So I was reading Vogue yesterday. Not for the fashion inspiration I so desperately need, because I will never be six feet tall, twenty or able to spend $4,000 on a shirt. And I rarely like anything high fashion anyway. I was reading Vogue because now that we have invested in the wading pool, I've been spending a lot time reading magazines while the kiddos play. Novels take too much concentration, I've found, so I use the magazines to keep myself awake. (I'm sure some of you would take this time to play with your kids, but my attitude is that if they're happy without me actually playing, then I'll relax for a few minutes. Sue me.)
Anyway, I was scraping the bottom of the magazine reading barrel by reading Vogue, but I had already read my own magazines (Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly and Parenting) and read most of the good ones that my parents pass on when they're done (People, The Week). So Vogue it was.
The pictures alternately depressed and horrified me. Most of the articles weren't much better. I knew it was bad when I avidly began reading the article about the lack of models of color on the catwalks. Finally, something with an opinion! And a valid one to boot. Apparently racism is alive and well around fashion designers and ad agencies. As in, model agents getting calls saying, "We already have a black girl," and "You didn't tell us she was black!". Seriously.
After I got over my initial shock, though, my first instinct was to dismiss it. Because it's hard to feel sorry for a model. Unless you're eating dinner with one. Anyway, I was about to forget about it (there being only so many things I can keep track of these days) as unblogworthy when I remembered a girl I knew during my first year of teaching. A little African-American girl who loved fashion and used to take all of my InStyle magazines.
What happens if she never sees any models that look like her? Especially when cretins like Don Imus still use "nappy headed" as an insult? And what good is it for my kiddo to only see models that look like her (for real, Ironflower is the ultimate ethereal blond)?
So, yeah, it does matter that designers and ad agencies aren't hiring many - or any- models of color. Not being a customer of any of these designers, (Target and Old Navy, I'm proud to say, have people of all colors in their ads, at least) I'm not sure what I can do about the problem. Any ideas?
3 comments:
They ain't hiring many fat hairy guys either and frankly I'm getting sick of all the rejections.
Travis - I don't blame you. I would love to see you in Vogue.
that's a good point. of course, I've never seen Vogue...all the ads I see do use lots of different kinds of people (though most are all skinny) around here they are almost always looking for Latin American folks for commercials and print ads...
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