Walking past a Sari shop what I saw was a display of white/ light skinned mannequins wearing such colourful indigenous clothing, it looked nice but "off" at the same time. Why is a Sari shop advertising white women in a sari?... not saying people from other races can't wear different cultural attire but when I saw this display, the shop was advertising white (or lighter skin) is more beautiful than darker skinned women, in other words white Europeans are more beautiful than the "other" darker skinned people.
Just opening the recent Farmers catalogue, most of the models were white
And when there is a ‘black’/ darker skinned model, there’s a white model next to her
I’m sure it’s a coincidence that I happen to open and find such example in this catalogue and there are many examples in shop windows and other magazines where there are individual black models, but honestly is that percentage higher than an individual white model?
It makes you wonder, is it because of colonisation, imperialism, white-washing and/ or (our past) racial hierarchy that has constructed this belief, this admiration that white is more beautiful? The belief that white is (still) superior and can hold the imagine of elegance and beauty, while an individual black model can’t and thus is in needing a white partner to be contrasted with to support the elegance and beauty of the photo. The admiration to become “whiter” to “gain” the beauty and power of a white person; this way of thinking is, in my opinion, been conditioned into us from the past actions of colonisations and imperialism, the idea white is the “norm” and any other colour is “odd”, thus the admiration to be “normal” is to become “white”.
To me, the idea that white equals beauty is not right and that there are many beautiful models, who are “different colours”, in the industry. Another variable includes the type of catalogue people read e.g. The Warehouse catalogues usually have more brown people in it (a marketing strategy to attract the “right” consumers). The image of beauty varies from people to people, culture to culture, so white does not mean more beautiful, but we cannot deny the fact the amount of white people advertised in different mediums, gives us the impression that white does equals beauty. In China, there’s sayings like: being dark means you work under the sun too much, which means working in fields or farms with low income, so being dark in China is not really a beauty trait, but in such a diverse country like NZ, any “colour” of beauty should be accepted and shown to the rest of the country, not just a typically blonde white girl but something more colourful.
And when there is a ‘black’/ darker skinned model, there’s a white model next to her
I’m sure it’s a coincidence that I happen to open and find such example in this catalogue and there are many examples in shop windows and other magazines where there are individual black models, but honestly is that percentage higher than an individual white model?
It makes you wonder, is it because of colonisation, imperialism, white-washing and/ or (our past) racial hierarchy that has constructed this belief, this admiration that white is more beautiful? The belief that white is (still) superior and can hold the imagine of elegance and beauty, while an individual black model can’t and thus is in needing a white partner to be contrasted with to support the elegance and beauty of the photo. The admiration to become “whiter” to “gain” the beauty and power of a white person; this way of thinking is, in my opinion, been conditioned into us from the past actions of colonisations and imperialism, the idea white is the “norm” and any other colour is “odd”, thus the admiration to be “normal” is to become “white”.
To me, the idea that white equals beauty is not right and that there are many beautiful models, who are “different colours”, in the industry. Another variable includes the type of catalogue people read e.g. The Warehouse catalogues usually have more brown people in it (a marketing strategy to attract the “right” consumers). The image of beauty varies from people to people, culture to culture, so white does not mean more beautiful, but we cannot deny the fact the amount of white people advertised in different mediums, gives us the impression that white does equals beauty. In China, there’s sayings like: being dark means you work under the sun too much, which means working in fields or farms with low income, so being dark in China is not really a beauty trait, but in such a diverse country like NZ, any “colour” of beauty should be accepted and shown to the rest of the country, not just a typically blonde white girl but something more colourful.
I have also realised this with mannequins and stores which contain 'black' mannequins that are so dark they look like shadows. I agree that this correlates with the ideals of a certain beauty standard that is almost impossible to live up to for people of colour. Black models are also chosen for their 'white' features such as a smaller (less flattened) nose, smaller lips or coloured eyes. So our beauty is never enough to be embraced by many forms of media.
ReplyDeleteThis post reminds me of an Indian fairness cream that my mother used to make me use when I was younger and in fact she still uses to this day - called "Fair & Lovely", it basically makes your skin whiter and therefore more 'lovely'. Clearly the philosophy of this product aligns with popular media's opinion that the ideal image of beauty is the white woman. My exposure to the Indian media industry has also informed me of the ideologies there, and in turn, within the Indian Diaspora community. There, you have popular actors and celebrities marketing products like this sickening 'whiteness' cream, instilling that if you have darker skin you are somehow uglier than those with white skin. In every billboard of a celebrity in India, you can see clearly how their skin has been photoshopped to be literally white, like a caucasian.
ReplyDeleteThis is very dangerous to the younger generations of people of colour and can be extremely harmful to a dark-skinned child's self-esteem (ie me and my friend several years ago) and your post brings up this important point to the class, so thank you for that. :)
Cheers.
Hey! We have similar blog posts, I also wrote about beauty standards. More specifically about whitening practices that are being sold to us by the media. I 100% agree with everything you just said. Whenever you turn your head to the left or to the right you see majority of advertisements with white models. It's sad that little girls and boys are growing up with the lack of cultural diversity in the media. Not only does this set a standard of beauty for both men and women, but it can also set a barrier between different skin colours in terms of social status and equality. Nice blog post!
ReplyDeleteI also agree with this and it is a problem in our society. The fact that we are fed this ideology is not correct but it does reflect those in the positions of power to advertise and control what we see. The idea of beauty varies culture to culture but unfortunately this is not reflected in NZ advertising. In regards to your point on China, this also relates to history in general. it was the slaves in America who worked in the fields as well as the poor who spent more time in the sun doing manual labor and thus got a darker (if not already) complexion. The warehouse point you made is interesting and can also be tied into the reinforcement of the negative stereotype towards Maori and Pacifica peoples. Reinforcing the idea that they are the main customers and are not able to be represented in other catalogs more fairly is a problem.
ReplyDeleteI agree! Up until now I didn't notice the thing with saris and how they are expressed on white mannequins or the contrast of black and white women in magazine advertisements. This idea of becoming white and the white supremacy is something that has been around for many years, but recently has decreased as the beauty industry is starting to make way for coloured people. That idea of being whiter can be seen in the Indian culture, it is believed that if a girl is whiter then she will have a better life and husband. The point about The Warehouse is really interesting as well, because I never saw it like that, but now to think about it shows a sense of negative representation towards Maori and Pacific Islanders.
ReplyDelete