I've become a fan of America's Next Top Model in the last season and a half. Really, it's a love-hate relationship more than anything. I roll my eyes more times in the hour that show airs than I have in the entire day, but I can't pull myself away, no matter how disgusted I become. It's like a train wreck. But I love watching every re-run of every cycle. I love to hate how the girls all backstab each other at every turn, scream and cry when they see a bug n Africa (who woulda' thunk it!?), stutter over how to pronounce words like chartreuse and magenta, how each of the girls either has no security whatsoever or they think they know so much, they don't need any coaching. And their lack of intelligence is just hilarious (''What's a POV??'' ''Um.. a point of view.), especially when you hear Tyra talk about how these are all strong, intelligent women who can be role models (role models who can't pronounce common words, stab each other in the back, and get scared of bugs. Right.)

Tyra herself cracks me up time after time, giving them outlandish assignments and then being ''shocked'' when none of the girls can do it. I love watching her ''coach'' the girls, making these strange eye movements and poses and really just looking like a fool. Meanwhile, the contestants are all staring in awe, open-mouthed and nodding. It's almost funny, if it wasn't so sad.

But I can't diss the show that much, seeing as how I'm glued to the TV whenever it comes on. As much as I hate it, I love it more. I'm sure a lot of you are nodding in agreement with me right now.

The Cycle 8 season premiere was this Wednesday on the CW, and the girls were all supposed to make ''political statements'', even if they were statements they didn't agree with. The stances were pro-fur/anti-fur, pro-meat/vegan, pro-gun/anti-gun, pro-gay marriage/anti-gay marriage, pro-life/pro-choice, and pro-capital punishment/anti-capital punishment.

Watching a bunch of girls who could barely grasp what they were doing was funny enough, especially when Kathleen, who was assigned to be ''anti-fur'' was asked how she felt about it. She said that she supported it as long as animals weren't killed in the process. ''I mean, animals die naturally just like people, right?''

That one definitely prompted a snicker from me.

But what really intrigued me, and got me thinking, was the pro-life/pro-choice stance. It was interesting how every single person that was asked their stance on that particular issue all gave the exact same answer: I don't want to tell a woman want to do with her body. I'm definitely pro-choice. I would never be pro-life.

It's especially interesting how, politically, these girls all fall into the same category, especially when Tyra constantly tells them to be chameleons, and be ever-changing. Be a palette, she likes to say.

However, during auditions for one cycle, one girl auditioned (whose name I can't remember now for the life of me) who was a -- gasp!! -- conservative. Standing before the judges, I was extremely proud of her and a little ashamed at the same time. She was getting harsh criticism from Tyra and the panel for her views. She was a preacher's daughter who spoke her views and spoke them proudly, and didn't back down, even when she was being challenged for them. She eventually was cut for being ''too conservative'', namely her views on homosexuality and gay marriage. They didn't think she could cut it in the modeling industry.

And these things made me wonder -- when it comes to actors and actresses, models, feminists, etc., how many of them are really chameleons? You can't be a ''good'' feminist and be pro-life. You can't be a ''good'' liberal unless you're pro-choice. If you're anti-abortion, then it must mean you're against women's rights.

It was interesting to compare the pro-life/pro-choice photos from the episode. Russian-born Natasha was posed in skimpy white undergarments with ''My Choice'' written in red across her flat stomach, splaying herself in multiple seductive positions across a bare, brick wall. The pro-life assignment was given to Jael, who was chained a grey door with the word ''Clinic'' posted on it with the woman's symbol next to it. During judging, Tyra told her she needed to convey the pro-life movement better, that she should've had the attitude of ''I am not letting anyone in the door of that clinic!!''

Pro-choice = sexy. Pro-life = crazy. It's funny how pro-choice walks and marches are always applauded in the media as being walks for women's rights, and how they're peaceful. You'll see famous actresses and notorious feminists walking side-by-side. Thousands upon thousands of women will march for their right to murder their unborn child, and it's applauded. It's headline news in the mainstream media.

Have a pro-life march, however, and it's always a bunch of right-wing nutjobs. They're just a bunch of Jesus-land freaks who want to impose their views on everyone else, because they think it's morally right. They're violent, and they want to force us all into back-alley abortions without bothering to know the ''science'' behind it. They want to tell other women what to do with their bodies. Tens of thousands can march peacefully for a child's right to life, and it won't even make a ripple in the mainstream media. One pro-life extremist, however, does something crazy -- shooting a ob-gyn who performs abortions, fire-bombing an abortion clinic -- and that's what all pro-lifers are like. That aggression and anger is lurking just below the surface for all of us.

And none of us have any scientific claims to back up our pro-life stance, anyways, right? We base our argument purely on morals.

Well, here's some facts to back up the pro-life argument.

A lot of pro-choicers like to say they want to encourage women to keep abortion a safe, legal alternative, albeit a rare one. But it isn't rare, and it isn't safe. Abortion is four times deadlier than childbirth, and has been known to increase a woman's risk of getting breast cancer and also could possibly render her infertile later in life. There are also many, many psychological disorders women have been known to suffer after having an abortion -- post-abortion syndrome, anxiety, nightmares, guilt, anger, depression, hallucinations, and more. Maybe people with no conscience like Amy Richards don't have this problem, but ordinary women like you and me have a very real risk of having post-abortion psychological issues.

Pro-choicers also claim that abortion can reduce child abuse. Well, from 1973, when abortion was made legal, to 1987, child abuse cases increased 1,112%. A study done by Dr. Philip Ney, director of the National Institute for Pregnancy Loss and Child Abuse Research and Recovery found that, of the abused children, 91% were planned pregnancies. He also found links between lack of self-esteem and child abuse. Abortions have been known to lower a woman's self-esteem and bring strong feelings of guilt, also something which can lead to child abuse.

Pro-choicers also believe that the baby is part of his or her mother's body, not an independent being, and therefore, the mother should be allowed to do what she wishes with it. First of all, at the moment of conception, when the sperm and egg first unite, that baby is already completely separate from his or her mother. He or she already has their own DNA code, separate from the mother's. Hair color, eye color, and sex have already been established. This genetic information is what the baby will carry for the rest of his or her life.

There's also the argument that a baby born in the first trimester can't survive outside of the womb, so he or she does not ''count'' as alive yet. But as technology grows, babies are being born earlier and earlier -- and surviving. Take Kenya King, born in 1985 at four-and-a-half months. She survived -- and this was over fifteen years ago.

Abortion is not just a religious or moral issue, and it's sad that in liberal Hollywood-land, it's so accepted that you are actually looked down upon for being pro-life. And why is it that modern-day feminists make women feel like gender-traitors for taking a different viewpoint than them?

If you're in Hollywood, you must think and act a certain way. If you're a feminist, you must think and act a certain way. If you're going to be a model, apparently you, too, must think and act a certain way.

They all seem to pay lip service to wanting and accepting people of all different backgrounds. But when it comes right down to it, they only accept chameleons of one color.

As always, I welcome your thoughts.