Model Behavior: Top Model/Project Runway

I’m particularly fond of reality TV shows that focus on models and fashion. During Cycle 13 of “America’s Next Top Model,” a benevolent Tyra is giving short girls (contestants are 5′7 and under) a chance to shine on the catwalk. And the “Project Runway” spinoff, “Models of the Runway,”  shows what happens after the aspiring models leave the runway.

Bianca (5'7) has high hopes on America's Next Top Model - Cycle 13

After watching both shows this week, however, I noticed a common thread. Beyond the obvious fact they’re both about models, each reality show has a strong-willed black female “character” who has been pegged as the the witch of the model house.

On “Top Model,” it’s Bianca, who likes to complain about her makeup and wardrobe and whose photos have been consistently hard -looking and unattractive.  On “Models of the Runway,” Fatma, a striking African woman, is the resident troublemaker prone to hyperbole (”What will become of me?” she pondered after her designer picked another model).

Initially, I also labeled these ladies as problem children.  The latest episodes of each show, however, have revealed that although Bianca and Fatma have a flair for the dramatic, they’re also sensitive and real, unlike some of their catty counterparts.

Just when I was really starting to like her, Fatma was sent home.  But Bianca finally opened up about her abusive relationship and showed her softer side during the last “Top Model” photo shoot.  Let’s hope she can maintain her improved model behavior.

Image credit: Lifetime.com, America’s Next Top Model