CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- It is a quest for 15 minutes
of fame that can turn into a few humiliating moments of
shame.
Still, a growing number of people are putting themselves out there
-- smiling or serious, sometimes scantily clad -- asking strangers
on the Internet and even celebrity judges on TV to rate their
bodies and looks.
They post their photos on any number of Web sites, where Internet
surfers can rate them on a scale of 1 to 10. And now a new TV show
-- ABC's "Are You Hot?" -- is bringing the concept to prime time
and taking the rating game to a new level.
"People used to identify the American dream with a white picket
fence, half-acre lot and a better life," says Matthew Felling, a
spokesman for the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a
Washington-based media watchdog. "Nowadays, we see that better life
possessed by the people in front of the camera."
Getting good ratings
Some people who've posted photos say the trend shouldn't be taken
too seriously. That includes Desiree Koh, who posted photos of two
male co-workers on a site called HotorNot.com, one of the first of
many rating sites. "It was a form of affectionate ridicule," says
Koh, a 25-year-old Chicagoan.
At least one of the co-workers, 28-year-old Heath Shackleford, was
a little embarrassed at first but now thinks it's funny --
"especially since the other guy got as low a rating as I
did."
Many others post their own photos for all the World (Wide Web) to
see.
"People do care what people think of them. Most say 'I don't care.'
But they do, inside. So this kind of gives them an idea," says a
29-year-old from south Florida named Dom, who'd only provide his
first name. He said he doesn't want his friends to know he posted
his photo on HowHotAmI.com and received a 5.0 rating out of
10.
"But I don't think I'm ugly, you know?" he says. "It's all in
fun."
Or is it?
Cause for concern?
Some experts believe the trend only further encourages negative
body image and eating disorders that young people, in particular,
already struggle with.
"We keep telling our kids, 'You're more than your bodies.' But
that's not the message they're seeing on television and in
magazines," says Jane Fleming, executive director of the Renfrew
Center Foundation, a national nonprofit that addresses the issue of
eating disorders.
In one survey, for example, Brigham Young University researchers
found that 80 percent of young women who read health and fitness
magazines at least once a month forced themselves to vomit after
meals to lose weight. That compares with 9 percent of the young
women overall who said they did so.
Earlier this year, some viewers began referring to a somewhat pudgy
male suitor on the reality show "The Bachelorette" as "Fat Bob."
Now, with its parade of women and some men in bathing suits, "Are
You Hot?" has put the focus entirely on body image.
Felling, from the Center for Media, says the new show also caters
to readers of popular "laddie" magazines such as Maxim, which
regularly feature little-clothed models on its covers.
"It's as if the only focus group that matters is fraternity
brothers," Felling says.
Real women wanted
Rosie Amodio, features editor at Maxim, says that when she first
saw promos for "Are You Hot?" she thought it looked "like one of
our photo shoots."
She says that because of reader requests, the magazine is using
more photos of "real women" -- providing a few moments of fame that
she says have an "intoxicating" effect on those who are selected.
She recalls one non-model who called after her photo was in the
magazine, boasting that all her ex-boyfriends had seen the
shots.
Amodio thinks that including women who aren't models sends a
positive message: "I think it says, 'You can be yourself.' It says,
'You don't have to be this bottle-blond, fake-boob kind of
girl."'
Greg Gutfeld, editor-in-chief of Stuff, a man's magazine, is
unapologetic about the rating trend. It's just human nature, he
says.
Keeping it in perspective
Even some who counsel people with poor body images say the rating
fad should be kept in perspective.
Logan Levkoff, a New York University doctoral student who has a
master's degree in human sexuality, says too many of the young
women and men she works with think their bodies are "gross or dirty
or ugly."
But, she says, such self-concepts often stem from deep-seated
issues, including family dynamics. Rating TV shows and Web sites,
she says, are "simply for entertainment."
Good idea that singapore has such variety
show?
