I’m Tiffany, I’m a female golf sportswear model primarily doing campaigns for Callaway, Under Armour, and Nike. These are pretty high profile campaigns for which to be photographed and I’m so proud to be able to act as an athletic sportswear model rather than a fashion model. I spent my early twenties desperately trying to be a fashion model and was so pleased to stumble into the world of sports modeling. Fashion models are expected to be a size 2 and I never naturally fit the body type – which resulted in lots of extreme measures to be smaller. Women are often expected to be smaller, to shrink to fit inside of a space. On the other hand, men are often expected to be bigger, having spaces made larger to fit their bodies, personalities, and entitlements. While I don’t necessarily agree with this gender divide – what women larger than a size 2 possible could? – I found my place within the culture.
My employers no longer tell me to do more cardio, eat less, and enjoy the “perks” of a trainer, instagram endorsement deals and meal replacement meditation sessions. My employers now allow me access to an athletic gym, nutritionists and trainers focused on getting stronger rather than getting smaller. My photographers no longer tell me to suck it in or hunch over it, now they tell me to flex and demonstrate my abilities. My make-up artists no longer paint definition lines that don’t exist over my sunken in eyes and cheeks, now they dab on some highlighter and mascara and let my actual face show.
I don’t get to walk in runways and I don’t get to maintain the crazy model lifestyle I used to want, but now I have a well-paying, satisfying job that makes me proud. But because internet readers love formulaic, predictable stories with “sass” and “wit,” I’m going to try to monetize my modeling years by recounting them here on this dumb blog that you found on accident anyway.