My Issue with Tyra Banks

So, I set my TiVo this morning to record the much hyped episode of the Tyra Bank's show where she addresses the recent string of tabloid attacks on her possible weight gain. At first I was impressed that she would address the issue as it relates to body image; then I started to really think about what Ms. Tyra was going to do.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I do believe that this evil "media" that Tyra wishes to slay is the very media that has lined her burgeoning pocket book. I get that she doesn't want to contribute toward our nation's obsession with appearance, but she has to appreciate how her "principals" may be called into question.

I myself have looked at Tyra in the numerous Victoria's Secret catalogs (that seem to arrive on a daily basis) and longed to have her beautiful body if only to perhaps borrow it for the weekend. No where in the catalog is there a disclaimer telling us that the pictures have been Photoshopped to death and that "the models may be more unattractive than they actually appear". That would be unspeakable.

And, what about America's Next Top Model???? How does that make women feel? I have watched this show as the "judges" point out imperfections on these girls and constantly remind them to be "fierce". (What the hell does that mean anyway???) Tyra knows damn well that no modeling agency, client or photographer wants to see an overweight model (by overweight I mean the 105 pound 5'10 amazon). If she really cared about how those girls felt, she wouldn't have kept Janice Dickinson on the show for 3 seasons....

To drive her point home, Tyra had various models on the show including a delusional in denial Euro Trash model with a serious eating disorder who was more than happy to point out that the model sitting next to her was fat, insinuating that she gorges herself on Happy Meals every night. After a heated discussion over "body image" (that term was thrown around all over the place), Tyra removed the superficial models off the stage and brought on the "real person", a suburban mom who is all of 70 pounds and on the verge of death. Tyra did her typical "Oprah" moves and leaned in, resting her elbow on her knee for her in depth emotional interview.

Am I the only one seeing this??? Tyra is still making money off of other people's insecurities over body image. Just because you invite it on your show and provide treatment, doesn't mean that you aren't exploiting the issue for your own gain. While I agree that it's irrelevant that Tyra has gained 30 pounds since giving up modeling, I don't believe that Tyra still isn't making money off of image. It's the only thing she knows; she's been doing it almost half her life. All I can say is that the view must be great from that high horse she sits on.....