Entries in RAM Members Online

How the info you send is edited

In the very early days of this website we had an instant message board, on which members could place their own advertisements, unedited.  It was a bit of a disaster and was soon scrapped, because much of what models chose to say in their ads was decidedly 'off-message'.  In other words, there was a lot of stuff that was not compatible with our aims and objects as stated on this website, in the 'Red List' and in the Notes for Applicants.

The self-placed advertisements were replaced by a system of 'entries' (profiles).  These are composed by the webmaster, drawing on what you tell us about yourself and sometimes what we know about you already (from your audition, for example).  You may write quite a lot on the form, only to be be disappointed to find most of it missing or altered in the actual entry.  So here are some examples of what gets edited out or altered and why.

Descriptions

Any description you give of yourself, unless we have seen you recently and agree with it, will be preceded with something like "John describes himself as..."  If you go right over the top, stressing how gorgeous or handsome you are, it will either be left out altogether or toned down a lot.  Of course, plain statistics of height, weight, age etc, are left intact, without comment.

Competence, conduct, reliability

Employers are told that all RAM models are a cut above the rest in these respects.  Saying how reliable you are, how still you remain while posing, how well-behaved you are and so on, makes it look as though there may be members who are not able to fulfill these basic requirements.  Of course, if you have specialities of your own, such as yoga or sports poses, these can be mentioned.

References

Being a member of RAM should be the only reference you need.  That's why we don't give references to individual models.  For the same reason we don't allow phrases such as "references available" in entries.

Experience

Some members who have only just joined RAM had never set foot in a life room before appearing for the first time at a Bare Facts session to train/audition for RAM membership.  Others have been doing the job for decades, so it's perfectly acceptable to mention the amount of experience you have had.  In fact, it's a good idea.  However, models love to list all the different kinds of places where they have worked - adult education, schools, art clubs etc, etc.  Unless you've worked somewhere really surprising, your list will simply be reduced to "John has worked for all the usual sorts of employers." Experienced models are expected to have worked in all those different situations and the less experienced are expected to be prepared to do so.  Associate Members please note that experience cannot be mentioned in your entries at all, because you are supposed to be beginners!

Working for nothing

Models quite often want us to say that they will consider working for nothing, or for prints only.  This goes against one of the fundamental reasons that RAM came into existence - to struggle for professionalism and decent remuneration.  Therefore any suggestion that you will work for anything other than a reasonable fee is always edited out.

Working anywhere

Many models want to say that they will work anywhere.  Unfortunately, experience has shown that this is usually not true, and leads to complaints from emloyers about misleading information.  It also leads to complaints from members in some areas about 'outsiders' muscling in on their territory.  Your therefore restricted to 3 counties or unitary authorities.  London is a particularly sensitive region.  You cannot be listed under London or have London mentioned in your profile unless you have auditioned at a London affiliated workshop.  This applies to a few other areas where there are affiliated workshops.

Sending the wrong signal

There are a number of items that crop up over and over again, mainly in the submissions of male models.  They are routinely edited out as sending the wrong signal, either about yourself or about RAM.  Some of them are listed below.  They have all found their way onto the list of banned items because they have been adversely commented upon by members and/or employers at one time or another.

1. Naturism

It's very common for beginners to imagine that the most important thing to get across is that they don't mind being naked in front of other people.  By way of proof, they often mention that they are naturists.  This tends to puzzle employers.  Surely, they reason, anyone who is afraid of being naked in front of strangers would never be in possession of a RAM card?  Also - and here's the really bad news, lads - many life drawing tutors are fairly conservative types who seem to find the idea of naturism faintly ludicrous, so it's probably not a good idea to mention it.

2. Posing with other models

There's a certain amount of hypocrisy at work with this one.  Life models these days are often required to pose with another model of either sex - in fact it has been the norm in some colleges for decades.  At the same time, mentioning a willingness to do so in your entry sets alarm bells ringing.  Some of the very same people who may well require you to pose with another model don't like to see it in your entry.

3. Open-mindedness

We all know what's meant by phrases such as "open-minded", "broad-minded", "open to any suggestions" etc - at least, we think we do, and that's what matters.  The fact is that many visitors to RAM Members Online just don't want to find such phrases there, however innocently they are meant, so they are now edited out.

Yes, you will find inconsistencies in the way these rules are applied, especially in the older entries.  Nothing is perfect.

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