You studied some other English-speaking countries' spinoff Next Top Model shows, too. Do those archetypes show up in the other, international versions?

Some do. Some of the British and Australian cycles had archetypes that were distinctly British or Australian. In the Australian version, there was the Joker—the woman who loved to prank others. She was always playing jokes on the other women in the house. Another archetype that came up in the Australian version was the Unstable Woman—the woman who cried seemingly constantly, who fell apart in an instant. And the Insecure Girl, the girl who really lacked confidence. Unfortunately, those two were often the same contestant. Australia also had the Boring Blonde Mannequin.

And then there's the Party Girl in Australia's Top Model. You didn't see her so much in the American version; drinking was pretty frowned-upon in the American version. But the Australian version and the British version, when they would move into their house, they had fully stocked liquor cabinets. Which you never saw on the American version! I guess you could argue that there were some party girls in the American version, but it wasn't as blatant; it wasn't celebrated. If that was the case, the judges were very upset. "You've been drinking; you don't look good." But it was much more acceptable in the other versions.

I feel terrible saying these things, by the way! [Laughs] I'm not usually one to judge women so harshly. But I had to, to write about this.

You mentioned that standards of beauty were observably different on the international versions of the show. What did you notice about other countries' standards for what constitutes a beautiful woman?

It varied cycle to cycle. In the American version, yes, they would cast some plus-size women. But generally, they wanted very thin women, and you couldn't be too short. They did finally do a petite cycle in Cycle 13—and as a very short person, I was like, well, it's about damn time!

But in the British and the Australian versions, their standards of beauty—at least as you'd learn about them from watching the show—were that they could be a little bit curvier. They still liked tall, thin, young women, but you could be curvier and still have an opportunity to succeed.

America's Next Top Model is broadcast in 170 countries around the world. So let's say you're someone who's never been to the U.S. What do you think you would learn—rightly or wrongly—about the United States from watching 10 years of America's Next Top Model?

Oh, boy.

I think if you watched 10 years of ANTM and had never been exposed to America before, you'd think that in the United States you absolutely need to be thin. And that you can't have a very big chest, because then it's scandalous. [Note: In her dissertation, Loverude mentions that contestants with large breasts "often hear (comments that) have to do with their appearance being more suitable to men's magazines, not high fashion."] And that you have to exercise all the time. There were a lot of clips—especially in Cycles Two and Four—of the women exercising. They had a trainer that came in who was always trying to kick their ass.