While reading one of my favorite magazines, I came across a shout out from the editor to one of the female models. They were praising her for sitting in a plastic pool of ice cold, ocean water for the entire beach shoot. I was at first confused, why would a model have to freeze in a kiddie pool just to get a couple of photos? It got me thinking back to an interview with Heidi Klum I had read where she was commenting on how freaked out she was to be modeling with a wild python. I had to actually read that line a second time-A WILD PYTHON? Heidi reassured the audience by stating that there were snake experts on the scene, however they had to finish the shoot quickly before the snake started to constrict her. Klum also mentioned a time when she was posing on top of a baby elephant in nothing but a bikini and how the elephant’s hair was so thick and coarse that it irritated her skin.
Should models be put through this kind of routine when they are modeling clothes? It’s understandable that not all models are risking their lives’ like Heidi when they are working, but many probably have to suffer through shoots that make them feel uncomfortable-like the girl lying in frigid ocean water. It makes me wonder what else models are exposed to, and whether or not they should have to endure such treatment. I want to know that the women on the cover of a magazine or featured in an ad are proud to be there, and feel beautiful about themselves. Humiliating them, or requiring them to pose in uncomfortable or risky positions for the sake of selling a swimsuit should not be “just part of the job”. Models already suffer from the stereotype that they are objects and to depict them as props is even more degrading. I guess one could make the argument that these adventurous stunts are the type of work models love best, since it gives them the chance to display certain skills and prove that they can do more than simply strut down a runway. If this is the type of job most models look forward to in their career, all the more power to them. All I can say is that there is no way I’d feel sexy with a snake wrapped around my naked body. I’d feel more like snake lunch!