ANTM: The Drinking Game*

by Racialicious special correspondent Wendi Muse

I was originally going to write a full article about all the patronizing, classist, and racist things Tyra & the Gang (T&tG) said on the most recently aired America’s Next Top Model Cycle 8, but our friend Malena Amusa over at Race Wire beat me to it :- )

So I thought I’d made a fun little game for those of you who have TiVo-d all the episodes or pre-ordered the Cycle 8 box set (no judgment—we all have our guilty pleasures). I mean, Tyra did say that ANTM “is not just about a pretty picture . . . it’s about more than that,” so here’s your opportunity to prove her right.

Please be warned, if you decide to use alcohol for this game (highly un-recommended considering the frequency of T&tG’s slip-ups), be sure to keep a cell phone pre-programmed with “9-1-1” close by. My suggestion, however, is to use water. You’ll be sure to get in your daily recommended dose of 2 liters.

Take a shot for each time anyone from T&tG (including, but not limited to Tyra Banks, Jay Manuel, Miss Jay, Nigel Barker, Twiggy, the contestants, and the special guest judges):

1. makes a reference to a track, weave, and/or wig when speaking to a contestant of color
2. says someone “looks foreign”
3. questions Natasha (the Russian contestant)’s ability to understand English
4. switches into an accent when speaking a person whose first language is not English
5. refers to Jaslene, the Puerto Rican contestant, as “spicy” or “fiery”
6. says the word “fierce”
7. questions Jael (the half black/half white contestant)’s “realness,” “blackness,” national origin, and/or racial identity
8. uses the term “ghetto” as a surrogate term for trashy, cheap, poorly made, and/or uneducated
9. attempts to speak for his or her entire ethnic/racial group, sexual orientation, and/or place of origin
10. asserts her “American-ness,” gratitude to America, and/or tells a sob story about her native country or old neighborhood
11. praises/thanks Tyra
12. asks a contestant to say something in her native language
13. uses subtitles
14. expects the contestants to behave in a stereotypical way, then questions their effort and commitment to the competition if they do not do so
15. uses the term “cha cha”
16. compares modeling to “acting like a ho”
17. treats his/her moment on television as a public service announcement on otherness
18. makes a sweeping statement about lesbians or gays
19. supplies Latin music as an aural backdrop to appearances made by Jaslene
20. supplies hip hop as background music during appearance made by Jael in order to remind us she is half black even though she “doesn’t look it”

*Please note, this game also doubles as a youtube scavenger hunt!