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.
