More on Barbie toe.


Marisa also gave other modeling tips, like don't touch your boobs, keep your mouth closed, and pose to the side.


But just like Tyra, Marisa doesn't like it—or even realize it?—when girls are taking her direction too literally.

Guess who was the inspiration for the shoot? President Obama. Because they were in Hawai'i, Tyra wanted to do a shoot inspired by "the world's most famous hapa."


This isn't the first time that ANTM has done blackface—or had a confusing, high-concept approach to cultural awareness. For a photoshoot back in Cycle 4, the girls were each assigned a race different from their own that they were supposed to embody for a Got Milk? ad, while also holding a child. Brittany was made to be African-American.


Tatiana was "biracial."


Noelle, who is biracial in real life, was made to be "African".


Naima, who is a mix of several different ethnicities, was made to be Swedish.


And back in Cycle 2, for a shoot in which the girls had to each portray a different famous person, Xiomara was given dark makeup in order to pose as Grace Jones. I remember that she was wearing a thong, and when she got off the wall she was leaning on, she had left two distinct butt marks from her makeup. I'm sad that I can't find a picture of that anywhere.


And just when we're starting to believe all of Tyra's hype that all shapes, sizes and colors are beautiful—and eligible to compete for a useless title on this show—we learn that being short still sucks.

The episode airs tonight, but these pictures reveal that Nicole Fox, seen in the image above, has dark skin, a bone necklace and a West African-looking headwrap.

Nicole is actually a pale-skinned redhead.

Jennifer An, an Asian-American model from Philly, also appears to have had her skin darkened.

This is what Jennifer usually looks like.

This is Erin Wagner, as she appeared early in on the show — she's since received a makeover in which her eyebrows and hair were bleached.

In an image from the Maui shoot, you see she's getting some kind of textured wig, and you can clearly see the brown makeup that's being smeared on her arm.

Erin's shot from Maui is the "bi-racial" version of herself.

Since the recent issue of French Vogue features model Lara Stone in blackface, and Madonna has admitted that she did a blackface shoot, it begs the question: Is blackface somehow trendy?

Guest Contributor Minh-ha wrote on Racialicious that when women have their skin tones changed, it's what Nirmal Puwar describes as "the universal empty point" that white female bodies are able to occupy precisely because their bodies are racially unmarked: "[Thus] they can play with the assigned particularity of ethnicized dress without suffering the ‘violence of revulsion.'"

We'll have to watch tonight to hear what Tyra has to say about the concept, but as a mixed-race person, I'll admit that the pictures are interesting. It seems like it's not just blackface, but an exploration of the mixing of cultures and ethnicities, and imagining the models in different cultures. I suspect it's no coincidence that this shoot took place in Hawai'i — where those with white, Asian, black and South Pacific backgrounds have produced lots of multiracial people — and "other" or "mixed" is 23% of the population (Asian is 42%; white is 24% — a minority). There's even a word for it: hapa.

Growing up mixed, having cousins and Aunts and Uncles with all different skin tones, I've always found an attraction to — and a resonance with — people who look like they are ethnically ambiguous (or ambiguously "ethnic"?) But the problem, of course, is that race is not silver eyeshadow, a bubble skirt or couture gown. It's not something you put on for a photo shoot to seem "edgy." Race is not trendy. The thing is, fashion is a visual language; playing with colors and tones will always be something stylists and photographers gravitate towards. So is this creativity actually insensitivity?

As a black woman working in fashion, Elizabeth Gates wrote for the Daily Beast that she was not surprised by the French Vogue blackface, saying: "I would be fooling myself if I thought the draftsmen behind fashion's most beautiful things were ever going to be sensitive to race, black women, or how they represent our cultural history. In fact, I'm not exactly sure why this was a shock to anyone."

But this ANTM shoot was put together by Tyra Banks: Black model, creator, host, head judge and executive producer of the show. You'd think that she would be sensitive to racial issues. I have to assume her intent was probably to showcase bi-racial beauty. Is this a case in which the action can be forgiven if the motive comes from a good place?

Tyra Transforms The 'America's Next Top Model' Hopefuls [ET]

Earlier: Oh No They Didn't: French Vogue Does Blackface
Fashion Photographer Steven Klein Has Done Blackface Before

As always, Tyra is there to provide confusing advice that she expects the girls to follow, but not completely follow.



Kim Kardashian was the guest judge. Tyra introduced by saying, "She has her own reality show, she is the co-owner of Dash boutiques." Wouldn't it be relevant to talk a little bit more about Kim's "fashion" experience? Hasn't she actually modeled (and not just for Playboy)? Didn't she start out as a celebrity stylist? Isn't she designing a line for Bebe with her sisters? Maybe Tyra doesn't care.



BTW, Erin's eyebrow roots are coming in. It's kind of disturbing.



And now…












And my personal favorite:

Jessica did say that Nicole was her "absolutely favorite," and, aside from the erroneous use of an adverb, I agree. I love that Nicole and Laura have never parked a car before, yet they imply that they've driven. How did they stop driving, if they've never parked?


Laura's "hood rat" accent was equally entertaining and incompetent. (BTW, did you notice that the ad agency is called "Wongdoody"? Is that another name for smegma?)


Of course a woman who is into swords would also be into the word "bitchin'."


Tyra told Brittany that her top was cut too low, and could be considered "pornographic."


Is that why they ended up blurring out her chest, after this comment was made?

First of all, when you have a crazy woman in a wig smiling at you while saying stuff that she believes is brilliant but actually makes absolutely no sense like, "Strong photo, weak film," or "What killed you in a negative way…" you'll feel a little fucked up.

Secondly:

Thirdly:

(It's extra scary when the Jabberwockies make facial expressions by using their hands!)

Also, when a giant, psychedelic snail enters the room, accompanied by a slimy man in 10 tons of makeup, things are not normal.

All of this would give anyone else a bad trip. Nicole is remarkable in that she can take this all in stride and chew her gum.

One last thing: What the fuck is up with Lil Mama's hair?

When I was in third grade I had this friend Nicole whose dad left her mom for another woman. Nicole's mom was our lunch mother and she was probably my first introduction to depression. She would sit in the playground during recess and read Harlequin novels with sexy covers, and had completely abandoned keeping up with her dye job so she had hair exactly like Lil Mama. The sad, divorced mom look is not working for her.

(Click here if you can't see it.)


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(Click here if you can't see it.)


(Click here if you can't see it.)


(Click here if you can't see it.)


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And one of Miss J, for some luck.
(Click here if you can't see it.)

Do you want a tutorial?


How creepy are the creepy twins?


When they show up, if feels like something bad is going to happen.


Like Oompa Loompas.


And they're always together.


It's like they're conjoined. They're like the short, albino version of Lori and Dori/Reba/George.


"My main focus this week is my left eye."


"Yeah, I have this issue with my eye, but I feel really, really good."


And how about when Jay compared Bianca to a tranny, literally?

Did Bianca say "dingo" in her interview? I thought she did, but I only know "dingo" to mean "baby eater." A dingo ate her eyebrows.

So, are you ready for the freak show to begin?

At panel, Tyra said, "This competition is about stretching the size that we have naturally into the size that we don't have. We're fooling the public."

The only one she's fooling is herself if she thinks I didn't notice that she used the same exact voiceover for the two girls who got the same exact "iced out blond" Tyover.

In the photo shoot this week, the girls had to "embody themselves in a childhood photo." Tyra is embodying herself in Cycle 2. When's the last time she bared her midriff?

So, does Bloody Eyeballs have Asperger's? Because from what I know about Asperger's, based solely on ANTM, is that those afflicted are really good at modeling and really bad at relating to other people.

Isn't it great that the height chart also included Tyra's weave? Basically, all the girls needed to fall around knee cap level to be considered for this season, which stinks for those who were closer to her feet and crotch.

How much did you love Amber, the girl who loves Jesus and dances for the homeless on Saturday nights?

When I got a load of her I was like:

It just kept getting better with her. I love how she's "kind of" a virgin. I also love how her feelings for Jesus sound like my last herpes outbreak.

In fact, sometimes when she talks about Jesus, it's almost like she's talking about Tyra, too.

She made the cut.

But then she was conspicuously absent when the girls were supposed to move into their house. Jay Manuel said that Amber was forced to drop out due to "personal issues." Whatever could they be!?

So now that the awesome one is gone, we're left with gimpy…

And bloody eyeball to entertain us.

Are you scared?

Oh, and in case you didn't think this show could get any campier, how Owl and the Pussycat was Tyra's outfit?

ANTM Cycle 13 Sneak Peek [ONTD]

Ashley
Age: 22
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois (currently Brooklyn, New York)
Occupation: Artist
Height: 5'6"
This is the cycle of the "short models," all 5'7 and under.


Bianca
Age: 21
Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina (currently Washington, D.C.)
Occupation: Student
Height: 5'7"
This bald Bianca doesn't come with a medical wig.


Lulu
Age: 19
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Occupation: Student
Height: 5'7"
I bet they try to make this girl look punk and edgy but they wind up doing some fucked up Victor/Victoria shit to her.


Nicole
Age: 18
Hometown: Louisville, Colorado
Occupation: Student
Height: 5'7"
This girl looks like she calls "pot" grass.


Courtney
Age: 22
Hometown: Plantation, Florida (currently Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
Occupation: Cheer Instructor
Height: 5'4"
"Hay, girl, hay" at the mall pose!? Miss J is gonna flog her for that with a whip made of old Tyra hair. (Recycling is green. Social responsibility, y'all.)


Lisa
Age: 19
Hometown: Queens, New York
Occupation: Student
Height: 5'5"
Another "hay, girl, hay"!? Do these girls not watch this show? For all the flip-flopping Tyra and Co. do over things like "tension," short necks, spaced teeth, and eye-smiling, they have always maintained a firm stance of anti-"hay, girl, hay."


Rachel
Age: 18
Hometown: Woodland, California
Occupation: Customer Service
Height: 5'5"
See! This girl gets Tyra's "teaches" that there are subtle—almost minor and barely different—ways to change one's bad pose into something that appears to be proof that Tyra knows what the fuck she's talking about.


Laura
Age: 19
Hometown: Stanford, Kentucky
Occupation: Waitress
Height: 5'6"
At least one of these girls will be told that her hair makes her look short.


Kara
Age: 19
Hometown: Fort Wayne, Indiana (currently Chicago, Illinois)
Occupation: Student
Height: 5'7"
Kelly Bensimon? What?


Erin
Age: 18
Hometown: Kenosha, Wisconsin (currently Spring Grove, Illinois)
Occupation: Student
Height: 5'6"
Actually, I bet all of these girls will be really awesome walkers, since they're short and wear heels all the time. In past cycles, the girls who sucked at walking always said that it was because they never wore heels. Fuck, how awesome is it that a talking point of this show is whether or not the people competing are "good" at walking.


Jennifer
Age: 23
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (currently New York, New York)
Occupation: Model
Height: 5'5"
From first impressions alone (by which I mean, this jpeg), this girl is my favorite. I love that she's in the middle of changing her mind about elbow placement, and that's the best they could grab of her. She's already so rattled about making the right choices!


Brittany
Age: 21
Hometown: Livermore, California (currently Santa Clara, California)
Occupation: Student
Height: 5'5"
"Leaving the bathroom, secretly passing off the baggie" pose is not what this competition is about. It's about role models under 5'7. Got it?


Sundai
Age: 18
Hometown: Bakersfield, California
Occupation: Student
Height: 5'3"
This girl was named after her mother's love of ice cream and affordable foreign cars.


Rae
Age: 21
Hometown: Rochester, Minnesota
Occupation: (?)
Height: 5'6"
For someone who is a professional question mark, she's not being bendy enough.



Meet The Models: ANTM Cycle 13 (The Midget Season) [ONTD]

Lauren Conrad & Kim Kardashian to Join Judges on Top Model [People]

In a rather long (for a supermodel/reality show judge), self-examining essay on HuffPo, Paulina opens up about feeling like a failure, particularly because when people get fired in the entertainment business, it's rarely ever talked about:

Generally, admitting to a weakness in a cutthroat setting is far braver than keeping a stiff upper lip…the consequences are the same as announcing you've twisted your ankle to a bunch of muggers. Hence, all the celebrities that "quit" because they were exhausted, had personal conflicts, and the ol' scheduling problems.

She seems to really be feeling her, um, feelings about this, and she's clearly bothered by it. Unfortunately, unlike Janice Dickinson before her, Paulina doesn't dish on any animosity between herself and Tyra, or get into the details of what exactly went down. However, she does end with something that makes her incredibly likable—she wishes she gave Tyra the bird!

I wouldn't have minded to walk away with an extended middle finger and a victorious "I quit!"

Fired at 44 [HuffPo]

Earlier: Did The Top Model Winner Get Shafted? (McKey's Photos)
You Wanna Be On Top (Whitney's Photos)
ANTM Winner Saleisha's Seventeen Cover And Spread

Allison On My Couch [FourFour]