Editing History of Vote for the Girls (United States)

=== Development ===
Eleven years prior to the official launch of Vote for the Girls, Ava Zinn had launched two web sites--her flagship web site (currently known as AvaZinn.com) and [[INNewsCenter]], a site devoted to discussing the television industry in Indiana's 10 markets (initially Fort Wayne and Indianapolis) that serve all of Indiana's 92 counties. Both were launched on November 1, 1999 while Zinn was a junior at [[wikipedia:Mississinewa High School|Mississinewa High School]] in [[wikipedia:Gas City, Indiana|Gas City]], Indiana. At the time of the launches of AvaZinn.com and INNewsCenter, Zinn had considered doing a reality-based web site similar to [[wikipedia:The Mole (U.S. TV series)|The Mole]]. In 2008, Zinn began watching American Idol and seeing the eliminations of female contestants from the seventh through the latter part of the ninth season, Zinn realized that she decided to do something about keeping female contestants on American Idol and eventually discovered discovered that Vote for the Worst essentially ruined American Idol.

=== Background ===
[[File:VFTG_logo.png|200px|thumb|Previous Vote for the Girls logo. Used from April 28, 2010 to May 31, 2013]]
Vote for the Girls was started on Zinn's web site during [[wikipedia:American Idol (season 9)|season nine]] of American Idol after Zinn asked her friends on [[wikipedia:Facebook|Facebook]] to vote for [[wikipedia:Crystal Bowersox|Crystal Bowersox]] following the elimination of [[wikipedia:Siobhan Magnus|Siobhan Magnus]] on April 28, 2010. After realizing, in Zinn's view that Idol is a talent competition that a girl can easily win, VFTG was started as a personal campaign of Zinn's on her web site. A Wordpress website was soon created by Zinn to help promote the movement, as well as a Facebook page, [[wikipedia:Twitter|Twitter]] account, and YouTube channel (initially on Zinn's YouTube channel before moving to its own channel). After season 11 of American Idol, Zinn herself helped move the site to its own domain name to handle increased traffic, and VotefortheGirls.us as we know it was formed.


In all competitions, fans of the site are expected to vote only for female contestants (and in later seasons, included male-female duos, predominately and all girl groups since 2011 and approved male contestants since 2015) en masse with the Vote for the Girls moderators and to Zinn's high expectations to vote off the male contestants (later non-supported male contestants). Zinn demands that all males be eliminated at the earliest possible without regard to criticism and/or public backlash (meaning that fans of the site must vote for all remaining female contestants each week), introducing the possibility of an all-female finale, all-female final two, and/or a male-female finale or final two.  

Zinn desires to complete every competition with a Vote for the Girls "victory", but performances by the male counterparts will cause her to call off the competition, if not end the competition with a Vote for the Girls "loss" or end the competition if there are no female contestants left in the competition, and discipline the moderator(s) that have chosen the male contestant that wins the competition with a "Punishment for Failure". Once the competition ends with either a victory or a loss, Zinn determines which moderator(s) (if not all) is the wining moderator(s) for the "VFTG Victory" or the losing moderator(s) for the "VFTG Loss" (Although there have been joint-winning moderators in the past (once in [[Vote for the Girls (U.S. season 4)|VFTG 2013]]) and there have been winning moderators even though a supported female contestant did not win (twice in [[Vote for the Girls (U.S. season 5)|VFTG 2014]] (Ava Zinn with both Jena Irene and Christina Grimmie) and twice in [[Vote for the Girls (U.S. season 6)|VFTG 2015]]) (Ava Zinn with Valerie Rockey and Kellie Rock with DaNica Shirey)). 

When the Moderators' Save was introduced in VFTG 2015, if fans of the site fail to support a female contestant to the Victory or all female contestants are eliminated before the competition's finale results with the moderator panel voting unanimously to spare the site a loss by declining the defeat. If the Moderators' Save is used on a female contestant on ''American Idol,'' ''The Voice,'' ''The X Factor,'' or ''Rising Star;'' the site will not declare a loss nor a victory and like any Vote for the Girls Loss, Zinn and the VFTG moderators are forced to support the female contestants in a make-up competition without the moderators facing punishment. However, if the Moderators' Save is used on a female contestant on ''So You Think You Can Dance'' or ''America's Got Talent;'' the site will not declare a loss and since they are make-up competitions, the moderators will not get any wild card or steal picks yet the moderators are faced with punishment (usually Beards for Breast Cancer). 

Zinn is free to ignore these rules if she sees fit. She has frequently disciplined moderators during the competitions if a moderator's  performance is abysmal, may override the provided picks with her own selection, or even declare a dual victory (as it happened twice in the spring cycle of VFTG 2015 on ''American Idol'' and ''The Voice'' with the respective male victories of Nick Fradiani and Sawyer Fredericks--both of them were supported male contestants--and the female victories of Jax Cole and Meghan Linsey). There have been times where VFTG moderators resigned for medical reasons or they may leave on their own free will; though the latter is not encouraged, their wishes are ultimately honored.{{fact|August 2014}} 

Vote for the Girls is somewhat rare of ''Idol'' related websites unlike VFTW and VATP, where VFTW (and less frequently VATP) promotes votes for the worst, most entertaining, most hated or quirkiest contestants chosen by a public vote and the moderators only critique about the competition. Ava Zinn describes VFTG as her philosophy, "Producers Have a Choice, Viewers Don't. That's part of the reason why INNewsCenter and Vote for the Girls have become my most successful web franchises." In earlier seasons on VFTG all decisions and VFTG picks fell under one person, Zinn, instead of a majority vote by the contestants until September 2014 when the America's Pick debuted. Additionally, Zinn has the power to override the basic format of the site, such as ignoring pick nominations from moderators (later seasons eliminated this aspect, yet since the site's sixth season So You Think You Can Dance and America's Got Talent are the only such times), or even opposed to the single winner format used in most reality talent competitions in favor of a dual-winner (one male and one female) used from [[wikipedia:So You Think You Can Dance|''So You Think You Can Dance'']]'s ninth and tenth seasons.


Rarely the site will have a look back at previous episodes (should there be no female contestants remaining in the covered shows). These have been rebranded as '''''Classic Vote for the Girls''''', some with a false ''[[wikipedia:All My Children|All My Children]]''-like theme and the opening sequence for ''Classic VFTG'' parodies the open of ''All My Children'' from 1990 to 1995 featuring past Vote for the Girls picks. These shows are interspersed with [[wikt:commentary|commentary]] from Zinn herself, usually before, during, and after the episode. The first Classic VFTG shows aired in August 2013 with the ''Duets'' competition. although these shows can also look back at an entire competition as well. The first such episodes aired on December 9 and December 16, 2014 with the respective American Idol 10 and 11 competitions in place of [[wikipedia:The Voice (U.S. season 7)|seventh season]] respective semi-final and final results of ''The Voice.''

The site has done six special episodes, titled:
#[[Ava's American Idol Audition]], aired January 20, 2012
#[[Ava's Virginity Auction]], aired July 11, 2014
#[[100 Women Picked]], air date January 4, 2015
#[[Kymberly Alvaraz]]: [[Ava's Virginity Auction|Buying Ava's Virginity]] and [[Kym Christian shooting incident|Shooting]] [[Khayla Chow]], air date TBA
#Vote for the Girls 5th Birthday Special, April 28, 2015
#200 Women Picked, air date Fall 2015
#10 Victories

Ava's American Idol Audition was dedicated to Zinn's own ''American Idol'' season 11 audition in Pittsburgh in July 2011, [[Ava's Virginity Auction]] was dedicated to Zinn's decision to auction off her virginity if a female didn't win and reaction to the announcement, public backlash following the site's first loss on ''The Voice,'' and media firestorm that soon followed.

"[[100 Women Picked]]," "200 Women Picked," and "10 Victories" are special episodes dedicated to these supported female contestants who had written to Ava Zinn with their stories on how the site allowed them to audition for talent shows themselves.

===Style===
The site's YouTube videos often feature screaming matches among the moderation panel, guests, and audience members. Using a large steel can for an [[wikipedia:ashtray|ashtray]], Zinn often [[wikipedia:chainsmoke|chainsmoke]]s during the site's YouTube videos. VFTG's fans are known as "LesbianDozers", patterned after the studio audience with [[wikipedia:lecterns|lecterns]] decorated with the VFTG icon, from which Zinn's guests would go head-to-head against each other on their respective issues in later seasons.

Zinn's signature phrases "WGWG Commie" (in reference to the white guy with guitar that Idol pundits call and Communism), "Girl Hating Bastard" or "Girl Hating Bitch" (in reference to male contestants), and "Shush it!" briefly enjoyed some popularity in the contemporary vernacular. Zinn particularly enjoys making her guests angry with each other and often fans of male contestants angry with Zinn, which on a few occasions resulted in cyberbullying via Facebook and Twitter and physical confrontations.

=== Sounds ===

Often in many of VFTG's YouTube videos until the end of the site's fourth season, the sounds used on VFTG are also currently used on ''[[wikipedia:The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)|The Price is Right]]'' and [[wikipedia:Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]. A female contestant being declared safe and advancing in the competition is indicated by a ding (from Wheel of Fortune when a letter is in the puzzle)<ref>{{cite web|author=Ava Zinn |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Yf-zPUZes |title=VFTG MASHUP: American Idol Top 10 Results (3/14/13) |publisher=YouTube |date= |accessdate=2013-05-13}}</ref>, while a male contestant being declared safe and advancing in the competition is indicated by a buzzer (nominally used on The Price is Right, later a generic buzzer)<ref name=vftg-male>{{cite web|author=Ava Zinn |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7ifa3zBukM |title=Vote for the Girls Mashup: Worst Season Ever (w/Ava Zinn & Gordon Ramsay) |publisher=YouTube |date= |accessdate=2013-05-13}}</ref>. However, if the next to last male contestant is voted off (leaving only one male contestant in the competition) or all female contestants in the competition are declared safe and advancing in the competition, the well-known "clangs" sound, also from The Price Is Right, is heard<ref name="VFTG-3" />. 

Additionally, when a "Vote for the Girls Loss" is declared, the Wheel of Fortune (later Scrabble) buzzer and the "Losing Horns" fanfare from ''[[wikipedia:The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)|The Price is Right]]'' is played when a male contestant wins the singing competition or the last female contestant is eliminated from the competition<ref name=vftg-male />. Conversely, when a "Vote for the Girls Victory" is declared, the well-known "clangs and whoops" sound, also from The Price Is Right, is heard, when the last male contestant is eliminated or a female wins the competition. Beginning in [[Vote for the Girls (U.S. season 6)|VFTG 2015]], [[wikipedia:Aloe Blacc|Aloe Blacc]]'s ''[[wikipedia:The Man (Aloe Blacc song)|The Man]]'' and [[wikipedia:Sugababes|Sugababes]]' [[wikipedia:Girls (Sugababes song)|''Here Come the Girls'']] are used for the respective losses and victories, with the latter being used since [[Vote for the Girls (U.S. season 5)|VFTG 2014]].

On several occasions, a "Vote for the Girls Bankrupt" is declared, the "Bankrupt Whistle" fanfare from ''Wheel of Fortune'' and the "Losing Horns" fanfare from ''The Price is Right'' is played when Ava Zinn's primary pick is eliminated from the competition.

Beginning with The X Factor season three four chair challenge, many of the VFTG sounds remained in use. The Wheel of Fortune ding remained when a female contestant is saved and advances in the competition while the buzzer sound from [[wikipedia:Scrabble (game show)|''Scrabble'']] is used when the male counterpart is saved and advances in the competition. 

[[Holly Everman]] commented that when the site moved to its current domain, VFTG wanted to use more sounds to make it more livelier, as was noted in the only season of ''Duets.'' After Olivia Chisolm was eliminated on July 5, 2012 (but later posted on YouTube in August 2013), the site began using the stopper sound from Scrabble when a VFTG Pick is eliminated. Additionally, Chisolm's elimination also left Bridget Carrington as the last remaining female in the ''Duets'' competition, which is indicated when the third stopper sound from Scrabble was used. 

On July 15, 2012 (later posted on Ava Zinn's YouTube channel and on the VFTG YouTube channel in August 2013) Bridget Carrington was eliminated from competition and had Zinn been watching the program that night on July 15, 2012 marked the first (and only time thus far) time since Vote for the Girls launched when a female contestant is eliminated from the competition with no female contestants remaining before the finale, the competition ends, which is indicated by the well known buzzer sound from [[wikipedia:List of The Price Is Right pricing games#Pathfinder|Pathfinder]]/[[wikipedia:Trivia Trap|Trivia Trap]] after three tries (later Stopper sound) when the team did not answer correctly and the losing horns. 

Additionally, Everman commented that during American Idol's 12th season and The Voice's fourth season, there were no sounds indicating Lazaro Arbos and The Swon Brothers, whom were the last remaining respective male contestants on American Idol and The Voice--that will be indicated. The only thing close to a sound indicating in the event the last male contestant left in the competition was background music throughout the episode was similar to a contestant spinning "The Big Wheel" in ''The Price is Right $1,000,000 Spectacular'' for the potential "Vote for the Girls Victory" in the succeeding episode. Otherwise, the Wheel of Fortune Speed-Up round music is used. On December 3, 2013 the site began using background music indicating the potential VFTG Loss.

During VFTG's fifth season premiere, the sound used for one male left in the competition is now indicated by only vowels remaining from ''Wheel'' before the finale and the second to last letter revealed from ''Scrabble'' on the semi-finals of The Voice, The X Factor, or American Idol Top 3.

Prior to the 2014 revamp, there were two occasions in which all of the female contestants were saved by the public votes before the males for a Vote for the Girls Clean Sweep. For the VFTG Clean Sweep to happen, all of the female contestants must remain intact and/or have the highest votes by the general public before any of the male counterparts. The first such VFTG Clean Sweep happened on March 28, 2013 with [[wikipedia:Lazaro Arbos|Lazaro Arbos]], [[wikipedia:Burnell Taylor|Burnell Taylor]], and [[wikipedia:Devin Velez|Devin Velez]] landed in the bottom three on American Idol, Zinn commented "Never before in the history of Vote for the Girls has there ever been a clean sweep." The sound used for a VFTG are the well-known "clangs" sound, also from The Price Is Right accompanied by a contestant winning the Crossword round on 1993 revival of Scrabble. However, if all female contestants have the highest votes and a male contestant is eliminated, the normal VFTG win (indicated by many dings accompanied by a correct guess in the Crossword round on 1993 revival of Scrabble. 

The previously used sound effects from earlier seasons used in other scenarios remains in use. One critic of the site said VFTG is more reminiscent of a game show than a web site.

Since the site's very first season, fans of the site are strongly discouraged to vote for the male contestants (exceptions were added in the site's fifth season). If all the male contestants are eliminated before the singing competition's finale and/or the female contestant wins the show, not only does the site claim a "victory", but Zinn and the moderators that participated in the particular singing competition get rewarded (usually getting a massage, eating with Ava Zinn at a fancy restaurant, etc.) while the losing moderators faces punishment, usually doing very tedious tasks or more humiliating (usually cleaning the VFTG set and prepping for the next competition, handling the deliveries, such as sorting through the garbage, paying up on friendly wagers, etc.), if all the female contestants but the last one were eliminated before the singing competition's finale, the site promotes votes only for the female contestant and often the moderators get into screaming matches supporters of the site had to vote for the girl to a Victory; failing to support the female contestant to the Victory or all female contestants are eliminated before the singing competition's finale results in not only the "loss" and a subsequent "Vote for the Girls Punishment for Failure," but also Zinn and the VFTG moderators were forced to support the female contestants in a make-up competition (usually So You Think You Can Dance and/or America's Got Talent) during the summer as well as the moderators facing the aforementioned punishment, usually these are more humiliating, usually cleaning the VFTG set and preparing for the next competition, handling the deliveries, such as sorting through the garbage, paying up on friendly wagers, etc (since all the moderators are females--either by birth or transgendered women--in every October for Breast Cancer Awarness, following a Vote for the Girls Loss, all the moderators do not shave their legs for the month of October). 

However, the site's biggest success happens to be So You Think You Can Dance as the site has had huge success as the make-up competitions for American Idol (and in later seasons The X Factor, The Voice, Rising Star, and other singing competitions). 



==Format==
{{main|Format of Vote for the Girls (United States)}}
[[File:VFTG_logo_2013.png|200px|left|thumb|Vote for the Girls alternate logo. Used since June 1, 2013]]
Each reality-based competition begins with the, where Vote for the Girls moderators form their team of frontrunners, which began with the [[wikipedia:The X Factor (U.S. season 1)|inaugural season of The X Factor USA]] in October 2011 (two picks for American Idol and three picks for The X Factor USA in VFTG 3 (2012).) In VFTG 4 (2013), this was increased to three picks for American Idol, The X Factor USA, and The Voice of America. In VFTG 5 (2014), this was increased to four picks for American, Idol, The X Factor USA, and The Voice of America), whom fans of the site vote for through the remainder of the season. The moderators watch the audition phases and during the performances of the auditions; those interested in a frontrunner press their signaling device, which illuminates their seat. 

In the “Opening Round” (auditions on Rising Star (US) - which are shown on the site's YouTube), at which point all moderators watch the audition phases and during the performances of the auditions; those interested in a frontrunner press their signaling device. The “Opening Round” episodes were introduced in VFTG 6 (2015) with Rising Star auditions that were taped on June 22, 2014; but were not shown until July 11, 2014. 

In the “quarter-finals” (battle rounds on The Voice, boot camp or 4 Chair Challenge on The X Factor USA, and before the American Idol semi-finalists are revealed—the latter of the three are not shown on YouTube), at which point all moderators must have their frontrunner picks made. The “quarter-finals” episodes were introduced in VFTG 4 (2013) with The Voice of America 4 Battle Rounds in April 2013. But in VFTG 2015, the opening round and quarter-finals were dropped.

The finals episodes were introduced in VFTG 2 (2011). Starting with inaugural season of The X Factor USA, each moderator chose who their picks to win the respective competition. A new element was added in VFTG 3 (2012);  moderators were given a "wild card", allowing each moderator to select one additional individual. This element increased to two “wild cards” for The Voice when Vote for the Girls added The Voice in November 2012. Another new element was added in VFTG 5 (2014): moderators were given a "Best of Worst pick", allowing each moderator to select one pick not eliminated during a finals round by another moderator, this is usually a female Vote for the Worst pick. In contrast, the site also added a new element upon the shut down of Vote for the Worst (it was reported that Zinn was acquiring the votefortheworst.com domain in May 2013 and redirect the URL to VFTG's site), and added VFTW picks (which are never revealed until the end of the competition) and in some episodes, Ava Zinn in a pre-recorded clip asking "Oh, mighty sound effects lady, is the Vote for the Worst pick eliminated from the competition?" or if a white guy with guitar is eliminated. Flex picks were introduced in VFTG 7 (2016) in which moderators are given a minimium of four male soloists or groups in addition to the regular female VFTG picks.  

The site only claims "victories" with the successful runs of the American The X Factor season 1's [[wikipedia:Melanie Amaro|Melanie Amaro]]<ref name="VFTG-1" /> (Hurd's first and only victory), The Voice US season 3's [[wikipedia:Cassadee Pope|Cassadee Pope]]<ref name="VFTG-2">{{cite web |url=http://voteforthegirls.us/2012/12/19/vtfg-victory-cassadee-pope-wins-the-voice/ |title=VFTG Victory: Cassadee Pope Wins The Voice |author=Ava Zinn |date=December 19, 2012 |work=Vote for the Girls |publisher=Aeverine Zinn Holdings |accessdate=April 18, 2013}}</ref>, The Voice season 4's [[wikipedia:Danielle Bradbery|Danielle Bradbery]]<ref name="VFTG-4">{{cite web |url=http://voteforthegirls.us/2013/06/18/vftg-victory-danielle-bradbery-wins-season-4-of-the-voice/ |title=VFTG Victory: Danielle Bradbery Wins The Voice |author=Ava Zinn |date=June 18, 2013 |work=Vote for the Girls |publisher=Aeverine Zinn Holdings |accessdate=June 23, 2013}}</ref> The Voice US season 5's [[wikipedia:Tessanne Chin|Tessanne Chin]] (all Ava Zinn's victories as winning moderator thus far), The X Factor USA season 3's [[wikipedia:Alex & Sierra|Alex & Sierra]] (Holly Everman's victory), as well as three automatic "victories" following the eliminations of the aforementioned Arbos of American Idol season 12<ref name="VFTG-3" />,  The Swon Brothers and Will Champlin finishing in third place on the fourth and fifth seasons of The Voice<ref name="VFTG-4" />, respectively. The site's first wild card pick of [[wikipedia:Candice Glover|Candice Glover]] and the site's pick of Danielle Bradbery eventually won the respective season of American Idol and The Voice. The victories of Glover, Bradbery, Alex & Sierra, and Chin marked the first time multiple victories have happened in any calendar year in the American version of the site's history as well as in the same calendar year, as well as zero losses for 2013. The victories are inducted into the Vote for the Girls Hall of Fame (see below). 

Also the site claims "wins" when a male contestant is voted off. Two such notable eliminations were [[wikipedia:Colton Dixon|Colton Dixon]] on American Idol on April 19, 2012 and VEDO on The Voice (season 4) on May 14, 2013. 

The site claims "losses" with the runs of the aforementioned Bowersox, Haley Reinhart and Lauren Alaina of American Idol 10, Jessica Sanchez of American Idol 11, and Carly Rose Sonenclar of The X Factor season 2, and notably Bridget Carrington of Duets and Ellona Santiago & Rion Paige of The X Factor.  

The site has claimed several "painful bankrupts" with the notable eliminations of [[wikipedia:Pia Toscano|Pia Toscano]] of American Idol 10 on April 7, 2011; Jennell Garcia of The X Factor US 2 on November 15, 2012;  [[wikipedia:Angie Miller (American singer)|Angie Miller]] of American Idol 12 on May 9, 2013; [[Judith Hill]] of The Voice on May 28, 2013. Toscano, Garcia, and Miller were Ava Zinn's (as well as VFTG's) primary picks to win American Idol (in an ironic twist of fate, the dates of the aforementioned eliminations have a connection to Zinn's late mother, Margaret, as Toscano was eliminated on what would have been [[Margaret Zinn|Zinn's mother]]'s 68th birthday and Miller's elimination on the day before the 11th anniversary of her death.) 


The site also claims "painful eliminations" (later "robbed" picks) with the eliminations of Holly Henry on The Voice of America 5, RoXxy Montana, Rachel Potter and Ellona Santiago of The X Factor USA 3. 

Beginning with Vote for the Girls' fifth season, a new feature to the site was added The Vote for the Girls Hall of Fame (which was formerly featured on the site's app and at the opening of many VFTG episodes until 2015) including the victories of the VFTG Picks that made the finale of the competitions.  

A non-victory VFTG Pick is only inducted in the VFTG Hall of Fame for one of the following reasons: A male-female duo wins, a female from Indiana wins, an undefeated season (of which two picks are inducted by Ava Zinn based on other metrics), or the VFTG moderators. A Finale Honorable Mention is only inducted into the VFTG Hall of Fame for one of the following reasons: a female wins So You Think You Think You Can Dance and/or America's Got Talent (of which only the VFTG Pick that made the finale of the respective competitions finished Runner-Up). 

The first non-winning, non-finale VFTG Pick was Angie Miller of American Idol 12 following the victory of Alex & Sierra of which Zinn states, "Angie Miller is in the VFTG Hall of Fame Angie clearly has great recording artist qualities.  I heard something in her that was quite special. She had the best potential across any other pick in Vote for the Girls, and in my business I think long term. I definitely, definitely made the right choice. This, for a 19-year old recording artist, is a phenomenon. This woman is going to be a big success."

Starting in the sixth season (VFTG 2015), the site officially added [[wikipedia:So You Think You Can Dance (United States)|So You Think You Can Dance]] as a make-up competition. The site previously followed SYTYCD for the seventh and eighth seasons, of which [[wikipedia:Lauren Friderman|Lauren Froderman]] and [[wikipedia:Melanie Moore|Melanie Moore]] were added to the VFTG Hall of Fame as the first and second make-up victories for Crystal Bowersox and Lauren Alaina, respectively. VFTG Moderator Kathi Jameson posted on her Twitter page about the site adding SYTYCD: "Kellie and I absolutely love #sytycd and I've wondered why the fuck Ava dropped the show in 2012." Ava Zinn posted the reason for dropping SYTYCD in 2012 was due to the [[wikipedia:June 2012 North American derecho|"the storm that basically sealed my faith in Marion, Indiana"]]. Also starting in the sixth season, the site added [[wikipedia:America's Got Talent|America's Got Talent]] as another make-up competition. 

Also in the sixth season, the site added a new element in the Vote for the Girls format called the Moderator's Save, an element first used in Italy's ''[[Vota Femminili]]'' (Vote for the Girls (Italy)) and ''[[Rösta för Flickorna]]'' (Vote for the Girls (Sweden)).<ref>???</ref> The moderators are given the power to exercise a veto on two regular competitions (one in each cycle) and one make-up competition and spare the site from a Vote for the Girls Loss for that particular competition. If the Moderators' Save is used in a make-up competition, the moderators will not get to choose any Vote for the Girls wild card or steal picks on ''The Voice'' nor ''American Idol'' because no victory nor loss is declared. The Moderator's Save can only be used once per cycle (later twice per cycle) and it must be unanimous. The first recipient of the Moderators' Save on a make-up competition was [[Valerie Rockey]], which allowed the site to finally declare its first victory of 2014 based on the dual-winner format previously used on the [[wikipedia:So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. season 9)|ninth]] and [[wikipedia:So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. season 10)|tenth]] seasons of ''SYTYCD,'' as well as declining the first ever VFTG Loss on a make-up competition on September 3, 2014. DaNica Shirey became the first recipient of the Moderartors' Save in a regular competition, which allowed Shirey as the last remaining female on the seventh season of ''The Voice'' to be inducted into the site's Hall of Fame.

In the spring cycle of the sixth season, the site added a [[Vote for the Girls (U.S.) moderator policies#Flexible_Picks|"flexible pick"]] system for the main moderator panel of the regular competitions when there is a male Vote for the Girls pick<ref name=VFTGUSA_FlexPick>http://www.voteforthegirls.us/about/flexible-picks</ref>. This is because as early as the Top 6 of American Idol or the Quarter-Finals of The Voice, there are a number of the web site's supported female contestants that have been eliminated or at risk of elimination (and a Vote for the Girls loss). Flex-picks ensures that all moderators have finale significance, regardless of whether or not one main moderator is competing for a finale spot. Two examples of this type of flexing involved [[Thia Tola]] on the fourteenth season of American Idol and on the eighth season of The Voice. In the first instance, the web site's male picks of Daniel Seavey and Nick Fradiani (chosen by [[Ava Zinn]] and [[Kymberly Alvaraz]] under the Alex & Sierra rule).


This is being implemented to prevent the web site's Vote for the Worst picks from airing during the competition, while at the same time attracting the coveted Female 18-49 demographic compared to the Male demographic, finale-potential male-female finale match-up that more fans would enjoy watching.



====Punishment for Loss/Failure====
;[[Beards for Breast Cancer|Leg Beards for Breast Cancer]]
{{multiple image
| align     = right 
| direction = horizontal
| width     = 100

| image1    = Legs of woman.jpg
| width1    = 150
| alt1      = a woman with her legs crossed
| caption1  = A woman with her legs shaved

| image2    = LegBeardPartial.jpg
| width2    = 150
| alt2      = a woman that hasn't shaved her legs in two weeks
| caption2  = A woman with a partial leg beard
| image3    = LegBeardFull.jpg
| width3    = 150
| alt2      = a woman that hasn't shaved her legs in 30 days
| caption2  = A Woman with a full leg beard

| header            = Leg Beards for Breast Cancer
| header_align      = center
| footer_align      = center
| header_background = 
| footer            = In almost every October following a Vote for the Girls Loss, the moderators do not shave their legs for the month of October for [[Breast Cancer Awareness]].  
}}
One punishment that has become a tradition on the site since the [[Vote for the Girls (U.S. season 1)|first season]] is the moderators growing a leg beard for [[wikipedia:National Breast Cancer Awareness Month|Breast Cancer Awareness in October]] following a Vote for the Girls Loss on ''American Idol,'' ''The Voice,'' ''The X Factor,'' and ''Rising Star.''  In almost every October (following a Vote for the Girls Loss), the Vote for the Girls moderators, which are all females (either biological or transgender/transsexuals), grow their leg hair out during the month of October.  The moderators join this worthy cause and raise awareness of Breast Cancer while skipping a month (and since 2014 as much as two months) of shaving their legs (though some have been critical of this punishment--a colleague while Zinn was also employed at Carey Services and friend of Zinn's late wife (Angie), noted in 2012, that one of Zinn's colleagues even got in trouble from HR for participating in Leg Beards for Breast Cancer.) 

During the site's [[Vote for the Girls (U.S. season 6)|sixth season]], the site added [[wikipedia:Movember|No Shave November]] as another punishment for failure for the female moderators. In that season, Zinn, Lanise White, Karly Ryder, Jr., Kym Christian, Holly Everman, and Kathi Jameson (the latter of the two were not shown due to Everman's suspension in August 2014 and Jameson's termination in September 2014 since they participated in both losses on the sixth season of ''The Voice'' and the thirteenth season of ''American Idol'') grew their leg hair for the entire months of October and November 2014. However, Kellie Rock and Julia Passalt did not participate in Leg Beards for Breast Cancer in October 2014 (as Rock earned immunity during the ''Rising Star'' season 1 competition because Rock's Vote for the Worst pick of Joshua Peavy was eliminated and Passalt's Vote for the Worst pick of Jesse Kinch won ''Rising Star'' as Rock and Passalt took the Male Moderator's offer before the male contestants' eliminations), but only Rock did participate in No Shave November 2014.

Since there were only two losses in the sixth season (of which were made-up with the victories of Alfonso Ribeiero and Rumer Willis on Dancing with the Stars) fall with the Moderators' Save on [[DaNica Shirey]] and spring cycles of dual victories, none of the moderators faced the punishment for the first time in the web site's history. 

;Make-up Competitions (So You Think You Can Dance, America's Got Talent, and Dancing with the Stars)
Another punishment that has become a tradition since the site's first season, but did not completely become official until the site's sixth season happens to be one of the biggest successes on ''Vote for the Girls'' is the make-up competitions of [[wikipedia:So You Think You Can Dance (United States)|''So You Think You Can Dance'']] since [[Vote for the Girls (U.S. season 1)|Vote for the Girls 2010]] and since [[Vote for the Girls (U.S. season 6)|Vote for the Girls 2015]], the site added [[wikipedia:America's Got Talent|''America's Got Talent'']] and [[wikipedia:Dancing with the Stars (U.S. TV series)|''Dancing with the Stars'']]. The make-up competitions became a surprise hit and the success of the site made Ava Zinn a pop culture celebrity, although she has yet to make an appearance on the national level -- let alone the local and regional level, likely due to concerns that Zinn's style of cursing and chainsmoking on ''Vote for the Girls'', but Zinn said that she rarely curses during the production of the interview and uses e-cigarettes. 

The first make-up competition began in 2010 after Crystal Bowersox's defeat on the [[wikipedia:American Idol (season 9)|ninth]] season of ''American Idol'' with [[wikipedia:So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. season 7)|the seventh season]] of ''So You Think You Can Dance,'' of which was never posted on the site's YouTube channel or even Zinn's (it would not be until the site's sixth season when those episodes were posted on the site's YouTube channel). This make-up competition was the second part of the very first Punishment for Failure and VFTG Loss for moderators Holly Everman and Robyn Hurd after they clean the home of Ava Zinn without a vacuum cleaner or use any appliances as well as repairing a TV tower to fix reception issues.

However, the site's first make-up competitions were shown on the site's You Tube channel with [[wikipedia:So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. season 11)|eleventh season of ''So You Think You Can Dance'']]. As previously mentioned with the Leg Beard punishment, none of the moderators will be taking part of a make-up competition except Dancing with the Stars for the first time in the web site's history in the summer of 2015.

Since Ava Zinn, Kymberly Alvaraz, and Lanise White were the only winning moderators on the seventh season, the entire pink team along with Rachael Passalt, Kathi Jameson, and Karly Jameson faced punishment as the losing moderators.



;Punishments involving extreme weather
*In August 2012, as part of the site's punishment for failure, Ava Zinn made a brutal two-hour bicycle trip from Marion to [[wikipedia:Ivanhoe's Restaurant|Ivanhoe's Restaurant]] in [[wikipedia:Upland, Indiana|Upland]], of which Zinn claimed the heat index was 100-plus degree heat after Jessica Sanchez was declared runner-up on the 11th season of American Idol. But the heat index was above 90 degrees when Zinn made the bicycle trip. Had Jessica Sanchez won ''American Idol'', Zinn would have purchased a DVD of [[wikipedia:The Three Lives of Thomasina|The Three Lives of Thomasina]] (after making a friendly wager with another longtime acquaintance, Jennifer Tedder, whom has since unfriended Zinn on Facebook and cannot refriend until March 2019.)
*In the site's fourth season following the site's only loss on ''X Factor,'' Ava Zinn posted a video on her YouTube channel on December 26, 2012 walking a half mile in a blizzard from the VFTG USA set to a [[wikipedia:Marion, Indiana|Marion]] [[wikipedia:Dollar Tree|Dollar Tree]] store and announced the punishment for Holly Everman, Michelle Steele, and Hillary Matthewson, which turned out to be the Leg Beards for Breast Cancer in October 2013. 

;Punishments involving transportation
There has been two occasions that {{strong|BOTH}} a {{strong|style=color:red|Vote for the Girls Punishment for Failure}} and {{strong|style=color:green|Vote for the Girls Reward for Success}} have been seen on the site's YouTube channel or on Ava Zinn's YouTube channel.
*Before the start of the site's third season, in addition to the American Idol audition wager Ava Zinn made with an unnamed individual. After Zinn returned to Indiana from her American Idol audition in Pittsburgh, Zinn made the first of two bicycle trips from Marion to nearby [[wikipedia:Muncie, Indiana|Muncie]] (hometown of Holly Everman and to visit Zinn's then-11-year-old Tiffani) and the second  to [[wikipedia:Wabash, Indiana|Wabash]] (to visit Zinn's then-8-year-old  Tabitha) on August 8, 2011 and August 17, 2011, respectively. As a condition of Zinn's American Idol audition and primarily to make up a shortfall, Zinn said the Muncie bicycle trip was necessary as she went to a BioLife clinic in Muncie when she decided to sell her plasma, but was later turned away either due to Zinn's gender transition or bureaucratic red tape. The bicycle trip to Wabash was to a local [[wikipedia:Kroger|Kroger]] since Marion (nor Muncie) hadn't had a Kroger location since the late 1970's according to Zinn's mother, but that changed when [[wikipedia:Ruler Foods|Ruler Foods]] opened in Marion in April 2013 while the Muncie location opened in the fall of 2013. A third, yet voluntary bicycle trip from Marion to Zinn's hometown of [[wikipedia:Van Buren, Indiana|Van Buren]]<ref name="Ava Zinn from Van Buren">In interviews, Ava Zinn says she lived in Landess, Indiana, but in 1992 the Landess home became a Van Buren mailing address, thus making Van Buren, Indiana as Zinn's hometown. In interviews, Zinn has stated she is from the "Van Buren suburb" or "Van Buren neighborhood" of Landess, Indiana. Ava then adopted Van Buren, Indiana as her hometown and rarely acknowledges Landess.</ref> August 10 and 11, 2011 to celebrate [[wikipedia:Van Buren Popcorn Festival|the Popcorn Festival in her hometown]] (and the first time she's returned to Van Buren as a woman) as a reward for the successful ''American Idol'' campaign of Lauren Alaina and & Haley Reinhart, though she did miss the ''So You Think You Can Dance'' season 8 finale, which Robyn Hurd was the sole moderator that night on Vote for the Girls due to her poor health while Holly Everman was on assignment in Muncie and could not host the program.
*Before the site's sixth season, as part of {{strong|BOTH}} Ava Zinn's moderator victory of Tessanne Chin on the fifth season of ''The Voice'' and Holly Everman's moderator victory of Alex & Sierra on the third and final season of ''The X Factor'' as well as the overall Vote for the Girls Punishment for Failure to help Christina Grimmie win the sixth season of ''The Voice'' and Jena Irene (Asciutto) on the thirteenth season of ''American Idol'', Zinn and Everman biked from their homes to a notable landmark in the Vote for the Girls' moderator's hometown as Ava Zinn biked from her Marion home to Concannon's Bakery and Cafe in Holly Everman's hometown of Muncie, Indiana on July 19, 2014, clad in a strapless jumpsuit (as well as stopping at a [[wikipedia:Dollar General|Dollar General]] in [[wikipedia:Gaston, Indiana|Gaston]] and local Dollar Tree, [[wikipedia:Walmart|Walmart]], [[wikipedia:Meijer|Meijer]], [[wikipedia:Speedway LLC|Speedway]], and an [[wikipedia:Aldi|Aldi]] store in Muncie--the latter of the six Ava Zinn said replaced an Aldi in Marion following an January 2013 incident, and has said will not set foot at the Marion Aldi until July 4, 2019 following false accusations Zinn was involved in a hit and run.) Holly Everman returned the favor spanning three days when she relocated from Casleton to Marion beginning on the afternoon of August 12, 2014 when she biked from [[wikikpedia:Castleton Square Mall|Castleton Square Mall]] in [[wikipedia:Castleton, Indiana|Castleton]] to [[wikipedia:Anderson, Indiana|Anderson]] to spend the night at the home of her sister-in-law and former VFTG moderator [[Hillary Matthewson]] then on the morning of August 13, 2014 (by that morning, Everman had just separated from her wife, Veronica Willis, after Everman's first DUI arrest four months earlier and was completely gone from Indianapolis--see the [[Holly Everman]] article for more) departed for Marion, Indiana and moved in to an apartment near Five Points Mall. Then on August 14, 2014 Everman biked from Five Points Mall to the [[wikipedia:Van Buren Popcorn Festival|Van Buren Popcorn Festival]] in Zinn's hometown of Van Buren, Indiana. However, in a Facebook post by Everman, it was revealed that Everman biked two days from moving Indianapolis to Van Buren via bicycle. Then the following Friday after the Popcorn Festival (August 22) Holly went back to Castelton to pick up her car after asking fellow moderator Julia Passalt to drive her to Castleton, unaware that Holly had been drinking that night.


==Series overview==
{{see|List of Vote for the Girls (United States) seasons|List of Vote for the Girls (United States) episodes}}

== Co-hosts and moderators ==
{{main|List of Vote for the Girls (United States) moderators|Vote for the Girls (United States) male moderators|Pink Team (Vote for the Girls USA)|Purple Team (Vote for the Girls USA)|Red Team (Vote for the Girls USA)|Blue Team (Vote for the Girls USA)}}

{{VFTG USA Labelled Map|float=right}}
The web site had originally planned on having four moderators following the ''Vote for the Worst'' format; however, only three moderators had been found by the time of the American Idol season 9 competition, namely [[Robyn Hurd]], [[Holly Everman]] and [[Ava Zinn]]. A fourth moderator, later identified as [[Kymberly Alvaraz|Kym Christian (now Kymberly Alvaraz)]], was originally chosen but she dropped out citing "image concerns". (Christian herself would be hired as an eighth moderator for the site's sixth season.) The site decided to continue with the three moderators format until season four. All three original moderators stayed on the moderator panel for three seasons.

Ava Zinn began hosting ''Vote for the Girls'' since its April 28, 2010 debut and Everman joined as co-host on October 1, 2013. In addition to hosting, Zinn also serves as Executive Producer of the show and continued as such since, gaining significant creative control over the series. Zinn signed off each broadcast, informing viewers with the public service message, "Help control your child's education: have them [[wikipedia:Vaccination schedule#United States|immunized]]"--a sign off that Zinn has used since 1999. At the start of the tenth season, Zinn added these words to her sign off, "...and may Fort Wayne's Good News be yours."


Guest moderators may occasionally be introduced. In season three, guest moderators such as [[Rachael Passalt|Raymond Passalt]] and [[Patrice Rafferty]] were used, and in season five [[Khayla Chow]]. Guest judges were used as fill-in moderators in seasons three and six. 



===Moderators===

<gallery caption="Moderators gallery" widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="4" align="center">
File:Ava Zinn in 2014.jpg|Ava Zinn <small> (2010-21, 2024-) </small>
File:Holly Everman in 2014.png| [[Holly Everman]] <small>(2010-2017)</small>{{dagger}}
File:Robyn Lynne 2011.jpg|[[Robyn Hurd]] <small>(2010-2012)</small>{{dagger}}
File:Hillary Matthewson 2016.jpg|[[Hillary Matthewson]] <small>(2012-13, 2016-17)</small>


File:Ariel Swaringen 2012.jpg|[[Ariel Swaringen]] <small>(2013-2014)</small>{{dagger}}
File:Noimage.svg|[[Michelle Steele]] <small>(2013-2014)</small>{{dagger}}

File:Kellie Rock NBC 25 Headshot.jpg|[[Kellie Rock]] <small>(2014-2016)</small>{{dagger}}
File:Kym Christian 2013.jpg|[[Kymberly Alvaraz|Kym Christian]] <small>(2014-2017)</small>{{dagger}}
File:Julia Passalt Minneapolis.jpg|[[Julia Passalt]] <small>(2014-2016)</small>
File:Kendra Ray 2010.jpg|[[Kendra Ray]] <small>(2014-21)</small>{{dagger}}
File:Lanise White WXWI promotion.jpg|[[Lanise White]] <small>(2014-19)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Rhonda Rhodes]] <small>(2014-2015)</small>{{dagger}}
File:Kathi Jameson 2013.jpg| [[Kathi Jameson]] <small>(2014, 2016-20)</small>{{dagger}}
File:Karly Ryder Jr 2012.jpg|[[Karly Jameson]] <small>(2014, 2016-21, 2024-)</small>

File:Perri Johnson 2015.jpg|[[Perri Johnson]] <small>(2015-2017)</small>{{dagger}}
File:Tracia Ward 2014.jpg|[[Tracia Matthewson|Tracia Ward]] <small>(2015-2017)</small>
File:Malitia Tola.jpg|[[Thia Tola]] <small>(2015-21)</small>

File:Rachael Passalt 2015.jpg|[[Rachael Passalt]] <small>(2016-21, 2024-)</small>
File:Kathy Fountaine Roberts.jpg|[[Kathy Roberts]] <small>(2016)</small>{{dagger}}
File:noimage.svg|[[Donna Doogan]] <small>(2016-21, 2024-)<small>
File:noimage.svg|[[Jenny Riva]] <small>(2016-21)</small>
File:noimage.svg|[[Tash Gower|Natasha Gower]] <small>(2016-21)</small>
File:noimage.svg|[[Tulissa Kümmert]] <small>(2016-21)</small>
File:noimage.svg|[[Ann Dwyar]] <small>(2016-17)</small>
File:noimage.svg|[[Kylie Dwyar]] <small>(2016-20)</small>
File:Breeanna Sorensen in 2022.jpg|[[Breeanna Sorensen]] <small>(2016-21)</small>
File:noimage.svg|[[Marti McDaniel]] <small>(2016-19)</small>
File:noimage.svg|[[Maci Blanca]] <small>(2016-21)</small>
File:noimage.svg|[[Sophia Blanca|Sophia Williams]] <small>(2016-21)</small>
File:noimage.svg|[[Nadia Lorenzo]] <small>(2016-21; 2024-)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Peta-Alyce Kaizer]] <small>(2016-17)</small>{{dagger}}

File:Noimage.svg|[[Carrie Ewan]] <small>(2017-18)</small>
File:Alexx_Moffitt.jpg|[[Alexandra Moffitt]] <small>(2017-20)</small>{{dagger}}
File:Noimage.svg|[[Marla McClinton]] <small>(2017-20)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Kent Morgan]] <small>(2017)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Sally Morgan]] <small>(2017)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Jenna Monroe]] <small>(2017-21)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Benjamin Donbar]] <small>(2017)</small>{{dagger}}
File:Noimage.svg|[[Sonia Donbar|Sonia Young]] <small>(2017-21; 2024-)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Janet Webb]] <small>(2017-20)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Nadine Cole]] <small>(2017-21)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Andrea Coolranch]] <small>(2017-21; 2024-)</small>
File:noimage.svg|[[Tim Doogan]] <small>(2017-19)</small>{{dagger}}
File:noimage.svg|[[Lauren Herman]] <small>(2016-21)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Jacqui Fountaine]] <small>(2016-21; 2024-)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Bria Savage]] <small>(2016-21)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Devin Martin]] <small>(2017-21)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Lauren Rodriguez]] <small>(2017-21)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Leanna Claussen]] <small>(2017-21)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Karla Hansen]] <small>(2017-21)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Lydia Delagatto]] <small>(2018-21)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Luka Runecraft|Luka Delagatto]] <small>(2018-21)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Olivia Everman]] <small>(2018-21)</small>
File:Noimage.svg|[[Cathryn Swaringen|Cathryn Everman]] <small>(2018-21)</small>
</gallery>
{{dagger}} Moderator is deceased.

==Seasons==
{{main|List of Vote for the Girls (United States) seasons}}
To date, ten seasons have been broadcast.

== Reception ==
Although ''Vote for the Girls (USA)'' often gets poor views and ratings on the site's YouTube channel, its first few years on YouTube were relatively encouraging. Vote for the Girls has generated controversy over the years in numerous areas. Many of the controversies have centered around the site's format and misandry. Another major source of controversy that has spanned multiple seasons has been the activities of moderators such as undisclosed criminal charges. Often times, Zinn will take Ricki Lake's [[wikipedia:cathphrase|"All That" catchphrase]] from her 1993 talk show as Zinn's high fashion, personality, and sex appeal, and transform it to open hostility directed towards supporters of the male contestants and guests in the form of blowing [[wikipedia:cigarette|cigarette]] smoke (or E-cigarette smoke) in their faces, shouting her catch phrase ''"Shush it!"'' at them (or rarely at a moderator), and occasionally ejecting them from the set. The site has become a pioneer in the "Trash Tube" genre; and Zinn's use of [[wikipedia:profanity|foul language]], rare violent in-studio fights, and extremely [[wikipedia:dysfunctional|dysfunctional]] guests lead to the site becoming becoming Zinn's most successful web sites on the national scale.


===Ratings===
Despite the ongoing changes with VFTG over the years and longer length videos, the national ratings for the site often gets poor reviews on the YouTube channel compared to the site overall. In fact, the YouTube channel's ratings usually are disliked. 

However, ''Vote for the Girls (USA)'' is popular in 14 states: 
*Indiana (the home state of moderators Ava Zinn, Holly Everman, Karly Ryder, Jr., Tracia Ward, Ariel Swaringen, and Michelle Steele as well as VFTG picks Marrielle Sellars of American Idol 13 and Valerie Rockey of So You Think You Can Dance 11)
*Pennsylvania (the home state of moderators Kellie Rock and Robyn Hurd as well as The Voice 7 pick DaNica Shirey)
*Wisconsin (home state of Lanise White and Rhonda Rhodes),
*Texas (the home state of The Voice 4 winner Danielle Bradbery),
*Minnesota (the home state of moderator Julia Passalt and VFTG's The Voice 6 pick Kat Perkins),
*Colorado (the home state of moderator Kym Christian and VFTG pick Rachel Crow),
*Florida (the home state of The X Factor winners Melanie Amaro and Alex & Sierra, The Voice 3 winner Cassadee Pope and So You Think You Can Dance 9 winner Eliana Girard),
*California (the home state of American Idol 11 runner-up Jessica Sanchez),
*Massachusetts (the home state of The Voice 4 runner-up Michelle Chamuel and American Idol 12 VFTG pick Angie Miller),
*Georgia (the home state of American Idol 10 runner-up Lauren Alaina, So You Think You Can Dance 8 winner Melanie Moore, and The Voice 7 pick Anita Antoinette),
*North Carolina (the home state of VFTG picks Kat Robichauld and Majesty Rose York),
*Illinois (the home state of former moderator Kathi Jameson, birth state of Zinn, and VFTG picks Haley Reinhart, Alice Lee, and CeCe Frey),
*New York (the home state of VFTG Pick Pia Toscano) and
*New Jersey (the home state of The Voice 5 runner-up Jacquie Lee and VFTG picks Christina Grimmie).

====NFL connections to VFTG====

Most of the site's moderators and supported contestants are located in markets with teams in the [[wikipedia:National Football League|NFL]]. In particular, the three original moderators (Ava Zinn, Holly Everman, and Robyn Hurd) had been longtime fans of teams located in Indianapolis – with the exception of Robyn Hurd, whose supported NFL team, the [[wikipedia:Pittsburgh Steelers|Steelers]], is located in Pittsburgh. In later seasons, many of the site's moderators and supported contestants where NFL teams were located. In December 2014, all of the site's moderators - with the exception of Kendra Ray, whose closest NFL team to her home state of Iowa is primarily the [[wikipedia:Minnesota Vikings|Minnesota Vikings]], located in Julia Passalt's home market of Minneapolis, secondarily [[wikipedia:Green Bay Packers|the Packers]], located in Green Bay; and a third team is the [[wikipedia:Kansas City Chiefs|Kansas City Chiefs]].


Of the site's current moderator panel, only Ava Zinn, Kymberly Alvaraz, Julia Passalt, Kellie Rock, Thia Tola, and Tracia Ward lived in areas that served markets containing significant fan bases for nearby secondary NFL teams. Ava Zinn has (and to this day, still) has watched Chicago Bears games for years, while Tracia Ward had watched Indianapolis Colts games in South Bend. Kellie Rock watched Tampa Bay Buccaneers (from 1987 until 2009, though five of her seven children still call Tampa home) and Philadelphia Eagles games while she and her sister, Robyn, also watched Eagles games for years until Robyn's death in 2012 (ironically both Kellie Rock and Robyn Hurd had watched most of the Steelers' games). In recent years though, due to the popularity of Peyton Manning in both Indianapolis and Denver, Zinn and Alvaraz watch Denver Broncos games as well as Colts games since the two began a long term relationship in November 2014. Thia Tola does often watch Raiders and 49ers games since the San Francisco market has teams in two conferences. 


''Vote for the Girls (USA)'' is also very popular in 10 of the 32 [[wikipedia:National Football League|NFL]] markets: 
In two Indiana markets, the site garners the most YouTube views in the state of Indiana as the Indianapolis and Fort Wayne markets (the home markets of moderators Zinn, Everman, Ryder, and Swaringen), as well as Jacksonville (home market of X Factor VFTG pick Rion Paige Thompson), Nashville (home market of VFTG picks Sarah Darling), Houston (home market of VFTG pick Danielle Bradbery), Buffalo (nearby home market of So You Think You Can Dance season 10 runner-up Jasmine Harper from Rochester), Boston (home market of Angie Miller), New York (home market of VFTG picks Toscano and The X Factor season 2 runner-up Carly Rose Sonenclar), Miami (home market of Melanie Amaro), Cincinnati (nearby home market of VFTG picks Olivia Henken, Allison Bray, and Kensington Moore--all from the Louisville area), Cleveland (nearby home market of Crystal Bowersox from Toledo and home market of VFTG pick Gabrielle Nicole), Baltimore (home market of VFTG pick Hallie Day), Pittsburgh (home market of VFTG pick Miranda Maleski and Maribel Mort, daughter of Robyn Hurd), Denver (home market of Kymberly Alvaraz), San Fransisco (home market of American Idol 13 pick MK Nobilette and moderator Thia Tola), Kansas City, and San Diego (home state of Jessica Sanchez), all of which are in markets which are in the [[wikipedia:National Football League|National Football League]]'s [[wikipedia:American Football Conference|American Football Conference]] [[wikipedia:AFC South|South]] (Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Nashville, and Houston), [[wikipedia:AFC East|East]] (Buffalo, Boston, New York, and Miami), [[wikipedia:AFC North|North]] (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Baltimore and Pittsburgh), and [[wikipedia:AFC West|AFC West]] (Denver, San Fransisco/Oakland, Kansas City, and San Diego) divisions.

The site is also popular in Chicago (birth market of Zinn and home market of Jameson and American Idol 10 pick Reinhart), as well as Milwaukee and Green Bay (home markets of Lanise White), Minneapolis (home market of Julia Passalt and The Voice 6 pick Kat Perkins), Detroit (home market of VFTG picks Amy Yakima, Jena Irene, and Malaya Watson), Atlanta (home market of VFTG pick Shameia Crawford and nearby home market of American Idol season 12 winner Candice Glover), Tampa (home market of VFTG pick Macy Kate), Charlotte (nearby home market of Robichauld),all of which are in markets which are in the National Football League's [[wikipedia:National Football Conference|National Football Conference]] [[wikipedia:NFC North|North]] (Chicago, Green Bay, Minneapolis, and Detroit) and [[wikipedia:NFC South|South]] (Atlanta, Tampa, and Charlotte) divisions.

As Vote for the Worst's site became more successful during the 2000s {{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}(as well as being popular in Chicago and having better success than the combined Indianapolis and Fort Wayne markets during VFTG's first four seasons), VFTG USA faced stiffer competition.

According to Ava Zinn, towards the end of the 2010-11 TV season, she felt that Vote for the Girls could produce a better site and overcome Vote for the Worst by using a format other than the "Producers Have A Choice, Viewers Don't" philosophy Zinn created VFTG with. An outside source was brought in and concurred that the site could do a better job on YouTube production by adapting a new format. The analysis added that Vote for the Worst did not have its own YouTube channel, VFTW's admins and moderators never had experience in hosting a television series nor even auditioned for shows like ''American Idol'' or ''Star Search,'' while Ava Zinn did audition for the 11th season of ''American Idol''. The analysis also added that Zinn's philosophy format gave nothing to viewers which suggested that its site was any better than VFTW. With this in mind, VFTG began developing a format which would involve the production of full episodes online via Zinn's web site (and later the site's own URL) within 48 hours after the result, along with updates at the conclusion of the elimination results. This concept was known as "a VFTG Full Episode" as a way to suggest that VFTG was better than VFTW or Vote Against the Producers since VFTG produced an episode presentation of the results show. In 2011, the new format was put into place and by 2013, its format had already been licensed by Aeverine Zinn Holdings for foreign adaptations of ''Vote for the Girls'' franchise has produced their own shows representing as many different countries. These adaptations, as of September 2014, have aired in the United Kingdom as [[Vote for the Girls (UK)|''Vote for the Girls UK'']] (of which Zinn also hosts) and the most recent series to enter production, [[Vote for the Girls (Australia)|''Vote for the Girls Australia'']], is set to air in June 2015. Zinn will also be hosting the Australian version, at which will make Zinn of having the rare distinction of simultaneously hosting shows in three different countries. In August 2014, Zinn announced six new foreign adaptations in Brazil, Turkey, Isreal, and Holland.

To try to prevent more viewers from defecting, ''Vote for the Girls (USA)'' got a new set and a new newsroom (shared with AvaZinn.com and later the revival of Zinn's other website, INNewsCenter) in 2013. More noticeable, however, was the adoption of the ''ManHater'' icon between the "Vote for" and "the Girls" wordmark (The VFTG icon is the symbol of the Roman goddess Venus is often used to represent the female sex superimposed with symbol of the Roman god Mars is often used to represent the male sex inside the Venus symbol with the [[wikipedia:No symbol|No symbol]] over the Mars symbol) and often used to mask profanity. That year, Vote for the Girls boldly added a format similar to ''The Morton Downey, Jr. Show'' with town hall meetings dubbed as "Road Shows". Female contestants on talent shows are rewarded by vigorous applause, but male contestants are harshly booed on most ''Vote for the Girls (USA).'' 


===Awards and nominations===

===Controversy and criticism===

In the mid 2010s, the show was quite popular and controversial. However, major figures in television had called for the show's removal and considered it to be of bad taste.

In 2013 and 2014, the site reached its ratings peak, at one point becoming the first web site to beat ''[[Vote for the Worst]]''. It featured almost non-stop bias against males during one 2013 episode—and other TV personalities complained after the site chose not to support Josh Kaufman<ref name="GrimmieWasRobbed">{{Cite web|url=http://voteforthegirls.us/2014/05/21/vftgs-5-most-robbed-contestants-on-idol-x-factor-the-voice-of-all-time/|title=VFTG's 5 most robbed contestants|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=22 June 2014 |website=[http://voteforthegirls.us Vote for the Girls US]|publisher=Aeverine Zinn Holdings |accessdate=22 June 2014}}{{cite episode|series=Vote or the Girls (USA)|network=AvaZinn.com|date=June 22 2014|credits=Aeverine Zinn Holdings}} NOTE: On the episode cited above, Zinn stated that a "Double VFTG Loss" is declared if a male from Indiana wins and a "Double VFTG Victory" is declared if a female from Indiana wins. Zinn indicataed this rule applies to all singing competitions.</ref> on The Voice.<ref name="ScottSwan">??</ref>

====Reaction from ''American Idol,'' ''The Voice,'' and other shows====
According to Zinn, ''American Idol'' and ''The Voice'' producers seldom, if not rarely acknowledge the site, Zinn has claimed a producer prevented Zinn from posting comment on ''Idol''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Facebook page.


While many ''American Idol'' and ''The Voice'' fans claim Vote for the Girls promotes hate speech, bullying, and sexism on their online comments, some lesser known contestants from ''The Voice,'' ''The X Factor,'' and ''American Idol'', have embraced the site. VEDO, a contestant from season 4 of The Voice, Jillian Jensen and Diamond White, contestants from season two of The X Factor, are followers on the site's Twitter page.<ref>??</ref>

==Censorship==
''Vote for the Girls'' airs on the site's YouTube channel in the United States and since 2015, on all NoSirGifts-owned stations. All episodes of ''Vote for the Girls on YouTube'' are censored to comply with U.S. [[wikipedia:Federal Communications Commission|Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) regulations regarding the broadcast of [[wikipedia:indecency|indecency]] and [[wikipedia:obscenity|obscenity]]. Zinn uploads the episode on {{YouTube|channel=voteforthegirlsuk|the site's UK version}} with this, the unexpurgated American version, and ({{YouTube|channel=voteforthegirls|the site}} with all profanities censored with NoSirGifts-owned stations airing the latter since October 2015.<ref>??</ref>

Mainly Zinn's use of [[wikipedia:profanity|profanity]] is [[wikipedia:bleep censor|bleeped]], but later episodes were bleeped for explicit language, sometimes to such an extent that speech became [[wikipedia:Understanding|incomprehensible]]. In addition, [[wikipedia:nudity|nudity]] and the partial exposure of [[wikipedia:breast|breast]]s or [[wikipedia:buttocks|buttocks]] are [[wikipedia:pixelization|pixelated]]. 


Zinn herself has stated that, while Vote for the Girls is a bit wild, there are certain things that are not permitted. This was confirmed by Zinn during a season seven episode of ''Vote for the Girls'' that aired on March 24, 2016.

==Production==
=== Broadcasting ===
{{main|Vote for the Girls (United States) opening sequence}}
===YouTube===
Although originally produced for Ava Zinn's YouTube channel, the site's clips were spun off to its own YouTube channel in 2012. It was produced by Aeverine Zinn Productions, and distributed for syndication by NoSirGifts Venues and ATE Media Corporation. Zinn considered Vote for the Girls on YouTube as "Tabloid Tube" (referencing [[wikipedia:reality television|reality]] [[wikipedia:tabloid talk show|tabloid talk show]] format). When Zinn launched the site in 2010, Zinn planned Vote for the Girls site to targeting the female demographic aged 18 to 49 (a market which she felt was being skewed to their competitor, Vote for the Worst), but also planned to incorporate public service announcements into the site. By 2014, Zinn indicated that the site may be worth less than previously believed, based on poor viewership figures on YouTube. Zinn subsequently attempted to acquire Vote for the Worst web site after that site closed a year earlier (believing she would gain a huge audience), and noted that she felt "very positive and encouraged by Vote For The Girls' early days’ performance and ability to grow its audience in the future."<ref>??</ref> 

By October 2014, Vote for the Girls creator Ava Zinn and former [[Deutschland Voting für Women]] (Vote for the Girls Germany) moderator Tulissa Kümmert acknowledged increasing competition in the reality talent show competition landscape—notably increased usage of smartphones, had an minor effect on the overall performance of Vote for the Girls. 


It was also reported that as part of potential shifts in Vote for the Girls' operation, Zinn had intermittently been in talks with several sponsors regarding its future productions; one possibility included canceling Vote for the Girls after the sixth season because of low ratings and high costs, the latter of which were revealed to be due to a poorly negotiated agreements a few years earlier and a lack of promotion . The site's future was hanging in the balance and it is always entirely in the hands of Zinn herself whether to renew it for a seventh seasonal run. <ref>??</ref> Zinn felt that Vote for the Girls' YouTube channel wasn't attracting the targeted female demographic aged 18 to 49, but skewed male. Conventional wisdom had suggested that "girls will watch shows about boys, but boys won't watch shows about girls". Zinn will always persuade fans and/or supporters of male contestants executives to change their mind in two seconds. Despite this, Zinn is still "100% committed" to convince that "girls will NOW vote for girls" since it was used in earlier seasons. 

With the site's unexpected moves, came some changes. The site's already-low budget was significantly trimmed, forcing cuts in the salaries of the moderators and dropping the Opening Rounds (beginning with Rising Star 2), Quarter-Finals (The Voice 7 Battles), and Semi-Finals (beginning with The Voice 7 Knockouts and American Idol 14 Rush Week). 

Also, after airing separate episodes (usually lasting for 15 minutes), Zinn combined many episodes as a one episode per week (adding to the production and time constraints already noted in the [[2014 Vote for the Girls conflict]]). The combined episodes was attributed to mediocre ratings after Christina Grimmie's third place finish on the sixth season of The Voice and Valerie Rockey's defeat on the eleventh season of So You Think You Can Dance.  While the additions of ''Dancing with the Stars'' (which is shown on the YouTube channel on Wednesdays as opposed to 24 hours after the results shows), Vote for the Girls did improve in numbers over the the site's YouTube channel, site never quite hit its YouTube momentum from 2011 again, yet the site alone saw some increases as high as 200% in September 2014 over the previous year.

===International Broadcasts===
Following the announcement of the site's success, several other broadcasters around the world expressed interest in acquiring the rights to show the American version of the show in their country. The below mentioned countries may have their own version of Vote for the Girls, dubbed equally or under another name.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Country
! Channel
! Premiere date
! Notes
|-
| {{AUS}}
|
| 2013 
|-
| {{BRA}}
|
| 2011
|-
| {{CAN}}<br/>{{BC}}
|
| 2010
|-
| {{UK}}
| 
| 2011
| As part of Zinn's contract, it was agreed that as community service of the British version of Vote for the Girls that debuted on June 1, 2013, the site's YouTube channel would also air the U.S. uncensored version. Although some edited UK versions have aired on the U.S. version. 
|}

== Sponsorship ==
Because of the controversial format and content of the site, site founder and creator Ava Zinn had problems selling the site to a number of advertisers. Even Zinn's longtime friends (notably from [[wikipedia:Mississinewa High School|Mississinewa High School]] and from Van Buren, Indiana), fans (notably those from Zinn's other popular site [[INNewsCenter]]), and [[wikipedia:affiliates|affiliates]], many of which are [[wikipedia:lower middle class|lower middle class]] individuals in Grant and Delaware counties in Indiana, were so fearful of advertiser and viewer backlash that Zinn would air one or even two local [[wikipedia:disclaimers|disclaimers]] during the YouTube video (mostly at the start of the video). 

The site's primary sponsors, are AFENA Federal Credit Union and [[wikipedia:GoDaddy|GoDaddy.com]], though they are cross-promoted with AvaZinn.com and INNewsCenter. In some episodes, Ava Zinn often promotes [[wikipedia:Mountain Dew|Diet Mountain Dew]] and [[wikipedia:Dr Pepper|Diet Dr. Pepper]].

By the site's sixth season, its advertisers had been reduced primarily to "direct-response" ads (such as chat line numbers). However, during the sixth season, rumors started to spread that "NFL Female" and Vote for the Girls USA will enter into a partnership of some sort for the site's seventh season.

Starting in the eighth season, the site's primary sponsor is mobile technology company [[wikipedia:Ibotta|Ibotta]] from Alvaraz's hometown of Denver, Colorado.

==Notes==
<references group="VFTG Picks"/>