Jezebel
Tatiana is back! She's the anonymous model behind the tell-all fashion industry column "Modelslips," a feature I can't think about without getting distracted by the thought of the song "Molly's Lips," which has nothing to do with anything. Tatiana is feeling a little cranky these days. Sometimes it seems like every week is fashion week! And models? You know how she was just saying they aren't dumb? Yeah, she sorta takes that back a little. Herewith, a bit on how the model populace is responding to the candidacy of Barack Hussein Obama.
Because fashion centers itself around coastal, blue-state U.S. cities that are bywords for liberal freakiness, and world cities in nations known for "bloated" public sectors, socialized medicine, and overall left-wing leanings, you might be forgiven for thinking the politics of fashion could be summed up in a Kenneth Cole campaign slogan. Like about AIDS. And tolerance. And shutting down Guantanamo Bay; Lush made a soap about that, right?The industry is, after all, full of gay men whose , and immigrants who might think fondly of the notion that fellow foreigners also be allowed to access America's wealth of job opportunities. And didn't all those designers stand up poor Laura Bush?
Yes, well, sure. But the models? Zey are another story.
Once I walked all around Paris with a charming Pole who introduced herself after a disastrous casting ("I fucken' het dis shiit," she said, shooting me one of those baleful, Eastern European looks), told me she wanted to be a war correspondent, and shared the story of her roommate, a 17-year-old Arkansan who had somehow cheated on her boyfriend of three years with the director of her agency after less than a week abroad. Both the men were named William; the Arkansan, said the Pole, "Spends a lot of time crying and saying shiit like 'I love Billy but I have dis conneeeekshun with Bill.'" I thought I had made a friend for life — likes to read, check; finds castings often exasperating,check; finds examples of hapless late-teenaged decision-making funny, check — until we walked through Paris's gay district and saw two men holding hands.
"Disgusting," sneered the Pole. "I think all the mens like dis should be shot."
Well then! I thought. You'll have something to bond over with the insurgents!
Maybe I've just been lectured on the unconscionable evils of abortion by one too many blue-eyed small-town Argentines, and met one too many 5'10" rural Lithuanian teenagers who sneer at the idea that homosexuals can raise children, but modeling has actually forced me to question the notion that travel always broaden horizons. I know, I know, I am the same person who just wrote about models being smart and worldly and accepting etc. etc. The fact is that I'm pretty sure Kate Moss, for all her horizon-broadening, is fairly provincial but that she is nothing compared to a kid I met at LA Fashion Week.
Sometimes a mind will see only what it wants, no matter how you change the details of scenery. And sometimes, nothing reminds you just what gears domestic U.S. politics turn on like a trip to one of those cosmopolitan fashion epicenters where your days are otherwise full of expert eye shadow blending and the interrogation of the hemline and people who use edgy as if it had some concrete, timeless value.
Models often come from small towns in out-of-the-way places to which globalization has not been kind; places where political conservatism — and the more traditional strains of religion — can seem like a shelter from the storm of modernity. I remember a mother-daughter pair I met in New York, fresh from a small town near Orlando, who told me that the reason "things" are "the way they are" today is due to the fact that people no longer get their values from church. Exiting a go-see recently in Milan, I overheard another model telling her mother that inside, at the casting table, there had been seated a drag queen (whom the daughter referred to as "a tranny.") The mother paused for a long time.
"So he was probably gay, huh," she said quietly, as she tucked her 15-year-old's stilettos into her purse.
But nothing prepared me for last fashion week, in Paris, when every one of my American room-mates in our scuzzy 16th Arrondissement models' apartment revealed herself to be a Republican.
Late one evening, conversation between a mother-daughter pair from a small New Mexico town and an 18-year-old from the South side of Chicago had turned towards politics.
"I'm voting for Obama," I said off-handedly, no doubt sounding very tired after a day of castings and a fitting.
"Who's that? The black guy?" asked the mother.
"I liked Romney. I thought he was so inspiring — a young man with all these new ideas," gushed the Chicagoan.
The mother turned to me. "You know the problem with Obama, don't you?" she continued, her eyes beginning to narrow. "He won't put his hand over his heart or say the Pledge of Allegiance. If he's gonna wanna be president of my country —"
"Oh my God! That's terrible!" broke in the Chicagoan.
"Uh," I said, "That's not —"
"— My son fought in Afghanistan for this nation," continued the mother. "There are all these people who hate our way of life, who want to kill us. And I'm sick of people telling me this isn't a Christian country: It was founded by Christians with Christian values, how more Christian could you get? And Obama's worried saying the Pledge would send the wrong message? I can't vote for anyone who would disrespect my country like that."
"Uh, that's not true," I said. "Barack Obama says the Pledge. He learned it as a child. You can see him saying it, plus singing the anthem or what have you, on YouTube."
"What do you mean, I saw the pictures! He's just standing there, his hands by his sides. He's not saying no Pledge. And you know what else worries me: his father's a Muslim!" The mother drew back her lips as she said it, as if trying to avoid the contaminating syllables. "The very people who are attacking this country. Like I'd vote for one."
The mother then launched into a story of her experience facing a cancer scare without health insurance. Biopsies, a spree of short hospital stays, and various tests had left her $30,000 in debt.
"Well, Obama's health care policy would make every American eligible for insurance kind of like members of Congress get, so you wouldn't have to be uninsured," I pointed out.
"But he wants to give free care to illegals!" the mother brayed.
Around this point, the Chicagoan began talking about "the thing that really bothers me" — affirmative action. Apropos of very little, the mother shared her experiences observing "people wearing big, gold chains, and expensive clothing, like name brands," picking out "the best cuts of meat, and fried chicken," at the supermarket, to be paid for on EBT.
I'm ashamed to say that rather than counting off the studies that show students admitted into tertiary programs because of affirmative action outperform the overall undergraduate pool, plus the studies that show white women (such as the Chicagoan, and myself) are the group affirmative action has most benefited, or than regaling everyone with my own somewhat embarrassing story of the time, back when I was earning $10.50 an hour before taxes in one of those coastal, blue-state cities where rent happens to run around $1000 a month, when I went to an anonymous government building and was found to be too wealthy for food stamps, and rather than explaining to the mother of a model that a picture can tell less than the truth, I left the living room and quietly went to bed.
The mother was still talking about "the black guy" as I fell asleep.
Comments
Bigots and morons stay bigoted morons no matter where they are. Got it.
I really dislike people who complain about affirmative action. Like their life is any less privileged because of it.
Is she Tatiana or Titiana?
Conservative, homophobic people will no doubt be very succesful in the fashion industry.
Not to be a suckup, but I do enjoy these posts very much.
Who let that Romney-loving Chicago model into my very blue city? She must be a spy. I'm hitting the streets to find her now -- how hard could it be to track down a 5'11 100 lb. girl in Chicago?
@amowls: maybe not, but letting go of an unearned sense of entitlement stings.
@hugnkiss: Look for the chick who's inducing outside of Ditka's Place.
@ineffable.me: Even though she sorta dissed Kate?
I was taking comfort from the fact that they are all too skinny to menstruate and therefor breed.
That model was from Chicago and knew nothing about Obama? Nice. This post is a little misleading though because instead of finding out what a group of models think about Obama, I find out what Tatiana's and some random chick's mom think.
She comes off pretty unworldly herself if she is surprised that racism and homophobia is so prevalent in America, especially among Republicans.
I sense a 2 Diamond Whore in the gestation phase.
People who are too attractive to need to think critically usually don't, unfortunately. But that's true with most people, attractive or not.
WOW. At least these people aren't exactly wielding any power or influence, save inciting eating disorders and unrealistic size expectations from designers you and I probably don't wear anyway. Fun spying though! I'll keep that in mind as I laugh myself silly with a giant slice of pizza watching ANTM tonight.
@ManhattanManHatin': HA! I hate that's that's sorta true.
The Pole did not surprise me. After all, the Polish government tried to pin the "gay" label on one of the Teletubbies for having a manpurse.
I applaud Tatiana's patience. I would have beat the mother with a household appliance to shut her up.
It might be the second whiskey, but I'm kind of blinded mentally by a few different issues here...politics, bigotry, living as an expat, etc. Not sure where to start or what conclusions to draw.
@JessicaLovejoy: Stars & Dykes Forever!: Maybe it's just as you say!
It's not surprising that there are still a lot of rabid racists and homophobes in the US, it's the fact that they are willing to shout their uninformed opinions to any who is within earshot. For example, don't assume that since I live in the South that I automatically want to commiserate with you about Affirmative Action or fight to ban gay marriages. I'll talk shit with you, no doubt, but we'll do it based on an individual, not on that individual's race or sexual preference.
Great post, though it made me grind my teeth.
@Elisheva: But doesn't that mean we're still stereotyping Poles? They're just as varied as any other culture in my experience.
With you on the household appliance attack thing, tho.
I think it was G. K. Chesterton who wrote, "They say travel broadens the mind; but you must have the mind."
At least there's one model who thinks critically.
Also - if I get one more frickin email WARNING me that Obama is the anti-christ and a muslim who hates America (etc, etc, etc) HEADS WILL ROLL.
@Elisheva: Dear me - didn't that happen with a right-wing(nut) religious leader from our very shores too? Tinky Winky is GAY! TW is a fucking character, asswipe.
i always wonder how people who live in America, the ocuntry founded by and for those escaping from prosecution, can disperse bigoted and racist statements like that -- especially in this day and age. It's strange how a country that considers itself to be "free" is also very xenophobic.
i say that because when i hear my friends, children of Jewish immigrants who escaped crazy anti semitism, can drop the n-bomb like it's no big deal, like it's their right to hate on a particular race just cause they're no longer called out on theirs. it saddens and frightens me.
@wildflowerpower: Nah, I live in Germany, the Poles are just fine, though a tad too Catholic for my taste. There's some other minorities that give themselves much worse names.
@sybann: Did that happen? I try to ignore such blatant BS . . . wow. Just wow. That goes along with the "SPONGEBOB IS GAY!!!!" stuff I saw somewhere. Don't people have something better to spend their time on?
I get a feel that modeling is a lot like the child star/parent reality show with Danny Bonaduce on VH1
People like this? They're everywhere. They vote. And that is why some of us are getting a sinking feeling.
@laughingacademy: And about this and so many other things, old Gilbert was right. Except, wait, he hated Oscar Wilde. Let me return to my hangover and think this through.
"So he was probably gay, huh," she said quietly, as she tucked her 15-year-old's stilettos into her purse.
And this is why this post is awesome. There's just something about a super conservative mother freaking out about a gay man while simultanously giving her 15 year-old daughter stilettos to wear to be case in a job that's all about looking sexy.
@myrtlebeachbum:
So true. You know that November is going to be all about whether you say the pledge of allegience and wear a flag pin. John McCain was a POW for his country. Obama won't even wear a pin!!!!!!! And people without health insurance will vote for McCain over an f'ing pin. And I will die a little inside (again).
More Modelslips please.
@dashenbka: But America wasn't exactly founded by people escaping persecution for those reasons of bigotry and racism. It was mainly religious freedom they wanted and those religions weren't exactly tolerant either. It's sad because it seems as though this would make a difference.
That Christian country line is one I've heard too many times. Yes, a lot of the basis of laws were based on morals found in religion but that doesn't mean that we should have a national church or that the president should be a pastor. I'd love to see a president not run the country on personal beliefs so much as what is objectively better for the country on a secular scale. Not that personal beliefs don't matter, but fuck, I want someone who knows how to negotiate with people of different beliefs.
@stefzizzle: My grandma called me to tell me that she read it and was very concerned that I had voted for a Muslim. I love her, but some days I just do not see the family resemblance.
This post depresses me. Don't get me wrong, I love this feature, but seriously.
The good side is, I think it's safe to assume that most of the readers of this post will have the same reaction as me. Specifically, for us, there's no need to explicitly point out "the why and the wherefore" of all this ignorance--it goes without saying that the comments these people made were ridiculous and shameful. And if it's obvious to all of us, hopefully common sense (and just plain humanism) is spreading to the masses more and more every day.
Viva la revolution!
Ouch. Not much to say about this one -- those points of view would be disturbing pretty much anywhere you found them. These ladies seem to be allergic to information of all sorts...G-d loves idiots too, I s'pose.
It never fails to shock me how idiotic some Christians can be. This nation has a separation of Church and State thanks to Christian on Christian persecution in England (fuck the Christians left England made it here just to persecute the Native Americans!). The founding fathers, not all, recognized that religion is oppressive and should be removed to the private sphere to protect individual rights. And why the hell don't these people know that Franklin was a brilliant hedonist and Jefferson made his own bible containing only Jesus' sayings (no doubt it was very small).
Religion = brainwashing
Oh, and I should have said: Send me your questions! All anonymous rants, suggestions, criticisms, tips, invitations to consider Scientology, 3 AM epiphanies, 100,000-word troll novel manuscripts, pictures of your darling kid who's only 5'2" but has really long legs and doncha think she could model???, and -- especially -- notice of designer sample sales, should be sent to:
Tatiana.Anymodel@gmail.com
Of course, stereotyping Polish accents for cheap laughs is completely kosher.
this is why anyone with a brain in their head needs to get their ass out and VOTE, because these small-town, small-minded people do, everytime.
@nowimpissed: Preach. I can already hear Lee Greenwood wailing, "AND...I'm proud to be an American cuz at least I know I'm free. And I'm proud to go vote for the man who wears a pin for me."
@stefzizzle: I second that. My soon to be SIL sends me at least one...every...fricking...day...do not want.
I wonder if this happened before Richardson endorsed Obama? Does she know her governor sold her out to the Christ-hater? I do love New Mexico (more than Pinkberry!) but some things in my dearly beloved state (yes, you- needlessly conservative people) make me worried.
@myrtlebeachbum:
Well crap. Now you just wrote a song for them and you know we're going to be hearing it all fall long.
Thank the pagen gods that I live in NYC and don't have to deal (at least with the process--still stuck with the result).
lame
@roodles: Well played.
I woulda gotten in a 2 hour screaming match with her. Props on holding your composure.
The flag pin and holding the hand over the heart are stupid, yes. But - just being a devil's advocate here - maybe Obama should do the stupid symbolic stuff? Especially if it will help him get elected. I'd hate to hand everything over to the Republicans again because of a stupid pin.
@dotcomdork:
That's my concern about him. I stopped saying the pledge in high school b/c I thought it was stupid to just repeat this little saying and then you're all done for your patriotism for the day. Don't need to learn about the country or try to improve it or anything. Just stand up, speak, sit and you get to call yourself a good American. However, running for President means compromising on shit that stupid and doesn't mean anything (or even stuff that does--i.e. when was the last time we had an anti-death penalty pres. candidate?) because you have to get 50% of the country to vote for you and there's a significant number of people who actually care about this shit. It's like, why give your opponent something he can use to get people to focus on your pin rather than your ideas?
So what do we learn from this? Models and their mothers are kind of stupid? That sounds about right. (sorry Jezebel models!)
@nowimpissed: Everyone in South Carolina was required to write a McCain campaign theme song before they handed out our state tax refunds.
"Ridin' Dirty (in my Depends)" killed.
Oh this depresses me. I haven't met nearly as many conservative models as Tatiana, but whenever I do encounter one, it throws me for a loop. How could you be in fashion if you are offended by the existence of gay people? Was the 6' dude in heels who taught you how to walk not warning enough? Does not compute.
I like this feature though!
@goodcheapfun: Or that we should all really be Puritans?
Weird that this all sounds familiar sooo familiar. Maybe that's because I heard the same arguments against Obama last night at the in-law weekly family dinner. It was almost verbatim. He's a muslim. Health care. blah blah blah. Do they get a script or something?
I never know how to deal with it. We have asked that politics not be discussed but one of them keeps bringing it up. (husband and I are liberal. brother, mother, and father in law are conservative)
Is it rude to just leave? They are seriously pissing me off but I don't want to be rude, especially not in their house. I really don't know how to deal with it.