Growing up I used to own my fair share of Barbie dolls.
Barbie dolls were the iPhone equivalent for kids growing up in the late
1990s/early 2000s. If you walked down the aisles of Toys R Us (a luxury that
young children of today will never have – R.I.P. Toys R Us), it became apparent at
a young age that it wasn’t the norm to see a Barbie doll that looked like me.
Nor was it usual to see a black women winning beauty pageants or
saving the world. Even when Mattel released black Barbie dolls, they came
under fire for introducing dolls that still had predominantly European features, failing to represent
the whole African-American community or were marketed differently to how white plastic dolls were marketed.
It's easy to not
realise or fully understand the deep rootedness of race issues and how this
filters down to things as trivial as a plastic doll representing a conventionally
attractive young woman – especially if you aren't exposed or experiencing these
yourself. Of course, the intricacies of race, identity and so on, are much
more engrained and complex than the fact I wasn’t able to play with a non-white
Barbie doll until a much later stage of my childhood. The lack of diversity whether it’s
people of colour, people with disabilities, different wealth status, people of different ages or sexuality
permeates a much larger societal problem. An understanding of these
issues can be found in ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ by
Reni Eddo-Lodge - which I honestly think is one of those books everyone should
have the opportunity to read.
As this is a predominantly fashion and lifestyle blog, let's talk about diversity in the fashion and blogging industry. Whilst this isn't the worst performing area, it is progressively getting called out by figureheads and the public for its lack of individuals of different race, class, body shape, age, identity.
I was scrolling through Instagram the other day (let’s be honest,
when am I not) and came across a campaign by a retailer who had taken a few
social media influencers on a trip to promote their latest collection. When
I looked closer at the picture and I saw 10-12 Caucasian, female influencers
with long wavy blonde or brown hair and legs long enough to reach Mars. Don't get me wrong, there
is absolutely nothing wrong with looking like that. But why does everyone simply look the same? Why do some brands only recognise this as the only definition of
beautiful or only repost girls that look like this??? It's a clear message to bloggers that don't fit in this criteria, that they aren't wanted.
With that said, I do not think that bloggers who do fit this
‘specification’ should feel guilty, because to put it frankly ‘they are killing it’. But it must be appreciated
that this creates the exact same scenario for a young girl growing up now as it
did when I grew up with my Barbie dolls, ultimately making them rebel
against who they really are. Like how I straightened my naturally curly hair to
look like the classic Barbie doll. The
next generation of young girls that look up to influencers will do the same to
fit in with what is popular and be more accepted according to the worlds beauty
standards.
Generally, if we look at campaigns, opportunities and awards
- the most successful bloggers fit a certain criteria. Fair skinned, able
bodied, young, silky long hair with slim builds. I myself have been to
numerous blogging events where in a room full of people, the number of
individuals who are people of colour, disabled, of different shapes, sizes and
ages are limited to none. So, they are definitely out there. Brands may claim that ‘We want people that look like
normal people’. But yet, they don’t follow and work with a selection of ‘normal’ people.
Why they aren't we seeing more bloggers who are a closer representation
of consumers?
After all, brands use influencers to influence. There
is an equally strong business case for brands to include a diverse range of
bloggers and influencers in their campaigns and other opportunities. However,
the sad truth is that the majority don't. Then I asked the question - what's
the reason for this? are there people to blame? is there a proper rationale behind
this? is it the case that brands are unaware of an entire demographic being over represented?
is this issue being ignored on purpose?
A great point that was made on the podcast ‘Adulting’ by Oenone
Forbat is that the media support the zeitgist. Side note: zeitgiest is a phrase I learned in my A Level politics
class, and one that I try and use at every opportunity (I like to think it
makes me sound clever). And this is
where you begin to get trapped in a cycle. It’s easy to find the perfect bloggers
that fit this certain criterion because brands usually post nothing but these
bloggers - telling you who to follow and how these bloggers have styled trends.
As diverse bloggers aren’t presented to us as easily as bloggers and influencers
who fit the criteria, we have to actively search for these individuals.
There is a structural/historic link with most , if not all race issues. And the same can be applied for why there aren't many diverse bloggers in the mainstream. A lot of it is due to what is
universally perceived as ‘beautiful’. Beauty standards, if we’re talking in
Western terms, are defined as fair skinned, skinny, straight haired etc. etc. In fashion and beauty industry, where evidently in the name,
beauty is at the centre. The potential for success is heightened if you’re conventionally beautiful (i.e. have some of the aforementioned features). And this is a theory that has been
proven across a number of industries and professions - according to Daniel
Hamermesh, attractive people earn an average of 3% - 4% more than
people with below-average looks.
Colour blindness is also a thing. And not the song by Pop
idol runner up Darius (THROWBACK).Those who are making the important decisions to cast bloggers
who fit this ‘specification' are simply colour blind to this heavily prevalent lack
of diversity. If you are privileged enough to not be affected by the issue, there is no need to rectify a problem you believe to be
non-existent.
And yes, the point may be raised that 'well in this campaign
this blogger was featured and she's a person of colour'. Great! However,
it isn't sufficient enough to throw one person of colour in the mix and then call
it diverse. Growing up in a predominantly white, independent school until
the age of 16, I quickly learnt what tokenism meant. Quite often brands may
feature a POC, but sometimes their motives aren’t as sincere as we’d hope. Yes,
you’re using an individual who doesn’t fit the norm, but why? Are you using one
person to claim that you’re ‘diverse’, as a quota filler and have the
motives of increased profit as the main driver behind this? Or is it a genuine
commitment to represent the brand across a range of demographics and cultures, using individuals reflective of this to do so? For some
brands, we shall never know.
Fashion (and fashion blogging) are the UKs number one
creative industry, contributing £28 billion to the UK economy. On
the grounds that there is no significant difference of the quality of content that is produced by a blogger of colour or a blogger with a disability or different sexual orientation. It’s important that the creative industry recognises talented people
from all sorts of backgrounds, as creativity itself stems from diversity.
Whatever the solution is, whether it’s more responsibility
by brands or more demands from consumers, it’s a sad yet increasingly significant
issue that has come to light as the influencer marketing industry has become
more popular. We can't ignore it anymore.
Outfit details
Top - similar
Jeans - H&M (similar)
Bag - similar
Boots - Missguided via ASOS (similar)
Mx
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