops, the way his shoulders looked in a blouse, the way his legs looked in shorts, I could tell he was a guy even though he had breasts. Another reason why no matter how many hormones a man takes, he will never have a womans body.
Kate
Stacey.