all girls wanted to be models at one point

[kimmy]

one of my coworkers' daughters wants to start modelling and today the girl that waxes my brows said "do you work as a model yet? you need to, sometimes i think you can be the next kate moss so i like to do your eyebrows!" (she probably just wanted a heafty tip...which she got haah

)

but anyway i was thinking about an addage (i suppose?) i've always heard that all girls want to grow up to be models at some point in their childhood. do you think there's any truth to that?

 

[hello_kitty]

I would venture to say that most females desire to be looked at and admired and thought to be beautiful, so I guess that plays into a lot of people wanting to be models. Just some weird natural instinct maybe?

As a child I didn't want to be a model really (I was a serious gymnast, I wanted to be an Olympian, heh). But I did model when I was around age 23. Not fashion, I did a lot of car shows and promotional stuff. It was fun, but a lot of hard work and honestly, most of the BS isn't worth dealing with, at least with the type of modeling I did. Now I'm a photographer that works with models... go figure.

 

[kimmy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hello_kitty As a child I didn't want to be a model really (I was a serious gymnast, I wanted to be an Olympian, heh).

when i was a kid, meee too! i went to gymnastics class almost daily when i was young. swore i'd win a gold medal someday, my sister and i made fake medals out of cardboard from old cheerios boxes and always tried to steal/"win" them from each other.

 

[kabuki_KILLER]

I know that a lot of girls definitely want to be models and never give up on that dream, even into their mid 20s and 30s. Some go to destructive lengths. Everyone wants to be the most beautiful and for most girls, it seems to be their ideal of beauty. It's not for everyone, but many girls see it that way.

One friend of mine graduated Stanford for pre-med, but she didn't want to be a doctor. She's in Optometry school now, but she hasn't stopped doing TFPs and car shows. She tries her hardest, but she is always turned away because her "asian legs" are too short and she doesn't photograph well (at least what she is told by photographers). She became so obsessed with modeling that she sometimes would not do what she was supposed to as a student, but I guess that's the modeling passion in her.

Another friend of mine, also asian and with a PhD in biology, usually starves herself and binges because she thinks she's not thin enough. She once was so thin and malnurished that she passed out and was losing her teeth/hair. She still feels she's not good enough because commercial brands do not want her and say she's too "high fashion" and high fashion designers don't want her because she's not tall enough (and too old). Fashion is brutal.

I think there is an outlet of modeling for everyone, but the glove that fits may not be the one you're eyeing. ^^ As long as you keep a REALLY open mind, if you photograph well, I'm sure most girls can find photographers that want to shoot them.

 

[hello_kitty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimmy when i was a kid, meee too! i went to gymnastics class almost daily when i was young. swore i'd win a gold medal someday, my sister and i made fake medals out of cardboard from old cheerios boxes and always tried to steal/"win" them from each other.

Hahah! Sounds just like me!

I'm 5'8", so I don't know what I was really thinking when it came to gymnastics, LOL. But I did gymnastics until I was 16. Now my body is paying for it at 26. But I don't regret it... I was so fit and strong as a kid, and always active. That's something to be proud of in a world of TV and video games I think!

Quote:

Originally Posted by kabuki_KILLER I think there is an outlet of modeling for everyone, but the glove that fits may not be the one you're eyeing. ^^ As long as you keep a REALLY open mind, if you photograph well, I'm sure most girls can find photographers that want to shoot them.

I agree... but a person also needs to stay smart and know when enough is enough. In the world of the internet and digital cameras being affordable to anyone, there's a lot of creepy assholes out there looking to take advantage of people. And plenty of girls lining up, thinking it'll be their big break. I've seen a lot of girls go "oh I would never do that" to all of a sudden posing nude for some 20 year old guy found on some modeling social networking site with a 6 megapixel point and shoot because they think it'll lead to the runways of Milan...

 

[kabuki_KILLER]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hello_kitty I agree... but a person also needs to stay smart and know when enough is enough. In the world of the internet and digital cameras being affordable to anyone, there's a lot of creepy assholes out there looking to take advantage of people. And plenty of girls lining up, thinking it'll be their big break. I've seen a lot of girls go "oh I would never do that" to all of a sudden posing nude for some 20 year old guy found on some modeling social networking site with a 6 megapixel point and shoot because they think it'll lead to the runways of Milan...

Yeah the amateur modeling world is full of creeps.

People don't seem to realize that modeling is a business, not a fun activity. Sometimes high fashion doesn't use some people because they don't "sell" for the crowd they're aiming at. Only the areas where someone's look will sell can they model for it and expect to be paid. If you think of it solely in those terms, it really isn't all that fun, no? X___X

 

[Goat Goat Etc.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hello_kitty I agree... but a person also needs to stay smart and know when enough is enough. In the world of the internet and digital cameras being affordable to anyone, there's a lot of creepy assholes out there looking to take advantage of people. And plenty of girls lining up, thinking it'll be their big break. I've seen a lot of girls go "oh I would never do that" to all of a sudden posing nude for some 20 year old guy found on some modeling social networking site with a 6 megapixel point and shoot because they think it'll lead to the runways of Milan...

And they were naive enough to pay hundreds to thousands of dollars to do it to those same potential rapists and murders, exploiters.

I can't believe people sometimes.

 

[Goat Goat Etc.]

I think if it weren't for my weight and stretchmarks, maybe. People tell me I should model. But I'd hate the constant rejection from jobs because I wouldn't have the "right" look--be it blue-black skin or clear skin or eyes, legs, hips, thighs, etc. Plus there's a hell of a lot to sacrifice (education, back up life plans, money and time, trusting someone loves you for you-not for fame or advantage) and a lot to come to terms with (age, marketability, future, health, self esteem, etc).

Edit: Also with that particular industry, from watching America's Next Top Model and other things, it feels like people are just going into it to bolster their self-esteem. Like "I'll show you small country town/or inner city people!" or "people who said I was thin and ugly."

I mean what does it take? Exercise, keep your skin clear, and learn to contort your body for a shot and then retire before 27.

I'd actually rather work around modeling, not be in it. Because the jobs around modeling seem more meaningful, promising, and long lasting in the fashion industry. Don't get me wrong, a human to put your work into and onto is necessary but the other jobs "make" the model what they're worth. Like an agent, stylist, image consult, and name change are determinants things to an actor/music artist.

 

[LMD84]

well when i was a kid i can honestly say i never wanted to be a model at all! i enjoyed singing and acting so wanted to work in theatre...which is guess is still kinda the same - being watched and admired by people. but when i went to uni i just kinda stopped doing that kind of thing

sad really

 

[InspiredBlue]

I sort of grew up pretty close to the fashion world, so yeah, I have toyed with the fantasy. I have also done runway when I was about 4 years old.

 

[Shadowy Lady]

i did want to model when I was younger and in fact I did some brief modeling gigs. I never wanted it to be my career though, just something on the side.

I think modeling as a career would bore the hell outta me. I enjoy using my brain every single second at my current work and am not sure that would happen in modeling (not in my experience)

 

[Lauren1981]

i never wanted to be a model. i agree with what someone said earlier about how most girls at some point want to be looked at and desired but a model? no. when i was in elementary and middle school i just wanted to be prettier than everyone with all the boys liking me lolol!!

 

[Boasorte]

Nope, I wanted to be the next Kristi Yamagoochi , I still do! I love to ice skate, I also wanted to be a Playmate -_- smh!

 

[abbyquack]

Yes, I wanted to model! I dreamt about it for a couple years in high school- I was skinny and had a cute face, so I thought it was possible. But now I'm 24, and 20 lbs heavier!!

So that dream has long since faded, and I'm okay with it. One of my mom's friends was once a Ford model- a longggg time ago, like in the 70s. She even lived with the Ford lady, etc. But she had bulimia when she was a model and it destroyed her insides so badly that even today (she is now probably 60), she can't eat normal foods, or else she can't get through the night, because she'll be so sick.

So I don't think the pressure of being thin would be worth the fame or money for me.

 

[sparklemint]

I've daydreamed about being discovered and becoming a model the same way I've daydreamed about being a actress. It's fun but it's far from reality . From what I know, being a model can be pretty brutal even if you're able to be a high fashion model. I understand that skinny and tall shows off clothes best in the runway, but when being a little over size 0 means you're getting "fat" then something's wrong.

 

[Meisje]

Never. I used to dream about being a fashion designer, though.

 

[miss rochelle]

i have never wanted to be a model. when i was really young, i wanted to be an astronaut. i was a really nerdy child and had a fascination with space. my favorite movie when i was 10 was "Apollo 13"... LOL. when i hit my pre-teen stages, i wanted to be a famous rockstar. but yeah, never a model!

 

[Twinkle_Twinkle]

Never wanted to be a model. Never even thought about it. I did at one point have unrealistic day dreams of wanting to be in Broadway musicals in middle/early high school. LOL.

 

[chocolategoddes]

As a young child, I never desired to model. It was only when I was maybe 14-15.
It's understandable that a LOT of girls want to model. It's like being paid to play dress up. They only focus on the glamorous side of modeling when there's definitely a dark side.
Sure, modeling would be something fun to try but I've personally decided not to pursue it. It doesn't appeal to me any more.

 

[lara]

I didn't want to be a model, but I did want to be a female Mick Jagger from the age of about 6 through to, well, now

I wasn't raised in a particularly girly house though, so the whole 'I want to be a pretty model' thing was probably very foreign to me at the time.