Are all models stupid?
July 12th 2009 07:55
Watching Zoolander last night, it struck me just how many people really do believe models are amongst the most stupid people on the planet. Now, stereotypes aren’t a new thing. In fact, there are stereotypes associated with most groups of people whether it be related to race, profession or hair colour. Librarians are apparently all kinky nymphos, the French are the rudest people on earth and models aren’t the brightest – it’s like we just have to classify people, and more often than not, it’s not exactly complimentary. As a friend of my sister’s once said “Stereotypes aren’t created in a vacuum” but does that mean that models have made their own name for themselves over time, or does it mean that most of us are just jealous of their near physical perfection and have to convince ourselves they’re all brain dead morons so we feel better?
There are of course exceptions to the stupid model rule that make it obvious some of them are more than pretty faces. Ladies like Megan Gale and Giselle are savvy business women and seeing them speak publicly proves they have something going on upstairs. But then there are the other models, the ones who shouldn’t be allowed to speak in public, and it would seem that they are sadly the majority.
There are very embarrassing, very public examples of this – who can forget Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Mendoza’s comments about Guantanamo Bay earlier this year? Possibly just a sign of incredibly poor (or zero) media training, but I like to think the more clever amongst us would refrain from saying Guantama was just soooo peaceful without being instructed. Of course we’ve all been caught out saying stupid things, and unless it’s directly from someone’s own mouth, or in the case of Miss Universe her blog, you can’t be entirely sure they even said it – like Naomi Campbell’s infamous line about seeing her modelling as doing something for black people generally. Hmm. I think I get what she meant, but eloquence people! Eloquence! It’s not just a pretty word.
A couple of the more classic examples of model brainlessness have been supplied to me by my best friend, who not so long ago worked for a couple of years on a relatively notable fashion festival. Although the involved models weren’t all full time professionals, nor were they particularly famous, their faux pas makes it relatively easy to transfer the notion of stupid across the masses. He still cannot tell the stories without laughing, and his inkling that perhaps models are amongst the most stupid people on the planet was confirmed for him when he witnessed a whole room of them unable to leave because none of them could find the handle on the concertina doors. His role play of a sea of them patting their hands all over what everyone else could clearly see was a folding door never ceases to make him, and whoever he is telling, fall about in fits of laughter. His second confirmation came when one of the models got lost in the hall where one of the major parades was being held. In trying to help her find her way to where she needed to be, my friend asked her whereabouts in the building. Her response? “A corridor.”
He needs no more proof.
There are of course exceptions to the stupid model rule that make it obvious some of them are more than pretty faces. Ladies like Megan Gale and Giselle are savvy business women and seeing them speak publicly proves they have something going on upstairs. But then there are the other models, the ones who shouldn’t be allowed to speak in public, and it would seem that they are sadly the majority.
There are very embarrassing, very public examples of this – who can forget Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Mendoza’s comments about Guantanamo Bay earlier this year? Possibly just a sign of incredibly poor (or zero) media training, but I like to think the more clever amongst us would refrain from saying Guantama was just soooo peaceful without being instructed. Of course we’ve all been caught out saying stupid things, and unless it’s directly from someone’s own mouth, or in the case of Miss Universe her blog, you can’t be entirely sure they even said it – like Naomi Campbell’s infamous line about seeing her modelling as doing something for black people generally. Hmm. I think I get what she meant, but eloquence people! Eloquence! It’s not just a pretty word.
A couple of the more classic examples of model brainlessness have been supplied to me by my best friend, who not so long ago worked for a couple of years on a relatively notable fashion festival. Although the involved models weren’t all full time professionals, nor were they particularly famous, their faux pas makes it relatively easy to transfer the notion of stupid across the masses. He still cannot tell the stories without laughing, and his inkling that perhaps models are amongst the most stupid people on the planet was confirmed for him when he witnessed a whole room of them unable to leave because none of them could find the handle on the concertina doors. His role play of a sea of them patting their hands all over what everyone else could clearly see was a folding door never ceases to make him, and whoever he is telling, fall about in fits of laughter. His second confirmation came when one of the models got lost in the hall where one of the major parades was being held. In trying to help her find her way to where she needed to be, my friend asked her whereabouts in the building. Her response? “A corridor.”
He needs no more proof.
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Comment by Journeywoman
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Fashion Peach
I know smart models, I know dumb models, I know smart fuglies, I know dumb fuglies. It's just luck of the draw.
Good article, as always JEz!