Isis King

Infobox Model
birthname = Darrell Walls

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birthdate = 1986
location = Prince George's County, Maryland
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haircolor = Black
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Isis King (born Darrell Walls, 1986) is an American fashion model and contestant on the eleventh cycle of the TV series "America's Next Top Model".cite web
last = Thomas
first = Natalie
title= "I've Always Felt Like I Was Different": One New Hopeful From 'America's Next Top Model' was Born a Man. Now Isis King Tells Her Story To 'Us'
publisher=Us Magazine
date=15 September 2008
url =http://i36.tinypic.com/1h5gmv.png accessdate=2008-09-10] cite web
title= Transgender Contestant to Compete on Top Model
publisher=Us Magazine
date=13 August 2008
url =http://www.usmagazine.com/transgender-contestant-to-compete-on-antm
accessdate=2008-09-10] cite web
last = Johnson
first = Chris
title= Isis to bring it to the judges' panel on America's Next Top Model
publisher=Human Rights Campaign
date=13 August 2008
url =http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2008/08/isis-to-bring-i.html
accessdate=2008-09-10] She is the first transwoman to compete on the show and has become one of the most visible transgender people on television.

Biography

King is originally from Prince George's County, Maryland and currently resides in New York City. As of August 2008, she is 22 years old. King was born physically male, but has stated that "mentally [and] everything else [she] was born female."cite web
title= The Cut: Transgender ‘America’s Next Top Model’ Contestant Speaks, Works It
publisher=New York magazine
date=13 August 2008
url =http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2008/08/video_transgender_americas_nex.html
accessdate=2008-09-10] She has stated that people might refer to her as transgender or transsexual but she prefers the phrase "born in the wrong body".

While in high school, King came out as a gay man, but felt that it was still not the accurate label for her orientation. In 2007, King appeared in an MSNBC special, titled "Born In The Wrong Body," which documented the lives of transgender teens from across the United States. King is a "pre-operative" transwoman and began hormone replacement therapy in the summer of 2007 as part of her transitioning process. She hopes to have gender reassignment surgery as soon as possible.

King has an associate degree from the Art Institute of Philadelphia.cite web
last = Thomas
first = Natalie
title= "I've Always Felt Like I Was Different": One New Hopeful From 'America's Next Top Model' was Born a Man. Now Isis King Tells Her Story To 'Us'
publisher=Us Magazine
date=15 September 2008
url =http://i35.tinypic.com/2u6zinm.png accessdate=2008-09-10] She has worked as a receptionist and is currently Program Assistant at a nonprofit organization.cite web
title= Cycle 11 - Cast: Isis
publisher=CWTV
date=August 2008
url =http://www.cwtv.com/shows/americas-next-top-model11/cast/isis
accessdate=2008-09-10]

Fashion career and "America's Next Top Model"

King had been runway modeling for seven years before participating in "America's Next Top Model". Her experience including competing in the underground ball culture scene.cite web
title= America's Next Top Model Transgender Contestant Breaks Her Silence
publisher=Us Magazine
date=27 August 2008
url Bold text=http://www.usmagazine.com/news/top-models-transgender-contestant-breaks-her-silence
accessdate=2008-09-10 In a promotional interview for ANTM, King stated she is looking forward to runway as she has been walking for seven years.]

King was living at the Ali Forney Transitional Living Program, when she learned about an upcoming photo shoot for ANTM's tenth cycle.cite web
title= America's Next Top Model Transgender Contestant: "This Is Who I Am"
publisher=Us Magazine
date=3 September 2008
url =http://www.usmagazine.com/antm-transgendered-contestant-this-is-who-i-am
accessdate=2008-09-10] The shoot's theme was the issue of homeless youth, and homeless women would be used as background models in conjunction with the Reciprocity Foundation, which works to move homeless and high-risk youth into careers in the "creativity economy". King asked art director Jay Manuel whether she could be accepted, as a girl "born in the wrong body," if she were to audition as a contestant for ANTM. ANTM host and producer Tyra Banks said later that she had her staff search out King to encourage her to audition based on her stellar performance in the photo shoot. She became one of fourteen finalists for the eleventh cycle of the competitive reality show.cite web
last = Hinds
first = Paulene
title= War Of The Supermodels
publisher=Reality TV Magazine
date=9 September 2008
url =http://www.realitytvmagazine.com/blog/2008/09/09/war-of-the-supermodels/
accessdate=2008-09-10] cite episode
title = The Notorious Fierce Fourteen
episodelink = America's Next Top Model, Cycle 11#The Notorious Fierce Fourteen
series = America's Next Top Model
serieslink = America's Next Top Model, Cycle 11
airdate = 2008-09-03
season = 11
number = 1 ] Beginning near the top of the pack in the first week she quickly went downhill being in the bottom 2 twice; first in week 2 of the competition along with Nikeysha Clarke, who ultimately got eliminated, and again in the fourth week in which she got eliminated over fellow contestant Samantha Potter. She placed tenth overall.

King is one of a small but growing number of transgender people and characters in film and television, and her inclusion on ANTM has been called an "unprecedented opportunity" by Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation cite web | url =http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSN0243933820080903
accessdate=2008-09-10] By competing on the show, King has brought national and prime time attention to issues of gender transitioning and gender expression.cite web
title= Fox News Addresses Isis King, Angers GLAAD
publisher=New York magazine
date=15 August 2008
url =http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2008/08/fox_news_addresses_isis_tsunam.html
accessdate=2008-09-10] cite web
last = Pivirotto
first = Alyssa
title= Major twist revealed on America's Next Top Model
publisher=ABC 15
date=5 September 2008
url =http://www.abc15.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=1bf4d12f-fb06-4bef-bbd2-9f1d2f2b1b00
accessdate=2008-09-10] "New York" magazine has called King the cause célèbre of cycle 11, comparing her transsexualism to previous contestant "issues" featured on the show such as cycle 9 contestant Heather Kuzmich's Aspergers syndrome.cite web
last = Brown
first = Lane
coauthors = Jessica Coen, Nick Catucci
title= ‘ANTM’ Takes Lovelies Closer to Fame, in Hollywood
publisher=New York (magazine)
date=2 September 2008
url =http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/09/antm_takes_latest_lovelies_clo.html
accessdate=2008-09-10] ANTM executive producer Ken Mok stated that casting her was in support of "redefin [ing] what beauty is," one of "Tyra's original missions" for the show.cite web
last = Rocchio
first = Christopher
title= 'Top Model' producer: Transgender model to help "redefine" beauty
publisher=Reality TV World
date=22 August 2008
url =http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/top-model-producer-transgender-model-help-redefine-beauty-7698.php
accessdate=2008-09-10]

Due to the intimate nature of ANTM, which films the contestants living together during the several weeks of the competition, GLAAD spokesman Damon Romine noted that "the show deals head on with the contestants confronting their own phobias. There's going to be support, and the reverse of that. It opens the door for the other girls and the viewers to get to know Isis and the transgender community." Some of King's fellow contestants have expressed prejudices in speaking about how King's gender-transitioning would be poorly received in their own small communities or in the southern United States. Contestants have referred to King pejoratively as a "he/she" and a drag queen.cite episode
title = Top Model Inauguration
episodelink = America's Next Top Model, Cycle 11#Top Model Inauguration
series = America's Next Top Model
serieslink = America's Next Top Model, Cycle 11
airdate = 2008-09-03
season = 11
number = 2 ] Facets of King's transitioning process have been portrayed in the show, such as her hormone injections and subsequent nausea.cite episode
title = The Ladder of Model Success
episodelink = America's Next Top Model, Cycle 11#The Ladder of Model Success
series = America's Next Top Model
serieslink = America's Next Top Model, Cycle 11
airdate = 2008-09-10
season = 11
number = 3 ]

"New York" magazine noted King is one of few transgender models in history to rise to prominence and that only a handful have reached the higher levels, including Teri Toye, former club kid Amanda Lepore and gender-bending club promoter and model André J..cite web
last = Odell
first = Amy
title= Tranny Models Who Made History
publisher=New York (magazine)
date=14 August 2008
url =http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2008/08/tranny_models_who_made_history.html
accessdate=2008-09-10] Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys New York, told ABC News that the time may be right for a transgender supermodel: "Maybe it's time for a tranny to end up on the cover of Vogue."

ee also

* Trans-bashing
* Transgender in film and television

References

External links

* [http://www.cwtv.com/shows/americas-next-top-model11/cast/isis Profile page on "America's Next Top Model" with link to her portfolio]