Saying No to Lack of Diversity

Leomie Anderson is speaking out against racism in the modeling world and is finally saying “NO!”.  In a short clip she talks a lot about her struggles as a black model; she says that it is sometimes hard to find jobs due to her skin color because many brands are looking for white models. This goes back to the idea that media sources and industries are capitalized and do not want to go against the power dynamics or the status quo. Thus they stick with the ideas, wants, and needs of the dominant people. In other words they stick to a formula and stick to what they know. Because they want to sell magazines, clothes, and make money, companies use white models.

Anderson also talked about the lack of diversity on the runway and in add campaigns. This leads to the symbolic annihilation of black models. Without their presence the reality of diversity in the world is not captured. She says, “the world is a diverse place and fashion needs to reflect that”.

I really liked how intersectional this clip was. Letting a black, female model talk about the issues that black female models face is really powerful. Especially in light of what we’ve been talking about with white washing and lack of representation of certain groups in the media. It is rare that people talk about certain issues, let alone allow the people who are affected by those issues talk. I really liked this clip and found it to be very informative and eye-opening:

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/01/fashion/leomie-anderson-diversity/index.html