Tyra Banks Vs. The Ann Show: America's Next Top Model Season 15

With a record 5 photo wins under her belt, would-be model, Ann, on season 15 of America's Next Top Model has caught media attention with her tiny waist. A promo ad for the season was realized that show's Miss J with his hands completely encircling the freakishly-thin gal's 18-inch waist. (The ad was later pulled when Tyra Banks faced intense media controversy about the piece, which you can view here.) The tall and gangly Ann is a shoe-in for the win, which this season features a cover of Italian vogue. So what's the problem?

Models and the fashion industry have been criticized for years for perpetrating negative stereotypes that involve young girls worldwide. When unusually thin girls are touted as being the highest ideal in fashion, impressionable young girls often starve themselves in the hopes of attaining that often impossible ideal. In recent years, some companies and campaigns have focused on portraying more realistic body types, as seen, for example, in the Dove commercials that feature older women, women with freckles, and women with realistic body types. Some plus-size models have made successful careers for themselves, such as Emme, and the freakishly thin model has become a fashion faux pas. In fact, super skinny models have been banned from the runways in Milan and models are required to maintain a body mass greater that 18 in order to be allowed to continue modeling. In 2007, ad campaigns in Milan featured anorexic woman, Isabelle Caro, naked. She weighed 68 pounds at the time, the weight of a healthy 10-year-old girl.

By having Ann on ANTM this season, Ms. Banks and the show's producers seem to be taking modeling back a few steps instead of forward. One suspect that early eliminated contestant, Anamaria, was added to the lineup so that Tyra could call her out on her anorexia and messed up body image. That way, if anyone criticized the show for having Ann, Tyra could point to Anamaria and say, "But, look! We eliminated her." Lame. Back to the Body Mass Index numbers required by Milan runways, is Ann even up to that standard? I doubt it. So, what, Ann's going to win ANTM then find out she's too skinny for Italian runways, even if she does make the cover?

And, really, what are the judges thinking picking the same girl FIVE FREAKING WEEKS in a row? Who wants to keep watching if they know in advance who the winner's probably going to be? Even Tyra said it was uninteresting, and I'm not going to disagree. Imagine being one of the other contestants in the house with Ann. How crappy would you be feeling about yourself right about now? It seems like no one else can catch a break. And poor Ann, too, because she's already so awkward; surely having all these wins under her tiny belt will make things awkward for her at the house. Surely the girls are sick of her wins by now. I know I'm sick of watching, and I'm a fan of the whole ANTM worldwide empire. The ANTM girls and producers could stand to learn a lesson or two from NTM's in other countries: the girls in AusNTM would NEVER put up with this crap.