Standards of Femininity

As a modern ethnographic showcase, the popular TV show "America's Next Top Model" is similar to the international showcases of the past in Ethnographic Showcases by Corbey. Indisputably, the international showcases of the past were stressful and immoral towards the people who were displayed, but even paid models in modern showcases are not immune to the effects of being displayed. Like international showcases, many ideologies are socially taught through "America's Next Top Model" especially ideologies about femininity and race. This in turn affects and transforms not only the models, but also the producers and the audience of the show by showcasing what society should accept to be right or wrong. Based on socially constructed trends and ideologies, the "gatekeeping" and judging of "America's Next Top Model" will alter what the producers and consumers see and what society ultimately knows.

Compared to the international showcases of the past expositions and world fairs "America's Next Top Model" does not seem like a negative display at all. The indigenous people who were displayed in the past were seen as inferior or barbaric when "the living exhibits were typically organized on a scale from civilized to barbaric" (Corbey 345). Apartheid occurs if a person was a non-European, segregation would be involved, whether it occurred on standards of race, politics, or economics. The women of "America's Next Top Model" on the other hand are competing to be the best model, which is a position that is often considered to be part of the higher ranks of the social class, which differentiate people from high to low by society. However, the two displays are quite similar in that the "models" of both are being judged and the judges will form ideologies based on viewing the displays. This displaying and judging can further the ideologies of women as objects of beauty, making their worth based on only beauty and femininity. This act of judging other cultures by the standards of your own, which you believe is superior, is known as ethnocentrism.

Race is not a scientific thought, but a socially constructed ideology (Magubane). Although Magubane is speaking specifically about race and ethnicity, this also applies to the concepts of masculinity and femininity. Throughout the history of most of the societies of the world, the patriarchal structure of these societies creates an image of femininity. These feminine standards are usually rated physically by slimness, an hourglass figure, long flowing hair and big eyes to go compliment a feminine personality that is submissive, supportive and nurturing. Emily Martin proves that these standards of femininity are socially constructed and not natural where she relates men and women to sperm and egg. Until recently, the sperm, which is synonymous with men, was thought of as the aggressor while the egg, which is synonymous with women, was thought of as passive. When scientists discovered that it was actually the egg that is the aggressor by capturing and trapping sperm, this should be synonymous to women being more aggressive, even though society sticks to the patriarchal standard of submissive femininity. Therefore, TV shows that display women such as "America's Next Top Model" feed the consumer with these perceptions on women. The American culture of femininity and beauty is altered to fit the images that a modern human showcase presents. With the exception that the models seem to be encouraged to be overly confident and aggressive like their synonymous egg, this show is a direct reflection of how Americans believe women should look and act, and after viewing and displaying, judging and critiquing, the ideal American women is created. The American idea of femininity is objectified by the details of this show.

This ideal beauty in women is very clearly shown throughout this clip from "America's Next Top Model". The first thing that the consumer will notice is that all three of the women (four if you include the newest Cover girl Mckee) are extremely slim. A skinny silhouette is being created to be the normalized beauty for women, which is a problem because it is not "natural". We are taught to believe that skinny women, along with other details in this clip such as their long hair, emotionally active facial expressions, large eyes (Allison specifically received compliments from the photographer) and long eyelashes to be beautiful. Viewing these beautiful models influences the social constructs, or the reality that each person creates, about femininity and beauty.

Along with defining beauty for the American society, this show also objectifies the women who are displayed. They are turned into objects of art, beauty and advertisement. The immediate result is that the models are judged and measured based entirely on their performance and looks. This objectification of the models makes the judges hungry for results; the host himself only views each model as an advertisement product that he is trying to perfect and sell. The photographers see the models as objects of beauty; most of their comments are related to the beauty and charm of the women. Lastly, the overall effect of the show and its objectification of the models will be altering the culture and ideals of its consumer and will continue the cycle of popular culture and its depiction of women.

Since this contest is also a TV show that wants good ratings, the gatekeepers would not only be the judges, but also the audience, whose ratings will influence the judges' decisions. Besides regarding the audience however, the judges will be gatekeeping on various aspects of the contestant's modeling, such as their ethnicity and level of femininity. From watching this clip, the audience can get the impression that the entire production crew (including the hosts, judges, photographers, cameramen and guests) consists of people with Caucasian descent. Due to the human nature of unconsciously being more attracted to people who look and have more similarities, this can be considered a gate that the two African American contestants will have to get through compared to Allison, the one Caucasian contestant. This theory also applies in the scene where the two African American contestants are talking and laughing together while Allison is sitting on the bed brooding alone.

The level of topic control dealing with race and ethnicity within this show is not an issue because this show values multiculturalism; even though it does not specifically stress the importance of different cultures, races and ethnicities, it includes a diverse pool of contestants. Femininity on the other hand, is the topic that each judge and contestant will want to control. (Robert and Sayer). There are many different standards of judging femininity and beauty and the goal of the contestants is to fine out how to score the highest with each judge. Besides being slim, all three of the contestants are beautiful in different wants and therefore, will need to control the topic of femininity with the judges in order to win. Allison's negotiation of beauty and femininity has to do with her quiet, shy and submissive image. Aminat on the other hand, exudes a completely opposite feminine aura that is based around her confidence. Finally, Teyona is portraying a very outgoing femininity. Because every contestant will have a different sense of femininity and beauty, the judges should hold different standards of femininity and beauty when judging each contestant, this promotes cultural relativism where everyone can contribute to understanding different cultures of femininity without judging it solely based on their personal views on femininity. If there was only one standard of femininity to be judged, then the contestants would not be able to be themselves when competing, this would encourage them to change the way the present themselves to cater to the judges. With different standards of femininity, the judging will be fairer for a wider variety of women.

Due to the display of the contestants, the audience will not only be judging the models on the show, but will also be fed ideologies of femininity and beauty. Although the contestants are not treated like slaves or animals as they were in the international showcases of the past, they are still being objectified and displayed. This not only questions the self worth of the contestants, but also continues the social construct of race, femininity and beauty, through viewing what everyone considers to be beautiful and feminine in the three models, a position that is typically for the most feminine and beautiful of women. Not only are the contestant's value judged mainly on just their femininity and beauty, but they are also objectified into a mode of beautiful advertising, in this case, Cover Girl make up. The gatekeepers of this show will judge the winner based on their preconceptions of what valuable feminine traits are from the socially constructed ideals of femininity and beauty. When society sees these feminine traits judged as winning traits, the effect will be a reinforcement of the socially created standards of femininity, objectification of women, beauty and displaying; a cycle of the nurture of societal ideals of femininity over the nature of women.