http://www.newsweek.com/2010/09/29/ethnic-models-still-mostly-excluded-on-fashion-s-runways.html?gt1=43002
This is an article I came across while reading msn.com today. The article discusses how most models on runways are Caucasian, and how minorities seem to not be able to break through. The article even said that in Asia designers, selling items in Asian countries, would prefer to use Caucasians than Asians. I find this odd considering that I would think they'd like to play to their audience. For example, I would be more willing to buy a certain item of clothing if I thought it would look good on me. Yet how would Asians, with dark eyes, dark hair and a different complexion know whether or not the same clothing looks as good on them as it does on the blonde haired blue eyed girl in the picture?
The article points out that part of the problem is that "although Americans spend 326 billion a year on clothes and shoes...only $27 billion of those dollars come from black customers." So, in this case anyway, the designers are pandering to their white customers. I would wonder, though, if more minorities are used would more minorities buy from designers?
I also found this paragraph interesting:
Edwing D’Angelo is a young black/Latino designer who recently presented his exuberant women’s and men’s collections at the Waldorf-Astoria in a show that featured a striking array of Asian, Hispanic, black, and white models. He says ethnic models face the same obstacles as minority designers, especially when it comes to being featured in print: “They suffer from the looking-alike syndrome,” he says, referring to designers and fashion publications. “They’ll say, ‘We already have that look’ ... as if you can only have one ethnic model—never mind the presence of a hundred blondes.”
I notice, with chagrin, that he specifically mentions blonde. I always disliked, growing up, how blondes were always supposedly the pretty ones. They were the princesses, the heroines, and, yes, the models. I have very dark brown hair and I think more brunettes would be nice as well! In addition, people come in different sizes, yet models are usually very tall and very thin. That is no more representative than having all blonde Caucasian models.
The article did note that there is more diversity now than there was even a few years ago. It's odd how multiculturalism effects everything and how prevalent using one stereotypical model -the tall, slender, blonde, blue eyed model- is supposedly representative of the ideal beauty. I know this model doesn't represent me!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Scholarly Review
“[Sociocultural consciousness] challenges future information professionals to expand their sociocultural consciousness, by which this author means an understanding that people’s way of thinking, behaving, and being are deeply influenced by such factors as race/ethnicity, social class, and language. Without this insight, information professionals are unable to cross the sociocultural boundaries that separate too many of them from their patrons.” (Abdullahi, 2007)
I think this quote sums up why I chose to take this class. I grew up in the south, the mountains of Virginia, and while I was an undergraduate at Virginia Tech I got a job working at the Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine Library. I applied to the job simply because I wanted to work, and while there I discovered that I loved being a librarian. Another discovery I made was that so many different people use libraries.
My town had a local library, of course, but the Vet Med Library I worked in had a completely different set of patrons. The town library had mostly middle class people who had lived in the area several years, at least. They usually knew what they wanted in the library, as they had been there often enough before. And frequently they had children, some of whom I worked with when I helped with the library’s summer reading program as a teenager.
The Veterinary Medicine Library had an entirely different culture in and of itself. These people were well educated, studious, and busy. They came from many different backgrounds: Asians, Europeans, Hispanics, Indians, and Africans. It was a much more diverse work setting and I really enjoyed working with these people. I liked figuring out how to speak to them so that we could truly communicate, as not all of had English as their first language. I liked it when they’d tell me a bit about their background as I was helping them, such as where they are from and what it was like in their home country.
I took this class because I wanted to understand all of these cultures better, especially the Hispanic culture as the Hispanic population is on the rise in the United States and I’d truly love to reach out to them and make them feel welcome. I want to know more about all of these cultures! I want to know how to reach them, how to best teach them and how to make them love libraries as much as I do.
I know that’s a tall order for any class, but that is still my goal in this class: to get to know and understand as many different cultures as I can so that I can help patrons of all backgrounds. Libraries are free to be utilized by anyone. I’d love to learn how to make libraries more accessible to people from all cultures.
Abdullahi, I. (2007). Diversity and intercultural issues in library and information science (LIS) education. New Library World, 108(9/10), 453-459.
I think this quote sums up why I chose to take this class. I grew up in the south, the mountains of Virginia, and while I was an undergraduate at Virginia Tech I got a job working at the Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine Library. I applied to the job simply because I wanted to work, and while there I discovered that I loved being a librarian. Another discovery I made was that so many different people use libraries.
My town had a local library, of course, but the Vet Med Library I worked in had a completely different set of patrons. The town library had mostly middle class people who had lived in the area several years, at least. They usually knew what they wanted in the library, as they had been there often enough before. And frequently they had children, some of whom I worked with when I helped with the library’s summer reading program as a teenager.
The Veterinary Medicine Library had an entirely different culture in and of itself. These people were well educated, studious, and busy. They came from many different backgrounds: Asians, Europeans, Hispanics, Indians, and Africans. It was a much more diverse work setting and I really enjoyed working with these people. I liked figuring out how to speak to them so that we could truly communicate, as not all of had English as their first language. I liked it when they’d tell me a bit about their background as I was helping them, such as where they are from and what it was like in their home country.
I took this class because I wanted to understand all of these cultures better, especially the Hispanic culture as the Hispanic population is on the rise in the United States and I’d truly love to reach out to them and make them feel welcome. I want to know more about all of these cultures! I want to know how to reach them, how to best teach them and how to make them love libraries as much as I do.
I know that’s a tall order for any class, but that is still my goal in this class: to get to know and understand as many different cultures as I can so that I can help patrons of all backgrounds. Libraries are free to be utilized by anyone. I’d love to learn how to make libraries more accessible to people from all cultures.
Abdullahi, I. (2007). Diversity and intercultural issues in library and information science (LIS) education. New Library World, 108(9/10), 453-459.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Cultural Mosaic
Mosaic is a fitting title for this because I am not any one single race. On my father’s side I’m British, Irish and German. My mother is, as I’ve told friends ‘an all American mutt’. She’s German, Dutch, English, Native American, and Gypsy, and several more no doubt. These different cultures are part of the identity I claim, but others are: student, Christian, wife, traveler and librarian.
I think if I absolutely had to pick a primary hue it would be White, although that doesn’t cover nearly all of me. Native Americans and Gypsies are both darker skinned, with dark hair and eyes. However, these legacies get overlooked by people who may judge me based on my pale skin tone.
I have so many demographic tiles. I was recently told exactly what tribe my family is from, the Mingos, and was pleased to discover that Chief Logan was one of the most famous chiefs in the tribe. I have a cat named Logan and while I named the cat before I knew of the leader –who was a great orator- I still like to think of the cat’s name as a tie to my heritage. Both Native Americans and Gypsies are no strangers to persecution. In fact, the Mingos were driven out of areas east, such as West Virginia and moved to Kansas are part of the Indian Removal Act.
Gypsies are originally from India and were pushed out, and all across Europe. They have been forced into migrating so often that ‘traveling like a gypsy’ is now a colloquialism. With this came a great deal of racial tension. Have you ever used the termed ‘gypped’? I’m sure everyone knows that it means to steal, yet how many people would be upset if instead of that term we used ‘whited’ or ‘blacked’?
My group membership that I seem most involved in is that of being a student. I’ve been in school for 21 of the past 22 years. I live like a student (tiny apartment), dress like a student (casual, but hopefully nice, too), and live like a student (see how I’m writing this at 2am?). I’m interested in things that students are typically interested in, such as college sports, and when grades will be posted. I’ve been a student for so long it’s going to be a major life change when I graduate in May, and am finished with earning degrees forever!
On an individual level, my Christianity plays a major role in who I am. My husband and I share a strong faith, or we would have –could have- never gotten married. I am a churchgoer, a make believe theologian, and my every day is shaped by my beliefs. Everything from what I wear, what I read, what music I listen to and more are shaped by my beliefs.
An associate dimension of me would be my new explorations into Finnish life. My husband is Finnish, born of immigrant parents who came to the United States in the 1970s. His first language is Finnish and it is a culture I’ve embraced. It is a new part of me. In the past 3 years I’ve learned Finnish words, customs, traditions, and even Finnish cooking. Tonight he called his parents, as he often does, and the conversation was entirely in Finnish. This Finnish-ness adds a new tile to my mosaic and honestly I love it. I love learning about new cultures. I love that my husband’s first language was not English and that he has an entirely different worldview than most American men I’ve met. It has added new color to my world, and more dimensions to my life.
Chao, G. T., & Moon, H. (2005). The cultural mosaic: A metatheory for understanding the complexity of culture. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(6), 1128–1140.
I think if I absolutely had to pick a primary hue it would be White, although that doesn’t cover nearly all of me. Native Americans and Gypsies are both darker skinned, with dark hair and eyes. However, these legacies get overlooked by people who may judge me based on my pale skin tone.
I have so many demographic tiles. I was recently told exactly what tribe my family is from, the Mingos, and was pleased to discover that Chief Logan was one of the most famous chiefs in the tribe. I have a cat named Logan and while I named the cat before I knew of the leader –who was a great orator- I still like to think of the cat’s name as a tie to my heritage. Both Native Americans and Gypsies are no strangers to persecution. In fact, the Mingos were driven out of areas east, such as West Virginia and moved to Kansas are part of the Indian Removal Act.
Gypsies are originally from India and were pushed out, and all across Europe. They have been forced into migrating so often that ‘traveling like a gypsy’ is now a colloquialism. With this came a great deal of racial tension. Have you ever used the termed ‘gypped’? I’m sure everyone knows that it means to steal, yet how many people would be upset if instead of that term we used ‘whited’ or ‘blacked’?
My group membership that I seem most involved in is that of being a student. I’ve been in school for 21 of the past 22 years. I live like a student (tiny apartment), dress like a student (casual, but hopefully nice, too), and live like a student (see how I’m writing this at 2am?). I’m interested in things that students are typically interested in, such as college sports, and when grades will be posted. I’ve been a student for so long it’s going to be a major life change when I graduate in May, and am finished with earning degrees forever!
On an individual level, my Christianity plays a major role in who I am. My husband and I share a strong faith, or we would have –could have- never gotten married. I am a churchgoer, a make believe theologian, and my every day is shaped by my beliefs. Everything from what I wear, what I read, what music I listen to and more are shaped by my beliefs.
An associate dimension of me would be my new explorations into Finnish life. My husband is Finnish, born of immigrant parents who came to the United States in the 1970s. His first language is Finnish and it is a culture I’ve embraced. It is a new part of me. In the past 3 years I’ve learned Finnish words, customs, traditions, and even Finnish cooking. Tonight he called his parents, as he often does, and the conversation was entirely in Finnish. This Finnish-ness adds a new tile to my mosaic and honestly I love it. I love learning about new cultures. I love that my husband’s first language was not English and that he has an entirely different worldview than most American men I’ve met. It has added new color to my world, and more dimensions to my life.
Chao, G. T., & Moon, H. (2005). The cultural mosaic: A metatheory for understanding the complexity of culture. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(6), 1128–1140.
Social Bookmark 1: Judy Blume
Judyblume.com
This is one of my favorite authors –I’m planning on becoming a children’s librarian- and so I googled her and found her website. It looks like a pretty cool place and she shows how well in touch she is with children with the bright colors and fun graphics.
There are 6 main headings from the main page. They are: About Judy, Judy’s Books, On Writing, Censorship, For Kids and Reference Desk. Most of those are self explanatory, but the On Writing category gives some tips to becoming a better writer and the Reference Desk is basically a guide to more information on Judy, such as podcasts.
It’s a fun website and one that I know I’ll use, seeing as she’s written so many great books for children!
This is one of my favorite authors –I’m planning on becoming a children’s librarian- and so I googled her and found her website. It looks like a pretty cool place and she shows how well in touch she is with children with the bright colors and fun graphics.
There are 6 main headings from the main page. They are: About Judy, Judy’s Books, On Writing, Censorship, For Kids and Reference Desk. Most of those are self explanatory, but the On Writing category gives some tips to becoming a better writer and the Reference Desk is basically a guide to more information on Judy, such as podcasts.
It’s a fun website and one that I know I’ll use, seeing as she’s written so many great books for children!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
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