7 Ways 'America's Weiter oben, nach oben Model' Helped Expand Our Definition Of Beauty - MTV 

7 Ways ‘America’s Next Top Model’ Helped Expand Our Definition Of Beauty

And we\'re not just talking about teaching us how to smize.

After 12 years and 22 cycles, iconic fashion reality show “America’s Next Top Model” will come to an end. From its start back in 2003, “America’s Next Top Model” has been ahead of the curve when it comes to expanding our definitions of beauty. Even though its time is up, there’s no denying that “America’s Next Top Model” helped change the fashion industry for the better.

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“ANTM” always featured plus-size contestants alongside what most in the fashion industry would consider “standard size” for models (AKA tall and thin). Whitney Thompson, the girl-next-door, bubbly blonde became the first plus-size contestant to win the competition in cycle 9.

Kim Stolz was the first gay contestant on ’ANTM,’ showing the world that models aren’t always straight and stereotypically feminine.

Isis King (who was on the show twice, BTW) first competed back in 2008 during cycle 11. She was open about her identity on the show early on, before we were ever introduced to Laverne Cox or Caitlyn Jenner.

As a child, Winnie developed vitiligo, a skin condition that caused portions of her skin to lose its pigment. While she was eliminated early on, ’ANTM’ made people reevaluate what they considered beautiful and who could be a model.

It wasn’t perfect, but ’ANTM’ never emulated the fashion industry in that it was mostly filled with skinny white girls. See: Anchal Joseph, the plus-size, Indian girl who could work the pages of French

With supermodels like Karlie, Gigi, and Joan, it can be easy to forget that there are male models out there too. ’ANTM’ introduced guys into the mix to compete alongside the girls and remind the world that guys know how to smize and booty tooch, too.

If there’s one universal modeling rule that seems impossible to shake, it’s that models need to be a certain height. Prior to ’ANTM’ welcoming contestants under 5’7″, Kate Moss was the only recognizable model who wasn’t insanely tall. The show opened its doors to pretty much everyone.