I just bumped into this Numero september editorial, maybe ironically entitled "Best friends". In my opinion this is rather a master-slave relationship. It also reminded me of a controversed Gisele Bundchen editorial. Well,
1. fact: the most powerful states control the media and therefore the images that are most probably delivered throughout the world (including fashion magazines) represent the european and american stereotypes. It's in fact a matter of cultural symbols.
2. fact: black and asian models tend to approach the western standard of beauty (we've already seen tons of skinny black models with straight hair or asian models with blonde hair). basically, beautiful means being tall, incredibly skinny -definitely skinnier than 50 years ago- preferably with long, sun-kissed smooth hair, perfect teeth, perfectly waxed and so on. for more details, search for the following authors: Christina Baker, 2005; Roxanne Hovland, Carolynn McMahan, Guiohk Lee, Jang-Sun Hwang, Juran Kim, 2005; Tiffany J. Shoop, Catherine A. Luther, Carolynn McMahan, 2008.
3. fact: maintaining this beauty ierarchy leads to a recognized ierarchy between races. the prejudices and stereotypes existing in the society are very well reflected in the media; it's like a vicious circle- the moment we see these images we accept, unconsciously, the ierarchy (the dominance of white beauty and white race). and we perpetuate it. and can never escape it.
And last, but not least, have you seen Beyonce's ad for L'Oreal? She looks white. I mean her hair has a lighter tone. And her skin also. And yes, she looks white.
What do you think?
Photos:
www.fashionising.com
http://www.trendnista.com/
http://www.shallownation.com/
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