Let’s Talk About the Masc Lesbian Contestant on America’s Next Top Model
Written by Daphne Bryant
I grew up watching America’s Next Top Model, mostly in secret. I would always jump at the chance to get a few episodes in whenever my parents weren’t around. It wasn’t the craziest show out there, but it was problematic in a lot of ways and accentuated many awful things about the modeling industry. Even so, I couldn’t and still can’t get over the Y2K campiness of it all, and so last night I decided to return to the series and watch Cycle 5 for the first time.
This wasn’t a very impromptu choice; my interests were piqued when I stumbled upon a video on my FYP. It was a clip from a podcast featuring Niki and Gabi, one of the twin sister duos that ruled YouTube in my childhood. Gabi had asked Niki who her gay awakening was, and I watched intrigued as she proceeded to gush about a lesbian contestant on the show named Kim Stolz.
The way Niki talked about Kim made her seem like she was visibly and proudly gay, which was exciting for me. While I knew queer contestants existed, most of them remained closeted during their time on the show; ANTM is not the kind of thing you watch when you’re looking for out and proud representation. It’s filled with homophobic jokes and hurtful microaggressions, so oftentimes it was safer for girls to hide aspects of their sexuality. I ran some stats, and out of the 24 seasons ANTM has produced, there are maybe only five contestants who’ve publicly identified as a lesbian, and one of them was Kim. I knew I had to see more for myself, so I forced my girlfriend, Noelle, to watch the show with me.
Noelle clocked Kim as the lesbian contestant even before I could, and I suppose that’s because she really did stand out. She was the only masculine-presenting model there, and her poses reflected that as well. As we continued to watch the show, Noelle and I learned that Kim was from NYC and a university student who was out as a lesbian and had an open relationship with a girl back home. Many of the girls showed interest in learning more about Kim’s lesbianism, having never met a lesbian before.
There were moments where they’d show Kim being physically affectionate with a fellow contestant (who was queer but not out), and I’d squeal and replay it over and over. It was well known in the house that Kim was a flirt, often commenting on how much she wanted to kiss certain women, and then there’s the fact that she actually did have an iconic kiss with bi-curious Sarah Rhoades: in the Top Model limo and in bed. Camera footage suggests the pair hooked up, and throughout the show there was lots of tension between them (which was semi-problematic considering Sarah’s heterosexual relationship was not an open one); good luck babe!
It was all fascinating to watch, and it was cool to see a masc lesbian on a show like ANTM, but there were a lot of things that rubbed me the wrong way too.
When Kim first met Tyra Banks and the panel face to face, she was immediately scolded for declaring her sexuality to them. In response Tyra said something along the lines of:“ I’m a black model, but you don’t see me walking around going‘ I’m black, I’m black’”, essentially giving her a“ Don’t ask, don’t tell” warning. Kim hurriedly assured them she wasn’t the kind of person to walk down the runway kissing girls, but personally, I’d be sat for that kind of fashion show. It was sad to see how quickly her identity was shut down, and it only got worse.
Throughout the season Kim was encouraged to adopt a“ femme boy” persona and essentially squash her masculinity to fit in more with the competition. Kim’s personal style was ridiculed, but when she tried to present more“ girly” or“ feminine” she was often referred to as a“ man in a dress” and criticized for posing“ too butch.” I found all of this horrendous for many reasons, but what’s most shocking about these comments is that the judges were looking for a so-called edge, and Kim’s gender presentation gave her edge. She was unlike anyone else in the competition, and I figured that’d be a good thing, but it wasn’t, not in their eyes.
It’s crazy now thinking about how so many supermodels are androgynous; about a decade ago gender ambiguity and racial ambiguity both sort of took center stage in the beauty world. I know Kim is as white as white can be, but she was definitely proudly androgynous. Knowing this almost twenty years later, do you think Kim would have been a front-runner on a modern version of the show? It’s certainly interesting to think about.
I read up on what happened to Kim Stolz after the show, post-elimination (and she actually made it pretty far). According to Google, she became a video jockey and worked as a journalist for MTV, signed to a bunch of big modeling agencies, and even opened up her own two-level restaurant and cocktail lounge in Soho (yes, gay in nature), but that unfortunately closed in 2013 :( She was married to someone named Lexi for about two years, and it’s suspected that Lexi died, but no one really seems to know what happened or why that partnership ceased.
In the end I don’t think Kim ever did achieve insane levels of fame, but she grew up as a rich Upper East Side heiress so she doesn’t really need it.
All of this to say, I think watching Kim and seeing the way her gender presentation was stripped away from her made me really analyze Dreamworldgirl Zine and our modeling system. When it comes to casting (which I’m in charge of), I’ve always looked at things with a DEI lens. I do so because that’s my background, but it’s also something I care about deeply. We’ve gotten complaints before about not having enough diversity or on the flip side, complaints about using non-binary models in a mag about girlhood, but I can 100% say that I’m always looking to represent as many unique voices, faces, and perspectives as I can. This coming season, one of my goals is to have multiple shoots with masculine-presenting individuals, including studs, butches, mascs, stems, and more. These are stories I want to tell through the zine, and I want people who feel similarly to Kim to get a chance to feel sexy and beautiful in their own way; fuck the stereotypes.
Still curious about kim and her story? listen to this podcast.
