‘Top Model’ Casting Goes Smoothly, but Isn’t Free of Tears

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/nyregion/12models.html?_r=1&hp
The article discussed the brutal and almost inhumane separation of the potential supermodels from everyone else. Over 1,000 young women from 18 to 27 tried out to be on the reality television show America's Next Top Model, starring former supermodel Tyra Banks. Out of all who applied, only 13 will become final contestants and appear on the show and only one will become America's Next Top Model.

The audition process seemed gruesome. Many women woke up at 3am to come into NYC and try out for the opportunity of a lifetime. And within seconds, their fate was decided by judges. It only took the judges seconds to make the decision of "YES" or "NO." Can you imagine that? You wake up at 3 in the morning, travel hours to get to your desination, wait on line for a few more hours, amongst a thousand other 5'11" skinny girls and then within ten seconds, you are (most likely) told "no thank you."

I feel like these girls' self esteem is completely shot when they are rejected. Obviously modelling is all about looks. There's no way that a girl who'se rejected thinks to herself, "well, I got cut because my resume wasn't good enough, or I fumbled my words." Those are things you can fix. Those are things you can rehearse, practice and improve upon the next time. But if someone tells you that you're too ugly to model, or you don't have the right look, or you're too short or too fat, then what do you do? There's really nothing you can do... besides plastic surgery that it. And even that only goes so far. When these girls get rejected, they understand, one hundred percent, that it is because of their looks. And that is absolutely heartbreaking because there is nothing they can do to fix that.