Lady looks like a dude: Female model goes male to get more jobs

[Atlantic Islander]

By Mike Krumboltz, Yahoo News October 18, 2013


http://imageshack.us/a/img132/1183/cts6.jpg

If you're looking for a career that can take you into retirement, don't be a female model. But if you already are one and find yourself approaching the (gasp!) big three-oh, consider doing what Elliott Sailors, 31, did and switch on-the-job genders.

The New York Post reports that Sailors, a stunning blonde who for years worked steadily as a Ford Agency model, decided to switch things up once she found the offers were drying up. She cut off her hair, ditched the makeup and made use of her strong jawline to become a "male" model.

And guess what. It's worked.

Sailors told the Post that in the modeling world "men don’t need to look as young as possible, so I have a lot of time."


http://imageshack.us/a/img29/1781/7cup.png

When she goes to casting calls for male models, she shows up in flannel, jeans, boots and a biker jacket.

Sailors told the Post that she often walks around town dressed like a man because it's easier (no heels, no makeup). On the negative side, she has noticed that nobody holds the door for her anymore.

"When I’m in an elevator," she told The Post, "I notice that they let all of the girls go first — like the real girls."

According to Model Mayhem, Sailors has appeared in Cosmopolitan, American Harper's Bazaar, Fitness, and Shape. She also recently modeled for Contributor magazine.


http://imageshack.us/a/img809/3743/v4xq.png

source (http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/lady-looks-like-a-dude--female-model-goes-male-to-get-more-jobs-171123533.html)

[Atlantic Islander]

http://imageshack.us/a/img201/296/9h2c.jpg

[Hadouken]

doesnt look like a dude

[Atlantic Islander]

A model who used to book shoots based on her flowing blonde hair and womanly curves has revealed that she is using her looks in a different way to make it in the modeling field.

Elliott Sailors has decided to make her career as a male model by wrapping her breasts and playing up her androgynous side.

'I'm starting over to have a longer career,' Sailors told The New York Post.
'Men don't need to look as young as possible, so I have a lot of time.'

Sailors, who is 31-years-old, is not the first woman to take this unusual route.

Casey Legler, 35, was the first woman to be signed on a modeling contract for only male gigs, and like Sailors she has no intention of taking an permanent steps to physically change genders.

The fact that Sailors has a first name that is typically used for men- Elliott- is just a stroke of familial luck as it is her mother's maiden name.

Sailors, who hails from Tucson, Arizona, said the masculine attributes like her strong jaw line and wide forehead were points of criticism in previous photo shoots when the company was looking for a more 'girlie' look.

On a more serious note, her looks have gotten her in a different kind of trouble as she and two other former bartenders filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against nightclub owner Mark Birnbaum in 2011.

In the lawsuit, Sailors accused her former boss of forcing himself on her on a number of occasions and trying to get her to perform sex acts for him. The verdict of the lawsuit has not been publicly revealed.

Now she is married to Adam Santos-Coy, and she said he was very supportive of her decision to take her career in a different direction.

She regularly updates her Twitter page with photos from shoots where she is dressed in flannel shirts or gives shout outs to Decatur and Sons, the hairstylists who give her the manly cut.

She even uses her bio to playfully hint at her multi-tasking approach, writing: 'Model... More than just a girl".

While her decision to work as a male model may prove more fruitful in terms of longevity, it may also be a costly one as Forbes reported that the top ten earning male models only made a tenth of how much their female counterparts brought home from September 2012 to September 2013.

source (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2465666/Elliott-Sailors-Female-model-passing-man-longer-career.html)

[larali]

Ew, goes to show the modeling industry does not value sexual dimorphism.

[Black Wolf]

That is still one very feminine looking dude.

[Atlantic Islander]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk34MaObh1o

The Post last week detailed how Elliott Sailors, once a Ford model who had long locks, decided to reinvent herself as a male model. Here, the 31-year-old Harlem resident describes the day she began her transformation.

When I stepped into the FSC Barber Shop in the West Village on Oct. 1, 2012, I had no idea how much of my life was about to alter.

They said, “We don’t actually do women’s short-style haircuts.” I laughed and said, “I understand. I want to look like a boy.”

Then, my eyes suddenly welled up.

“Sorry, it’s just kind of a big thing,” I said.

“It’s OK,’’ they said.

They asked me my name, and I said, “Elliott,” and a worker said, “Really?” and I said, “Yes, really. I have ID.”

I asked to see Thorin Decatur, my husband’s barber.

When I sat down in the chair, I told him, “I’m going to cry, but don’t worry about it. I REALLY want to do this.”

I explained to Decatur, “I want to start work as a male model.”

He said he’d never heard of that but thought it was definitely cool, saying, “You’ll be my first!”

At this time, Casey Legler had not yet signed with Ford as a male model. This hadn’t been done before.

http://imageshack.us/a/img5/5686/87h5.jpg

I had gotten the idea originally in the summer of 2011, but the last weekend of September 2012, I did The Landmark Forum, a self-help seminar program, and got connected to what I wanted to create: an opportunity to design not just my career, but my life.

I told my husband, Adam, on Sunday night that I was going to do it the next morning. He was super-excited, telling me, “Let’s do this already! Why not?”

http://imageshack.us/a/img818/9277/70ib.jpg

I knew that there would be judgments. I mean, my mom doesn’t agree with it, but that’s OK. She’s just as loving as she’s always been.

Before we left that morning, I had asked Adam to take pictures with his phone, and he said, “Let’s make a video!” so he brought the camera.

Once I was in the barber’s chair, Thorin made a part and clipped my hair to the side. Tears welled in my eyes again at the first buzz. But I was determined not to have a tear fall.

It wasn’t so much about my hair — it’s just hair. It was really that I had been a model for so long. It’s what I do. It was saying goodbye to what I had been and knowing that I was starting something brand new, and I had no idea how it would go.

My heart was racing, I thought, “Wow, I’m all in. This is it. This isn’t me putting my hair back in a bun and wearing a hat to look like a guy.”

After they cut my hair, the first question I asked was, “Do I still look like a girl?”

With my hand, I felt the part that was shaved. I thought it would feel more rough, but it was still soft. I was looking around to see how people were looking at me. I wanted to see how different it was to look like a boy.

http://imageshack.us/a/img14/597/s0ja.jpg

Today, I notice that people look just a second longer. I don’t know if it’s because they’re just trying to find out if I’m a guy or a girl or if they’re thinking, “Hey, that’s a cool haircut.”

I’ve never regretted it. I’m standing for something different to be possible in the world — and not just for me. It’s a stand for self-expression, transformation and freedom.

source (http://nypost.com/2013/10/21/gal-to-guy-model-reveals-inside-story/)