Thursday, August 25, 2005

Hot or Not: America's Next Top Model Contestant

(Link) Yes, grrls, Kim's an out lesbian, her fave food is Big Macs and she's adorably cute. "It's hard to be a poster child for lesbians, but someone has to do it."
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LNewsEditor said...

JIC Post:
By Sarah Warn, AfterEllen

UPN has unveiled the identities of the contestants competing for a modeling contract in the fifth season (or "cycle," as UPN calls it) of its popular reality show America's Next Top Model, debuting September 21. Among the the aspiring models is out lesbian Kim, a a 21-year-old, 5'8" New Yorker whose favorite TV show is Beverly Hills 90210, and favorite food is a Big Mac.

This isn't ANTM's first openly gay contestant: the first season included out African American contestant Ebony, and last season included openly bisexual wrestler Michelle. But Kim thinks there's plenty of room for more, since working lesbian models are not exactly commonplace, with only a handful of names--like Amanda Moore, Gia, and Jenny Shimizu--coming to mind.

"[Out] lesbians are really underrepresented in the modeling world," Kim told Tyra and company when asked during the audition process (shown in a video on the show's official website) why she wanted to be a model, adding "I think I can be a good role model for other girls in this situation."

But, Kim continued, she understands that modeling is a business, and if she was working for a designer who wanted her to be less overt about her sexual orientation, "I understand that I don't need to bring my personal life to the table everywhere I go."

A recent graduate of Wesleyan University who finished her 180-page thesis on U.S. interventions and how that applies to Iraq just prior to auditioning for the reality series, believes her intelligence gives her an edge. "I think my intelligence will push me farther past the other models," she said in the audition process. "Not only will I be able to stand there and look pretty with them, but I'm going to be able to handle myself, I'm going to be able to see into what they want to do, and use that for competition."

In a rundown on the new season of Top Model in the current edition of Entertainment Weekly, Kim expands on this further. "I sit back and listen and see right through these girls, and I'm smart enough to be subtle. I'm more highly educated than the other girls, and I plan to use that as an intimidation factor."

So far, however, subtle seems to be the one thing Kim is not. From the lesbian-chic shirt and tie she wears in her official photo for the show, to repeated comments about her intelligence, to her statement to Entertainment Weekly that "It's hard to be a poster child for lesbians, but someone has to do it," it's hard not to find Kim a little, well, arrogant, at least on the surface.

But that's likely to be just the kind of attitude she'll need to beat out the 12 other contestants, most of whom are equally determined to win.

Will Kim become America's Next Top Lesbian Model? Tune into the show's 2-hour premiere on September 21 to find out.

[Editor's Note: Kim's interview video is at http://www.upn.com/shows/top_model5/models/kim.shtml# if you want to check her out.]

8/25/2005 10:14 AM

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