I’m Beautiful Like Me.

It’s true, ANTM is one of my guilty pleasures. Y’all may not know this about me, but I aspired to model at one point in my life. I was in many pageants and even went to modeling school. Imagine that! It seems like more than a lifetime ago, and while I have trouble relating to that old self, I do still have a smidge of intrigue by the industry.

Last cycle, beautiful Whitney, the “plus-size” model won. I was tickled pink to see her take the title. I really look forward to seeing how she’s doing in the “My Life as a Cover Girl” segment of the show. I imagine her win is only going to have a small impact on the way the industry selects models based on their size, shape and weight, but every bit helps. We need more girls like Whitney, who have a healthy figure and - more importantly - a healthy attitude about food, to set the precedence and be role models for our daughters.

This season’s opener did have another potential “full-figure” winner, but unfortunately, she didn’t make the second cut.

However, there are interesting things going on in the ANTM world - things that may will reshape the future of the industry into an even more awesome beast. This is another reason why I adore Tyra Banks - she is not afraid to take chances.

So what innovative things are going on that are reshaping the face of the modeling world?

Meet Isis.

She was first featured on the show last season during the “homelessness” shoot as a background model. She caught the eyes of the judges at panel and got herself through auditions (and the first three of the show’s cuts).

It’s not hard to see why - this girl is gorgeous and takes spectacular photos.

And how exactly is Isis reshaping the industry?

Isis is a pre-op transgender. This woman-in-a-man’s-body is farkin’ gorgeous! A helluva lot prettier than a lot of girls out there. Kinda unfair, ain’t it?!

By making the show and sharing her secret with the world, Isis is pioneering the way for others like herself. She is making history in a history-making year. I cannot even begin to imagine what sort of trials she has had to face in her lifetime: the confusion she must have suffered having felt like a girl but having boy biology, the prejudices she surely still faces (she’s facing it on the show with the other girls already), the hormone therapy and deciding about surgery (she has stated on the season-opener of the show that she wants surgery - I hope she gets it!), the anxiety of surgery itself and recovery thereof… I’m proud to be part of a generation where people are more free to be themselves - whatever that is.