A few days ago I wrote about mature models and internet models in a post about model/photographer Yasmina Rossi to whom I have a physical resemblance - "it's our energy, as well as our hair" she said in a lovely personal email she sent soon after that. This provoked the ire of a certain mature model - I beg your pardon, older, as she dislikes the term 'mature' - who had never heard of the term internet model and imagined it to be disparaging and who thought that being referred to as mature was offensive.
She was indeed extremely upset by my post and that was all the more baffling because she was not in any way being referred to in the post.
The term mature model is just a euphemism for older model and I dont find it offensive. There is nothing wrong in being older. It is a fact of life. Older models cannot pretend to be young models, no matter what the colour of their hair or the tone of their bodies.
Photographer: Neil Huxtable "Talkingdrum"
In that post I also briefly mentioned 'internet models' using a term quite common in the UK to describe models whose profiles are found on online sites such as Purestorm , Net -Model etc. In most instances these are, young and old, non-agency standard models - no matter how beautiful you are if you are 5'3, young or old, you cannot be an agency model doing fashion and editorial work, unless you are a celebrity. There is however a market for internet models and some of them do quite well financially, modelling full time, though not as well as agency models. I actually thought the term had been coined by Model Bitch, whose blog is the talk of town at the moment - incisive, helpful and funny. But no, Simon P. corrected me on this and said that the term had been around for a while - and he should know. Perhaps not on the other side of the pond.
The bottom line is that it is a descriptive term, not in the least derogatory. Not all models are with an agency. It does not mean they are not good, it simply means they are not agency standard. Besides art nude is not an agency specialism, but something models arrange independently, that's where an internet profile helps .
Photographer: Joanna Nowek
Apparently what deeply offended this very glamorous, older model, was the fact I mentioned that if one does a search on any of the above mentioned sites one will also find that the great majority of mature internet models do adult work. I never said younger models did not, I simply said that according to the statistics one can gather from searching those sites, mature models tend to be involved in adult work. It is to do with the fact that work opportunities for mature models are scarce. I never said that all mature models do , but certainly those who make a living entirely out of modelling do. I do not do adult work, but I am not being judgmental. Adult work is just work. According to photographer Iain Thomson, the mature and hairy are niche market in the adult genre. "Averageness is a good selling point. This particular market does not like fake boobs, tattoos, piercing etc. but pretty/average looks/average figure are fine" says Iain. He does not think that the best among such models can really be found on internet sites - nor agencies - photographers just have to scout these models somehow. An important factor is that the models should not have been seen around much. Perhaps after being scouted they join model sites? Whatever. The point remains that if you search the sites I have mentioned for mature models you will find that 1) there are not so many and 2) the majority of those with a profile include adult work as one of their specialism - and the profile photos as far as possible match that choice.
Photographer: Sam Pidgen. Models: myself and Enkopte
All I can say is that some people have a conspiracy theory mind and a very short fuse! Also, getting older is not easy, for everyone, but especially for models. Just as it happens when you are in your teens, when each year counts, there is a gulf between being 67,68, 69 and 70. The Carmen dell'Orefice and the Verouschka of the modelling world are exceptions, the queens of that world and, it shoud be noted, they were part of it from when they were more or less teenagers. That is no small advantage.
(All photos modelled by Alex B. unless otherwise specified)
I've always referred to myself as an 'internet model.' I'm under no illusions that I am anything other than an 'internet model,' since all of my portfolios are online, and all the work I get as a model comes from enquiries over the internet.
ReplyDeleteI am not an 'industry standard' model by a long stretch of the imagination, yet I continue to work. I admire those who manage to span both the 'real' modelling industry as well as getting work through the internet, but I don't even deceive myself that I am one of those.
I've never viewed 'internet model' as a derogatory term, though I would be reluctant to describe myself thus to someone not familiar with the world of internet modelling, simply because there is something about the term that SOUNDS seedy, even if it is not so. (Well, let's not delude ourselves here - there ARE seedy elements to internet modelling in general, it's just that I personally try to avoid those).
'Mature model' is a bit of a minefield in terms of terminology, because some would argue that any model over the age of 25 is a 'mature model.' It's certainly above the average age of an internet model. At 31 I never really know how to categorise myself (nor do I have any desire to, or see any reason why I should, but there are those who seem to need everything and everyone to be neatly labelled and pigeon-holed).
We must not forget that there is a huge difference between 'internet modelling' in the UK (which is frequently labelled as such), and the same in the US (and probably elsewhere, though I know less about other areas). We use different terminology, and some of the sweeping generalisations which are true of the 'industry' in the UK, do not apply in the States. For example, I would argue that there is no real 'art nude' market in the UK, certainly outside of the internet, whereas this carries far more credibility in the States. An 'art nude' model in the UK, is inevitably an 'internet model,' because there is no other market for that genre here. That may not be true in the US.
Photography itself is far more recognised and appreciated as an art form in the States, whereas here in the UK, well, anyone can own a camera and call themselves a 'photographer.' As such, the modelling industry itself is different in the two continents, and a 'mature model' (or whatever label we would like to use) will almost certainly have different experiences and stigmas attached
I'm using a lot of sweeping generalisations, and there are, of course, exceptions to the rule, but the statement generally remains true.
Thank you ERosanne, I do welcome your very impartial comment. I realise there are differences between the UK and the US but the point is to communicate and explain those differences.
ReplyDeleteEven though I am on the books of two agencies, I started modelling late so I am a commercial model as far as the agencies are concerned. One of them did not care about height, the other one did which puzzled me, but that is the standard they embrace. I am fortunate enough to be the right minimum height for that standard. But by and large like you I am an Internet model and older or mature or whatever else you want to call someone who is now in her early fifties. And I do not model full time. I was against labelling this way but there comes a point when you just need to describe yourself and saying model is not enough. I also think it is good for older women - not necessarily models - to know that there are models out there of the same age as them, so they should not feel that once they get past 45 or 50 they should think it is time to give up everything. Just yesterday I was trying to comfort a 50 year old friend who looks very beautiful to me but who feels she will never have a partner again because her man left her for a younger woman, she just was too "old" for him (similar age as she)!
When I did the music video for Sophie Hunter someone who truly does not like me said I looked like a demented grandmother but a young woman, a promising dancer , told me that she felt inspired not to give up dancing ever- and dance is one of those professions where youth rules supreme. For dance it is understandable, there is a wear and tear on the joints and acrobatic movements are difficult when you are older. But older dancers have a movement quality that cannot be matched by the younger ones, they embody a style. Sorry, now I am digressing.
One does end up generalising but one also has to start a description somewhere. The situation being what it is in the UK I see nothing wrong with the terms internet model and mature model. I also think that embracing them as general terms may help us to shed the image of an internet model being solely an adult model, young or old.
Alex, all I can say is that I'm PROUD to label myself a "mature" model. Most of my initial communication with a photographer includes that word. I don't want photogs thinking I have an unrealistic idea of my looks and age. Better to keep it honest and real!
ReplyDeleteWell, "Internet modeling" may have begun with associations with "adult work" (read: erotic work--and wouldn't we love to change society so that such work was honored as it deserves?), but then, jazz music began in New Orleans brothels, and tango in Buenos Aires bordellos! There's no reason we as models, photographers and fans can't bring the work we love up out of its supposedly "mucky" origins into the wider world, as jazz and tango players and fans have done with their favored art form. But it will take time and effort. It took geniuses like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Astor Piazzola (who all had classical training, BTW; Piazzola studied briefly with famed composition techer Nadia Boulanger) to bring jazz and tango into what was then "respectable society."
ReplyDeleteJazz musicians and fans, BTW, were among the earliest civil-right activists. As early as the 1920s, white players like Bix Beiderbecke sat in with black bands and vice versa, and even audiences were integrated to a degree seldom found elsewhere in the US. I'd like to think that a similar form of "civil-rights recognition," this one about age rather than race, is possible for model work.
And isn't the modeling "industry" changing about as fast as the recording industry? Through the Internet, it's now possible for singers, players and bands to bypass the old label-recording-contract paradigm completely. It would seem likely for models like yourself and our mutual friend Unbearable-Lightness to be able to resist the derogatory labels that small-minded people like to apply, simply by the strength of your work and its potential to be seen instantly, worldwide.
Thank you Jochanaan for your contribution to this discussion and the very pertinent musical analogies. The whole point here is that I absolutely respect and love Unbearable Lightness' work but I completely disagree about not embracing the label mature and the label internet model because this is what we are and how we are known and rather than rejecting the term I own it. Yes I am a mature model. Yes I am an internet model. Yes I am 5'8 and not tall enough to be considered a true fashion model, I am still too short - the young models are at least 5'11 - but then I am also too old by the 'standard'. Except that standards can change. In my view not to accept the label internet mature model signals insecurity, which is of course very understandable because this industry does not like those who are not young.
ReplyDeleteI think I get that, Alex. You are beautiful, and do beautiful work whatever it's called, so you might as well embrace the labels. But of course, there's the question "Why labels?" More and more I tend to agree with comments like Duke Ellington's "Only two kinds of music--good and bad." :)
ReplyDeleteOne of the bands I'm in is facing exactly this problem, in fact. The Coyote Poets of the Universe (find us on myspace and facebook if you want) does so many kinds of original music that we really can't be classified--and that's exactly the kind of band I'd rather play in; I don't want to be in the kind of group that plays the same thing all the time!
Some labels I gladly accept: musician, naturist. They tell something about who I am and invite further discussion. Others--Christian, liberal--I accept with reluctance. "Christian" in particular means so many things to different people that I hesitate to embrace it too heartily although it is the best word to define my own belief system. Still others I'd rather never have applied to me again, like "White Man:" that phrase, as used by many people, implies lots of things about me that just aren't true. Maybe I can't jump, but I can jam with the best of them! :)
Ah, I've been away from photography for a while. I've been so busy! However, it is ever refreshing to read your blogs again. I'm of the mind that labels are a necessity. We categorize everything in our lives. We have to, it's how our brains work. And no matter what you call something, you're always categorizing it in your head, compartmentalizing it so that it can be easily digested and understood. The connotations of such terms, the value judgements some associate, are largely influenced by the individual's own baggage, as words alone are but sound and scribbles, and have no meaning until we give it to them. I know I've been called a number of things in my life, much of which is just noise to me, some of which I've grown into and made my own. And that's really the important part, taking ownership of what sticks, taking control of it. As you change the connotation of the terminology for yourself, you change it for others.
ReplyDeleteI've been considering working with older models recently. I'm interested in the dialogue that offers, particularly if I found someone this thoughtful about their medium.