I often wonder why anyone would want to become a model anymore.
You only have to watch one cycle of Next Top Model to see how a faux pas like not wanting to be in a tank full of snakes can send girls teetering on the brink spiralling down a black hole of self-loathing.
We often hear about the extreme measures models inflict on themselves to stay thin (and to continue to get work) like eating tissues or existing on just one piece of sushi a day or the more traditional black coffee and cigarettes and gruelling twice daily workouts regime, and there are continued reports that the highest paid fashion photographer is an alleged sex offender.
And now cutting off all your hair, strapping your boobs down and dressing like a man in order to get work over the age of 25 is a legitimate career move.
In a piece for the New York Post, 31-year-old model Elliot Sailors details how she decided to reinvent herself as a male model.
“I’m starting over to have a longer career,” Sailors told The Post. “Men don’t need to look as young as possible, so I have a lot of time.”
Sailors came up with the idea not from successful androgynous models like Andrej Pejic or Casey Legler already working in the industry but from an epiphany she had while attending a Landmark self-help seminar.
“[I] got connected to what I wanted to create: an opportunity to design not just my career, but my life.”
Taking advantage of her “strong jaw, wide forehead, huge eyebrows” that frustrated her early in her career, Sailors (after much consideration) went to the barber’s shop and asked for a buzz cut.
For the record Sailors is married, and her husband is supportive about her change.
“He said he knew people would see me differently once I did it, but he didn’t realise how much people would see him differently,” Sailors said, explaining that think that many think they’re a gay couple.
Sailors dresses like a man on most days because it’s easier than wearing make up or heels. When she shows up for a casting call now, she shows up in flannel, jeans, boots and a biker jacket.
Fashion has long celebrated androgyny but it’ll be interesting to see if this gender-bending will make it easier for transgender models and other diverse groups, like plus-size and models of different ethnicity, to gain work.
Top Comments
WOW she is stunning either way! It was mind bending at first, but when I looked at the instagram piccies, I saw how great her bone structure does look as a male model, as much as it does as a female. Good for her!
My first thought - why didn't she donate her hair to the the organization that makes wigs for cancer patients (if she had, they would have made a pony tail first and kept it all "neat").
Did you buy a sandwich for a homeless person when you bought your lunch today? Do you donate your hair every time you get a cut?
Lots of people have significant hair cuts and don't immediately think to donate it to charity. She's just a person, not a PR company or an angel.
Sure, doing charity and thinking of others is a beautiful thing, but I don't think it's fair to criticise (by implication or directly) someone for not making a charitable gesture every time they do anything.
I think if you chop off a significant portion of hair, the default should be donate to charity.
I only get lil buzz cuts but if my hair is useful, use it! Don't waste it.
I agree and there are some great charities like http://www.beautifullengths...
They can be picky about wanting it undyed, and by the looks of things hers was bleached so maybe they didnt want it!
Or she simply didnt think of it, some people are more charity minded than others!