Living for the Revolution

The fashion world is a fast growing industry that attracts a lot of models from all over the world. The sector is also popular considering that most of the models gain a lot of popularity incase of success. Models from all the races usually participate in the events at the fashion shows. However despite the fact that this sector is quite attractive and open to models of all races, black women face a lot of challenges. Though some have won the coveted fashion show, it has never been easy for them. Negative perceptions are very common for the black women in the industry. Most of them have ended up leaving the sector due to the negative perceptions which they face from their competitors both white and black. Even though the white women face problem in the sector, it cannot be compared to the black women. The paper will thus discuss how the black women are portrayed negatively and the most possible reasons for that.

Reasons for the negative perception

The main reasons as to why the black women are portrayed negatively cannot be exactly concluded. However, the negative portrayal takes various forms. This includes the photos for the black women in the fashion industry and how they are commonly referred to. The main reasons for this can, however, attributed to the fact that the black women are competitors and have the ability to achieve great success. This, therefore, makes them vulnerable to negativity. The main purpose is to ensure that they have been discouraged and feel frustrated. Those in the industry become very frustrated, while those that plan to join the industry are discouraged and do not join it. This is the major reason given that most of the leading and most successful participants in the industry are the black women. Most of them have endured the negativity and have made it while others have been frustrated and have left the industry. The strength of the black woman cannot be underestimated. It is for these reasons that most of them are still in the industry (Breines 67).

Givhan reports for the New York Times that blacks are believed to be lesser beings. There were only handful black editors across the country. In one of the shows, the blacks models marched down the runway en masse, a larger part of the crowd broke into applause. They did not cheer because they had performed exceedingly well but because of the great triumph of simply being black. According to the New York Times, the black women have been adversely marginalized as far as the fashion industry is concerned. The paper reports that so far there are only four black women who have won the coveted fashion show industry competition. This, according to the paper appears to signal the highest level of racial segregation. The blacks have been treated as lesser beings. The black race is believed to have a long way to be able to compete favorably with the rest of the world. The paper points out that a lot of effort is required to ensure that the black race is recognized and to ensure that they are motivated to venture into the industry (Givhan, 2011).

Racism is also a contributing factor to the negative perceptions faced by the black women in the industry. Some of the players from other races consider the black women as inferior and they do not deserve the chance of being the best or better than them. This fact has been in existence for along time since the days of slavery. The whites will always view the black women as objects and they do not deserve to be better than them. This idea is thus embedded in the mind of some of the players in the industry. However, improvements are seen and most people are no longer racists, but this is still an issue in the industry. The negativity is also common since most black women are desperate. They lack opportunities and they need to survive. The fact that most of them are desperate exposes them to the negativity. The roles that they are assigned is thus quite demoralizing. To make the maters worse they have nowhere else to go or no one listens to their complaints. Most of them end up suffering in silence. The fact that most people in the industry do not appreciate the black women is also a reflection of the entire perception of the society about the women. Other races also believe that they invented the industry and as such they should be the top performers.

How the black women are portrayed negatively

The black women are marginalized in the sector and most of them face a lot of oppression. Most of them suffer from negative comments as it is believed by some people that the black women cannot perform well. Due to the color of their skin and their hair, it is believed that they cannot perform well in the fashion industry. The black skin and the hair style are considered ugly. The black women are usually referred to as ugly. This is quite demoralizing. This reference shows how they are portrayed negatively. A good example is a model from South Sudan who ventured the industry. When she first entered the sector there was a wide spread negativity about her looks. Most of the people thought she was not fit to be in the industry and was portrayed in a negative way. Although, she finally made it big in the industry the negativity still stands and some people continued with their negative perception of her. Her endurance and patience, however, proved the strength of the black woman (LaMont 32).

The black women in the industry have also been portrayed undesirably. Some of the words used to describe them are quite destructive. It is usually common for women with loose morals to be referred to as tramp in magazines and movies. This term is used to describe women who cannot conduct themselves properly and have a habit of sleeping around with every one. For a moral person to be described using this word is quite depraved and shows how negative the persons are portrayed. The black women in the fashion world are usually referred to as tramps. This suggests that they have very loose morals. However, this is not true, but it is just a way of portraying them undesirably. Despite this allegation the black women still prosper. It is, however, not clear why they are being referred to as tramps. The main reason is to discourage them from competing in the fashion industry. Most of the black women in the industry are continually being subjected to this negativity despite the fact that they are very decent. This has greatly contributed to demoralization of the black women in the industry (Pittsburg post-gazette 6).

In the film industry it is common to find that most of the photos are quite demoralizing. In most of the photos, the black women are portrayed as sex objects. This is mainly because it is common to find the black women being assigned the roles of putting on quite indecent clothing. Most of the women wearing the indecent clothing in the advertisements are black women. To some extent most of the photos that are of naked models is usually that of black women. This shows that they are perceived as sex objects which are quite negative. Despite the fact that the photos are taken with their full knowledge it is not correct to only assign the black women with such roles. Whenever a black woman and a white woman in the industry area assigned roles together, it is the back woman who will be assigned the role that is quite immoral. This negative perception suggests that the people in the fashion industry have no respect for the black women and will always disrespect them and lower their morality (Williams 3).

The black women in the industry are always regarded as desperate and would do anything to get noticed in some magazines, books and newspapers. As such the players in the industry exploit them to a grate extent. The black woman is considered an animal. In most of the advertisements from this industry, it is common for the black women to assign roles that are more animalistic. Whenever references are made to animals, the black women are assigned the roles. It is also common to find that most of the photos of animals are taken alongside the black women in video games. This shows that the players in the industry have a lot of negativity and discriminated the black women. The rights of the black women are usually forsaken by the players in the industry. The black women in most cases have no choice, but to take the roles. This is mainly for the purpose of remaining relevant in the industry. Despite their complaints, no one takes them seriously and they continue to suffer the impacts of the negative attitude. The fact that some of the roles clash with their cultures dos not means anything together players in the sector and the exploitations still continues. Howeve,r most of the black women have been able to beat this negativity and rose to greater heights (Burns 28

In conclusion, it is evident that most black women in the fashion industry experience a lot of suffering due to the negativity that exists. The negativity that they face is quite demoralizing to them and some have left the industry. The negativity is perpetrated in different forms. It could be the way they are described or the roles they are forced to perform. It is also clear from the paper that they have nowhere else to go or no one is willing to address their problem. Most black women are also good competitors and are quite patient. It is also evident from the paper that the black woman is not appreciated in the society and this is, therefore, a reflection of the wider society. It is vital that their plight are extensively addressed to enable them prosper in the industry. Despite the negativity, most of the successful players in the industry are black women.