Urban legend says that some of the fashion models wearing female finery on the catwalks of the fashion world are actually males. It makes sense. Fashion models are supposed to be tall, leggy, thin, and have no figure to speak of just like many males (and few females), so why not use males?
Trying to determine which female fashion models, if any, are actually male has been a futile endeavor. The fashion houses don't want their customers to know that males are modeling their gowns and dresses and the models don't want the public to know the truth either.
In my quest to find the truth, I recently came across the following give and take on Yahoo! Answers.
Richard Lynch asked, "Im (sic) a crossdresser and want to become a model. Are there any places which would consider taking a crossdressing guy, like myself, and helping them with a modelling career?"
ScubaDude answered, "Actually, yes there is. The problem is you need to live in Italy though. I understand that over 50% of those extreme high fashion Italian models are actually men. There are even some designers who will ONLY hire transgendered men to show their clothing because of their height, angular facial bones, higher foreheads and longer arms and legs."
I don't know how true this is, but it is one of the few leads I have been able to find.
The photos above and below are a random selection of models appearing in recent fashion shows in Milan, Italy. If the story is true, chances are that two of these models are male!
Somew of them are males who have been turned into females with female hormones, facial feminizing surgery, etc.. And not just in Italy. And it is much less than 50% of them.
ReplyDeleteterri(sp?)toye was a transsexual high fashion model in the 70's. catwalks, some print ads...tho' not much can u find on her
ReplyDeleteI Googled Terri Toye and found a bunch of links for Teri Toye, including this one.
ReplyDeletei think they are all fabolous!!! and i want to be just like them! some of us can do it better then the real women...not hating! im just saying...we know what we want an ideal women to look like in our eyes...and the image must be flawless...so if we can femulate and teach...whats wrong with that.
ReplyDeletePosha Towers
This Post is a little silly to me, I am a transsexual woman who works in the fashion industry, specifically with casting and styling of the models. There are rare exceptions to Transsexual fashion model, most of the women you see on the Cat Walks are really tall teenage girls. This is the reason for the very boyish bodies and angular faces. The fashion industry seeks these girls out because the angles of face catch light better than a round one. Believe me I would be the first to jump for joy if 50% of Runway models are in fact actually are men. But the truth of the matter is they are just simply 13, 14, 15, 16 year old children who happen to be abnormally tall. Why do you think that a Model is considered old in her mid 20s.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous --- You say "there are rare exceptions," so we can never be 100% sure.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should bring up this topic Staci. I've noticed recently that transgendered girls are all over Model Mayhem. The following models I either know for a fact or strongly suspect are transgendered:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.modelmayhem.com/710755
http://www.modelmayhem.com/1542634
http://www.modelmayhem.com/1384416
http://www.modelmayhem.com/1035860
http://www.modelmayhem.com/621527
http://www.modelmayhem.com/1040322
http://www.modelmayhem.com/1402495
What's even more interesting is that some admit they are male up front. Wow! A few short years ago this would have been unthinkable!
http://www.modelmayhem.com/1383013
http://www.modelmayhem.com/1521184
http://www.modelmayhem.com/1795441
http://www.modelmayhem.com/1724071
http://www.modelmayhem.com/1452077
http://www.modelmayhem.com/1557529
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. All these girls are classy, elegant, and beautiful. Again, it just serves to show how far things have come. BTW, I would ask that the readers not harass or otherwise 'out' the first group of girls in stealth. I would hate for this post to cause these beautiful ladies any problems.
An Admirer :o)
hey staci lana,
ReplyDeletethese are very interesting links, some you can't even tell *g*
i can't believe this is a guy?? :o
http://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/1795441/viewall
Wow..! So many AMAZING but opinionated posts.
ReplyDeleteBut where are the statistics and facts to back the claims that "most" models are pubescent?
Truth is most adult models aren't.
Another truth is that a per centage of the world's top mannequin-models are in their 30s and 40s, some even in their 50s. A couple more than this.
And that's just the women who are 100% bio female.
As for "Italy" being the only place in the world for an aspiring male or transsexual male to learn the ropes, join a reputable agency, the stats show otherwise.
Mainstream media pages and airwaves have openly published about Australia's open minded fashion industry - a well established home grown market that serves a large measure of fun with every showing.
And that's what fashion really should be doing. Not the precious priesthood of Paris for ever more.
Australia's newest lad lady is Andrej Pejic. He's with Chadwick Models in Melbourne
Google himher.
The USA's Oprah Winfrey has featured Lea T, Brazilian by name, Brazilian by nature and now working Stateside.
Again. SImply Google himher. Or pick up a copy of the British fashion bible "Love Magazine" with Lea T and Kate Moss kissing on the cover.
But, hey, it's 2011. We're a free society. What’s with all this primary school sniggering? Even the late Benny Hill would have been in his element. And there’s evidence he used shemale performers on his show way back – was it the 60s? – and nobody who knew really cared.
Take a closer look if you can get that close next time you see a wild west outback whipcracking circus act up in Baz Luhrman-Nicole Kidman’s ‘Australia’ featured Kimberley region of rugged West Australia.
The cute long-legged, curvaceous girl-next-door cowgirl in the fringed mini who braves whipmaster Bruce’s bullwhip in the dazzling circus act is in truth a male.
A “pretty” male admittedly,, the sort of man so many women find attractive no matter how much they might protest PC fashion that they prefer their men in “he-man chunks”.
Mind you, the same women seem to feel they must pretend they prefer men who are bald to remain bald and “proud”, but they’ll abandon a bald man for a hairy-headed one every time, even a transplant or top class bewigged.
It’s all the PC “I don’t like/understand it” speak. Again.
So look, forget the politically correct mantras. There’s no way they can give you satisfaction. And if boys will be girls and girls will be boys in the film and fashion worlds, where's the harm?
There isn't any.
More to the point, it's a lot of fun.
Another thing, as you'll note with Andre, although tall and slim heshe's certainly not "snake hipped". Take that catwalk photograph of herhim wearing the classic wedding gown for example.
The guy's sexy curvy.
But not in a flab way. And could it be a matter of flab malaise fear, real or imminent obesity that precipitates some of the “shock horror” response from men and women who don’t often if ever have a genuine interest in the rag trade…?
Surely there’s merit in being slender and healthy than indulgently overweight and heading toward arteries and heart challenging obesity…?
Not the best time for the assertive women of our Defence and police forces to insist on going about wearing trousers that make mockery of lard enlarged comic backsides.
But comparisons are odious.
Are not the shemale models their own people, as the saying goes…? They’re neither proselytising nor being didactic. Nor are they pushing a narrow barrow of prejudice. Possibly because they're NOT drag queens who arguably mimic the female form to grotesque exaggeration. The stereotypical drag queen can display disturbing dislike of women.
Not so Andrej and Lea T. They genuinely like women. Women like them..
Now, if only Simone de Beauvoir were here to make valid comment.
-
openly transsexual model
ReplyDeletehttp://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/1616811/viewall
I'm shocked that no one has mentioned the large negative impact on women's body image, esp. girls. Do the logic: Magazines define what "beauty" is, but this definition is highly specialized and unrealistic - very few real women in the world look like this. Therefore, a girl or woman can conclude (explicitly or subconsciously) that they are flawed and ugly. This doesn't make for a healthful culture. If your post focused on that, then you'd have something very solid to contribute!
ReplyDeleteKing Ycrad Caling
ReplyDeleteI want to be those models,but the question is how can anybody tell me? thank you;>
i want to be those model,can anyone help me to be those model..thank you
ReplyDelete