Model students: balancing life on camera and campus

Photo courtesy of Sarah O’Connor

Modeling may seem glamorous to many, but some Chapman students who model say that there’s a stigma that surrounds the industry. Many people think models are conceited and self-absorbed, said Megan Roy, a freshman health sciences major.

There’s also a misperception that modeling is easy, Roy said, as some people think models just show up, take pictures and get money. But it’s a “24/7” job, she said.

“They make you send in pictures before shoots to make sure your body is up to par with what they’re looking for,” Roy said. “I can’t just go into the cafeteria and eat whatever I want, because if I don’t look right, I won’t get booked.”

Christie Chaplin, a junior strategic and corporate communication major and part-time model, said she believes that celebrity models like Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid have jobs “handed to them.” In August, Love Magazine posted a picture of Jenner on Instagram with a caption quoting her that read, in part, “I was never one of those girls who would do like 30 shows a season or whatever the (expletive) those girls do.”

Some models criticized Jenner for referring to other women in the industry as “those girls” in her quote and belittling them for taking multiple jobs.

“So many girls work their (expletive) off and never get to where she and Gigi Hadid are,” said Summir Wilson, a junior creative writing major and model.

While Chapman’s proximity to Los Angeles makes it easier for student models to commute, but balancing school and working as a model can be difficult, said Kelsey Paul, a junior strategic and corporate communication major. Paul told her agency she needed a six-month break from modeling last semester to focus on her classes. She recently returned to modeling, and takes a jobs every few months, she said.

“School is my top priority, but I still want to model,” Paul said. “Balancing both isn’t too bad, especially with such a fun part-time job.”

Other models have a more difficult time finding work. Vincent Hernandez, a Chapman student from France, said he was ready to sign a contract with Wilhelmina, a U.S. modeling company based in New York and Los Angeles, a few months ago, but was unable to sign because he did not have the proper visa.

“I was doing everything, calling lawyers, but there were a lot of complications, said Hernandez, a senior business administration major. “I just couldn’t sign the paperwork.”

Instead, Hernandez said he has started using social media to make money by focusing on building his platform on Instagram. This could potentially result in higher pay, he said, since many companies are willing to sponsor Instagram models.

Over the past two years, social media has become an integral part of the modeling world, said Sarah O’Connor, a senior strategic and corporate communication major who models. Companies tend to look for models who are verified on Instagram and have hundreds of thousands of followers, O’Connor said.

“You’ll see stuff like, ‘This company is having a party, but only for models with this amount of followers,’” she said. “Models find out pretty quickly that you need followers. Even if you buy them, you need them for people to take you seriously.”

Although being scrutinized for their Instagram follower count is relatively new to the modeling world, models’ bodies are constantly on display and receive harsh criticism, said David Frederick, a Chapman associate psychology professor.

“All across the world, people are interested in who is prestigious,” Frederick said. “We look at what traits prestigious people have, and we try to copy them. When it is communicated that only a limited number of body types are prestigious, this ramps up pressure on people to attain these bodies.”

Wilson believes that some models get treated better than others because of societal prejudices.

“As a woman of color (who has) light skin, I have privilege that a fully Latina girl wouldn’t have,” she said.

But the modeling industry is currently working to include racially diverse and ambiguous people, Wilson said.

“It feels like I’m a pawn, but it’s a step in some short of positive direction,” she said.