I never cared about modeling. As a model, you’re powerless. —Karen Gillan
If you’re looking to make a career out of modeling and don’t already have a fat bank account, you might want to think again.
Back in 2005, when I first considered moving to Indianapolis from Atlanta, I naturally wanted to make sure that I would be able to have sufficient income. I did a little digging and was able to make contact with four different modeling agencies here. Three were delightfully quick to say yes, they would be happy to utilize my services. The fourth, Helen Wells, wouldn’t commit but at least was open to discussion. I had similar phone calls with ad agencies with similar results. So, I put the majority of my belongings in a storage unit (which would later flood), packed the rest in the back of a rental car, and headed North feeling somewhat optimistic about the future.
Within two weeks I knew I was wrong in my assessment. One modeling agency packed up and moved the very next day after I met with them, taking all the models’ earnings with them. Another told me how much they paid for a model’s comp card session, but they only had one model due to a disagreement over pay. They were gone within 30 days of that conversation. The third was more difficult to pin down, never quite having time to schedule a meeting and when we did was suspiciously non-committal. By the end of the summer, a lawsuit had been brought against the agency for withholding models’ pay. The models won the suit, but the agency owner fled the state without paying anyone.
I don’t know how many times  I’ve talked with aspiring models who just wanted to make a little extra money while in college. Modeling sounds like it would be an easy source of cash for anyone who is reasonably attractive. The common perspective is that all one has to do is show up. Someone does your hair and makeup, someone else provides your wardrobe, then you just stand in front of a camera and pose for a few minutes. Boom, instant easy cash. But that’s not the way modeling works at all. Not even close.
Modeling has always had its shell games and money rackets going all the way back to the 1940s when professional modeling began. The industry runs loose with absolutely no one overseeing it in any way. Some states have laws concerning how long models can work if they’re under 18, and a few European countries have some form of law designed to protect against eating disorders, but for the most part, modeling agencies do whatever they damn well please and models almost always end up feeling more like victims.
CNN Money recently started airing a five-part investigative series called Runway Injustice, taking a detailed look at the dark and dirty side of modeling. Only two parts have been released so far, but it is obvious from the title that the cable news outlet isn’t taking a positive view of the modeling industry. They’re looking at the con games, the slow-to-pay problem, and how many agencies make money charging models for expenses. One former model even goes on record as saying her agency charged her for the flowers they sent her on her birthday.
When one watches a fashion show and sees all the long-legged girls parading past in next season’s fashion, one might get the impression that these models are doing quite well for themselves, but the truth is quite different. While designers might pay the Hadid or Jenner offspring outrageous (and unjustified) amounts for showing up, most labels still pay less than $5,000 per model. I know, that still sounds like a lot, but from that travel, hotel, and food expenses are deducted, on top of the agency’s standard 20% commission and administrative fees. Many models walk away, after months of waiting, with less than $500. Some end up actually owing the agency money. Even Cara Delevigne, who has been at the very top of the game, doesn’t have anything nice to say about the industry and how it treats models.
Increasingly, the value of an agency, or “management company” as many like IMG prefer to be called now, is being called into question. More casting agents are looking at sources such as Instagram and other social media outlets, choosing models with exceptionally high numbers of followers, which virtually guarantees success for whatever ad campaign or runway show in which the model appears. Unrepresented, or independent, these models have difficulty keeping the work flowing. Most end up signing with an agency and find themselves right back in the same traps that more traditional models experience.
All this begs the question that, if modeling is such a horrible career, why would young people want to even consider doing such a thing? The answer is that not everything about modeling is horrible. For many, just the fun of being in front of the camera, getting to play dress-up with the wardrobe, the opportunity to travel (even if it’s on their own dime), and sometimes meeting really cool and famous people is sufficient. Some use modeling as a way to explore their alter ego, being in front of the camera what they cannot be in their private lives. Others use modeling as a means of escape from other horrible conditions. Â For many, just the chance that they might become part of the .05% who actually make a fantastic living is enough to risk everything.
I’m sure that, at the end of the CNN investigation, there will be someone advocating greater oversight of the industry and legislation to protect models from various forms of abuse and deceit. Don’t expect anything to actually happen, though. We’ve heard all these complaints before. Nothing I’ve seen in the CNN report so far is new or different from what I’ve seen and heard for 30 years. The sad fact is models are not an organized group, therefore they are not able to present a single or unified voice. They don’t have, and can’t afford, lobbyist speaking to legislators on their behalf. No one sticks up for them and, once the spotlight of the CNN story fades, everything will almost certainly continue on the way it has.
Modeling is fun, sometimes, but there are a lot of other times when it just plain sucks. If someone wants to do it for the fun and adventure, great. Go for it. Have fun every step of the way. Don’t expect to get rich, though, and watch your back at every turn. While being a model can present some incredible experiences, it’s not likely to leave you swimming in cash. In fact, you’ll be needing your own gas money. Always.
Good luck.
Flagrant Foul
Mistakes are inevitable but intentional harm is inexcusable
The Short Version
Flagrant fouls are part of college basketball and a game can turn on a last-minute call. Sometimes it’s good strategy but it comes with risks. Acts of terrorism, political malfeasance, and the whims of the universe can also come with flagrant fouls of their own. Perhaps, like basketball, we should get a free throw when those happen. Something good to counter the bad.
More To The Story
[dropcap]One of the things that make the month of March endurable is the NCAA basketball tournament. I like basketball up through the college level. The players work hard, develop their skills, and learn to work as a team. Anything can happen on any given night during this tournament. South Carolina can take down a perennial powerhouse like Duke. Wisconsin can eliminate top-seeded Villanova. The excitement is palpable.[/dropcap]
Games can turn around, though, when someone does something questionable and intentionally fouls a player from the opposite team. Strategically, this can be a smart move at the end of a very close game. Intentionally fouling a weak player puts them on the free throw line instead of allowing them to pass the ball to a strong player who might make a three-point shot. Putting a weak player on the line holds the possibility of getting the ball back without giving up any points. Depending on the team and the player fouled, the strategy can give an edge to a team that’s only losing by one point.
A flagrant foul at the wrong time, however, can kill a victory. We saw that happen a couple of times last week in close games. A flagrant foul call against a Seton Hall player in their match against Arkansas almost certainly cost them the game. There has been a lot of debate, especially by Seton Hall fans, over whether the call was justified. Did young Desi Rodriguez really intend to commit the foul or did momentum make the contact inevitable? Referees at the game said the action violated the rules against pushing from behind (NCAA men’s basketball Rule 4; Section 15; Article 2.c.2). The action caused Arkansas’ Jaylen Barford to fall forward, losing his balance. Fortunately, Mr. Barford was not hurt, but the potential was certainly there.
Flagrant fouls in sports are part of the game. We expect them at certain points and there are times it can be a good strategy despite being a clear violation of the rules. However, we too frequently see the same strategy of flagrant fouling outside of basketball and when that occurs, the results are not nearly so entertaining and someone almost always gets hurt.
Terrorism would be a good example. What happened yesterday (22 March) in London was unquestionably a flagrant foul. One person’s deliberate and planned actions cost the lives of five people and injured some 20 others. Â The act was not only an offense to the people of London and the UK, but to the entire world. Civilized society does not tolerate the deliberate targeting of innocent people. Foul. Take the responsible persons out of the game.
Flagrant fouls happen in politics all the time. Again, there are times when a deliberate breaking of the rules can be a good strategy, such as when Congressman John Lewis led a sit-in on the floor of the House of Representatives last Spring. He brought attention to a critical issue that Congress was attempting to ignore. At other times, however, such actions can be devastating for justice, the rule of law, and the American people.
One of the most recent examples would be Rep. Devin Nunes assertions late yesterday that communications between the president-elect and his staff might have been “inadvertently” caught up in intelligence officials’ monitoring of other targets. Such a statement from the chair of the house intelligence committee was a foul in a couple of different ways. First, the chair was speaking to the press about information the full intelligence committee had not yet seen or discussed, a clear violation of House rules. Second, there is every possibility that the information the Congressman gave to the press was, in part, classified. A direct violation of law.
Who loses in a situation such as this? Justice. The American people. The statements by the Congressman undermine TWO ongoing Congressional investigation, one of which has severe implications regarding the interference of Russians in the US elections last fall. Such deliberate and calculated carelessness underscores the need for an independent, non-partisan investigation into both matters. Congressman Nunes needs to be removed from the intelligence game for such a flagrant foul.
Another flagrant foul would be the threats the administration and Congressional leadership have put on Members of Congress to pass the health care law scheduled for a vote today. GOP leaders and the president have been heavy-handed in their threats to members who have voiced opposition to the bill. The implication of those threats is that the party and/or the administration will “punish” those who vote against the bill. What this administration and party leadership seem to forget is that neither of them owns or control the votes of any member of Congress. Representatives are there to express the voice of their constituents. Failure on the part of a Congressperson to do so is a severe dereliction of duty. The foul is a strategical move by a losing team grasping at straws.
The strategy may well end up going against the administration and result in losing the vote. As of this morning, the Freedom Caucus, which is composed of extreme-right GOP members of Congress, still opposes the health bill. Should they, as a bloc, vote against the bill, it would not pass. The extreme right are not the only ones opposed to the bill, though. Consider the opinion of Senator Lindsey Graham:
There is a caveat here that Congressional votes such as this often come down to the wire as deals are made with individual members of Congress. Yet, getting back on point, the flagrant foul of attempting to overtly threaten Members of Congress is still wrong and, hopefully, contributes to the defeat of the bill.
I could continue to list other flagrant fouls on the part of the administration, but there is a point here at which such accusations feel redundant and fail to serve the point. I suppose, bringing the story back around to our original example, in some ways the administration’s propensity toward misbehavior is like Duke’s Grayson Allen intentionally tripping other players at the beginning of the season. The situation became so bad that Duke had to suspend Allen for several games and the ACC officially reprimanded him for his behavior. The difference is that we can’t just suspend the president for a few weeks. Even if Congress were to grow some balls and reprimand the president for his behavior, it would almost certainly have no effect.
Life throws flagrant fouls at us as well. Repeated trips to the doctor over the past two weeks have tripled the number of medicine bottles on my shelf. With so much medicine comes a wave of side effects and those are the flagrant fouls that leave me unable to stay focused, dealing with increased levels of pain and confusion. The effects are supposed to be temporary, according to the doctor, but the results, for now, are frustrating and debilitating to a large degree. Add to that forced changes in what I eat and how I live and I most certainly think the universe deserves to be whistled for the foul.
I know many of you have felt the same.
In basketball, when one is fouled, one gets a free shot. With a flagrant foul, you not only get the free throws, you get to retain possession of the ball. I think the universe needs to institute such a penalty. For everything bad that happens, for every terrorist incident or every political misappropriation of power, something of equal or potentially greater good has to happen. The two children of Ayshe Frade, whose mother was killed in yesterday’s Westminster attack, deserve for the rest of their lives to be blissful in exchange for the horrendously flagrant foul committed against them. The American people deserve an all-inclusive single-payer healthcare system that cannot be tampered with by Congress.
And me? I just want to be able to take pictures without worrying about forgetting the appointment or becoming ill in the middle of a shoot or having pain affect the quality of my pictures. I’ll take those free throws, thank you.
And against the odds, we’re pulling for Butler against North Carolina tomorrow night. This is what makes March so mad.
Share this:
Like this: