Why Not a Short Model? by Melody Mitchell
I‘m 14 years old. I’ve been pushed around and rejected by many modeling agencies, all because of my height. Now, if you’re already thinking, “This one’s a throw out,” please don’t! Hear me out, it might be worth something.
I’ve been pushed around because of my height, but modeling and making a difference are my passion. I’ve been looked into by various modeling agencies, but I was immediately shunned due to my height. How is that fair?
I understand that the modeling world is a dog eat dog world, and they want the cream of the crop, but it’s time for a revolution. Shorter people should get a chance, too! I’m 5’2, a measly 5 inches below standard requirements, that’s less than a dollar bill. I can’t help the fact I’m shorter nor can I change it. I’ve been turned away from auditions, modeling, everything because of less than a dollar bill.
I want to pursue a career in acting, singing, and modeling, but to get kick started , I have to get ‘discovered’ and modeling is the idea way to go. I understand it takes time and effort, and I’m 100% willing to give that, but how can I if they won’t give me a chance to show what I’ve got? There are a lot of ‘short’ people out there, so many that ‘short’ is becoming the new average! So why not appeal to us shorter women? I polled several women from varied heights in dressing rooms at different stores. Some were leaving the store with purchases, and some weren’t . I asked, “If you see a piece of clothing on a tall model that you want to try on, are you more or less inclined to try it on?” 75% of them said they were less inclined, when I asked why, there were different answers but to sum it up: when they see a ‘tall’ model in something they like, they can’t imagine themselves looking like that, because they’ve got such a different sized bodies than the model, so they’re discouraged. We need to appeal to more varieties of men and women, just like we have with weight, but with height this time! Just because we’re a little shorter than the next girl in line doesn’t mean we lack the talents! So give us a chance!
Sure, it might ‘lower’ the bar of modeling, but we won’t be changing any of the restrictions or requirements other than that., you’ll still get quality models, just like before. Won’t it make women feel more inclined to buy these clothes, because they can relate more? Isn’t that what we’ve been striving for? I know that that’s what my generation is going for.
When you get right down to it, turning us away before we’ve even had a chance is plain discrimination, and our constitution protects us all from that, no matter shape OR size. It’s like turning away a perfectly good girl, because she’s black, or she’s white, or she’s got the wrong color eyes:
She can’t help it. It doesn’t make sense. We can’t change those physical attributes, we were born with it in our genes. We may have as much talent as their top model, but they’ll never know, because they didn’t have to look up to look at us, so they walked on by. If they accepted us in, you’d still have just as much talent, if not more of it. It wouldn’t have docked you anything, it might even gain you the support of more people and organizations. It could be viewed as ‘becoming more humanized,’ like media is requesting.
You could put me in some heels and I’d be just as tall as the other girls, and you couldn’t really tell that I was a few inches shorter in a photo shoot. The same goes for flats, but either way, I’d still have the exact same amount of talent I had before. No matter what you put me in, I’d be the same spunky girl, with the passion for fashion.
Maybe girls could even relate to models more, and improve their self-esteem and likelihood to by the companies products that the models were advertising.
Allowing shorter models could even expand companies horizon, support bases, and reach more customers.
So why not give us a chance? I have just as much potential as the next girl.
Start the revolution, change the world.
