Banks strives to prevent the struggle of weight
Tyra Banks started her modeling career receiving hate mail from designers, after going up from a size four to a size six.
Nothing could stop Banks – not even the desire for a slice of pizza. Her mother “wiped the tears from my face, she said, ‘Tyra, you know what we’re going to do about this? We’re going to eat pizza.’” Amidst all the criticism, Banks’s mother took the model out for pizza and the two discussed methods for Banks to use her curves to her advantage.
Regarding the models who compete on her self-produced show, America’s Next Top Model, Banks refers to the world she creates as a “bubble;” this bubble does not involve worries about weight. Banks said of ANTM contestants, “But then they leave Top Model and, if they’re not a size zero, they’re not going to work.”
Not only has Banks been known for her multi-million dollar career in modeling, but also for her unashamed retorts toward the public’s comments on her weight in 2007. Banks has said, “kiss my fat a–.” Photos of Banks in a bathing suit were captioned claiming she had gained 40 pounds.
Banks commended Vogue’s role in body image. Vogue now follows a regulation that when a model arrives for a photoshoot, his or her ID must be checked for age, and the world renowned magazine does not accept models who look like they could have an eating disorder.
Banks believes that eating disorders have grown more severe now and that the modeling industry should do something about it.
In an letter on The Daily Beast, Banks writes, “There needs to be more industry-wide protections for models, and we need to be more consistent with what the acting world does: protect our minors, as well as the health and well-being of models.”
