Ep. 181: The importance of ‘90s model Jenny Shimizu when it comes to race and sexuality

BeautyMe with Charisse Kenion

At just 5ft 6 with a slight, toned build, American model Jenny Shimizu looked more like a car mechanic than a runway model – because that’s exactly what she was when she was discovered. She refers to herself as a ‘gay Japanese mechanic with short hair and tattoos’ and never planned a career in modelling or acting but by doing exactly that she became a poster girl for young, queer Asian women who had never really seen themselves in the media before.

I’d love to know what you think – and I’d love to know if you have a favourite model from any era that you’d like me to focus on in a future episode. You can get in touch in my DMs at @beautymepodcast on Instagram and Twitter and there's a video all about Jenny over on my Instagram and my TikTok @charissekenion.

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Links:

Cargo Collective article: https://cargocollective.com/savikuruppu/My-Girl-Jenny-Shimizu

Allure magazine 2017 article: https://www.allure.com/story/jenny-shimizu-interview-sexuality-and-aging

Refinery29 2017 article: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2017/03/144359/jenny-shimizu-model-police-officer-training

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