ISIS

SO this is my first post on Isis, and do I have some talking to do. First, I think in most of the discussions I've already seen on blogs about Isis's presence on the show I haven't seen much analysis of her class background, so I'll start by talking about how she was initially recruited for the show. In cycle 10 she was included in a "Homeless" shoot, where women of color were taken from a homeless shelter and used as "background models" in an ANTM shoot. I think it's interesting that this particular foundation, the Reciprocity Foundation, is dedicated to finding jobs in the creative sector for the youth and adults that use it. Sadly that shoot was a whole lotta fucked up. Using poor women of color as "background" models for white models emphasizes an idea that women of color should be in the service of white women, and should be used as descriptors for "ugly" against which the "beauty" of white women can be measured and validated. An instersection of race and class oppression is present here, as the women are meant to operate in the same way as the rubble and junk sofa of the shoot, highlighting the assumed "beauty" of the ANTM model that if isn't highlighted by race than by class. They're real live homeless girls! Gee, and isn't it great that they got this once in a lifetime oppertunity to be a prop?

But that's just one slice of the divine ANTM pie, I love how right off the bat Tyra marks Isis as different and asks a bunch of questions to her that she would never in a million years think to ask a Cis woman. Somehow the status of her genitals, and how long she has "known" she was a girl is up for conversation. The rest of the house seems to think this way too, as they all gather around her later that night to bombarde her with questions about her body. I realize that a lot of Cis people don't know that much about transness, wahwahwah, but guess what, I DON'T GIVE A SHIT, plz, somebody, educate yourself, I can definitely do without the awkward conversations with people I do and don't know very well about my body, genitals and guessed personal dna/hormone makeup. I wonder whether this sort of media exposure will encourage the Cis community to think that they have a right to ask trans folks these sorts of questions. This comes back to the idea that one of the things Cism* operates on is having the right to own trans bodies, meaning that any information that is witheld from cis society is seen as aktuly nawt allowed thx. How many times have I heard the phrase, however explicitly or implicitly, aggressively or "nicely", "But we/I have a right to know!" Basically, if you're not going to be handling my junk anytime soon, I don't see why you should feel you have a "right" to know about it. Also, interesting how Mr. Jay says he likes that Isis doesn't have an "agenda," because she answers their inappropriate questions and places an emphasis on herself as an individual rather than a spokesperson for the whole lgbt community at large.

Something really painful to watch for me was the constant refusal of most of the cast members to recognize her gender identity. So much love and respect to Isis for being able to pose amazing photos while the other women are telling her she forgot to shave, and that she's sweating too much. I would have probably knocked that booth over onto them. And so ridiculous that her photoshoot concept was "privacy" as the cast and Tyra were giving her absolutely none. But I think it was interesting how the Cis women were the ones "spying" on Isis in the shoot, as for so long it's been trans folks in the role of the spy in the popular imagination. Sometimes ANTM makes good parallels, but I'm not quite sure if they're intentional, and the lack of discussion and elaboration makes it feel like a fleeting attempt at serious inclusion. That part is @ 6.53 on the second clip.
* Just coined(?) by Your's Truly